Screen-Free STEAM: Low-Cost and Hands-on Approaches to Teaching Coding and Engineering to Young Children

Abstract

There is a growing focus on reaching young children (pre-kindergarten through second grade) with quality hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Prior research has shown that teaching subjects like coding and engineering early, leads to many benefits such as increasing children’s number sense, problem-solving skills, and sequencing skills. Unfortunately, the cost of many STEM tools and technologies can be prohibitive for many parents and early childhood educators. Moreover, many of the tools that teach coding and engineering typically rely on screen-based technologies, which are not always developmentally appropriate for very young learners. This chapter will address these issues by introducing low-cost and screen-free approaches to teaching coding and engineering that emphasize a more interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) context. It will describe the benefits of reaching children early through hands-on and collaborative curricular activities, and provide examples of many types of low-cost activities to engage young children in STEAM education in both informal and formal learning settings. Finally, it will describe how parents and educators can successfully put these activities into practice in their own homes or early learning settings.