Why put the "A" in "STEAM" Learning?

Lots of educators and learning communities are talking about STEAM education. You may be asking, why include an arts perspective in STEM learning?

Starfire STEAM programming (STEM+Arts) links the creative arts to science, technology, engineering and math to give students the tools they need to the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century! 

By integrating art with STEM, Starfire gives students the creative spark to harness the capabilities of STEM skills. Our students fuse an in-depth knowledge of STEM with a focus on arts to creatively integrate and apply that knowledge to solve real world problems. 

Starfire teachers share their passion for the creative arts with our students. Art and creativity infuse Starfire’s enrichment classes, Fun with STEAM virtual labs and MathTastic Help sessions.

Starfire STEAM students take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through creative processes. Students learn more and they retain more of what they learn. 

Find out more about what STEAM education can do for your child by checking out our current courses or getting in touch with the Starfire support team!

STEAM Challenge - Build a Boat!

Kids can engage in vibrant and plentiful STEAM learning opportunities, even in the tub! Check out this awesome challenge and let the fun flow.

Build a Boat:

Materials

• Aluminum foil square, recommended size: 6” x 6”

• Weights: Pennies, marbles, beans, LEGO figures will work. You just need something consistent

• Water

• Pan, sink, bathtub

Do This!

• Take a single sheet of aluminum foil, 6” x 6” works well, and fold it flat, pressing out all the air.

• Continue folding until you can’t make it any smaller. Will this little square of foil sink or float? Try it!

• You'll find that it sinks!

Now Try This!

• Now unfold the foil and fold it into a boat shape. Add some weight. You can use pennies, marbles, or even toy figures. How many weights can it hold?

• For an added challenge:

  • Race your boats in the tub!

  • See how many boats can you build and test in an hour?

  • Guess the maximum load for your boat - were you close?

Talk About This!

"Can you redesign a foil boat to hold even more weight?"
"What’s the most weight it can hold?"

Engineers and designers use the Design Thinking Process to solve problems. This means that they think about the problem, the end user, design a possible solution, test it, then try again to see if they can improve.

Why This Works!
Why could the same piece of foil not only float, but hold even more weight? Water has a buoyant force that pushes up, while gravity is pushing down. By spreading out the weight of the foil (unfolding it) the water had more area to push up on, decreasing the density of the “boat.”

Don’t feel comfortable going into the concepts of buoyancy or density? That’s okay! Focus more on the engineering design process of empathizing, building, testing, and iterating based on what you’ve discovered.

At Starfire, student learn to solve problems like designers and engineers. They are given a problem and constraints. Then they use their imagination to come up with an answer!

STEAM Challenge - Dinner Table Cube Math

Starfire knows every kid can excel at math! Math that happens within the family, the community, and everyday life supports kids to strengthen their math awareness, understanding and confidence. 

Kids can engage in vibrant and plentiful math learning opportunities, even around the dinner table! Check out the awesome challenge we've shared below!  We suggest enjoying them as a family.

We’re sharing a fun math challenge called “Cube Conversations” to promote math talk around the table from Steve Wyborney, an Oregon based math teacher.

Take a look at these increasingly challenging Cube Conversation images and ask:

• How many cubes?

• How do you know?

• What do you see?

• How else can you see it?

Starfire teachers share fun and collaborative math challenges that let kids know that they can excel in math and have fun! 

Why Learn to Code?

Students building new worlds in Scratch

Starfire believes every child can benefit from learning a programming language!
Starfire coding teachers are trained as computer scientists, R & D researchers, engineers and programmers. What’s more, they are inspired to share their love of coding and professional expertise with their students.

Students who code are more creative and innovative in their approach to framing and solving problems. Students learn mathematical and computational concepts—they problem solve and think mathematically using logic and systematic reasoning. Starfire coding students are exposed to a world of exciting possibilities through their programming skills. Learning coding from Starfire’s expert teachers opens up the creative and professional horizons of our students.

What do Students Do in Class?
Guided by Starfire teachers, students create projects that are personally meaningful and express their ideas through fun, hands-on projects. They will learn to imagine, design, create and share their own websites, projects, games and animated stories.

Speed vs Depth in STEAM Learning

Starfire teachers encourage depth, creativity and fluency in STEAM learning. We know that every student can be a “math person” or “science person” with the right encouragement and support!

Many students incorrectly believe that being good at STEAM learning means being fast. In our classes, we dissociate success from speed.

When we value fast computation over other skills, we discourage deep thinking, risk taking and meaningful progress. Starfire teachers teach students to think deeply, connect methods, reason, and justify their methods. 

Supporting a Growth Mindset!

Starfire Education supports growth mindsets!

A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence can be developed. Students with a growth mindset understand they can get smarter through hard work, the use of effective strategies, and help from others when needed.

Kids’ beliefs about intelligence have important consequences for how they learn and respond to setbacks. When students hold a growth mindset, they embrace STEAM learning, seeing challenges as opportunities to grow and attain mastery.

Starfire teachers inspire intellectual and personal growth in their students. 

Check out these Starfire teacher approved tips to encourage a growth mindset:

Focus on their effort and not their ability

• When you offer encouraging words to kids, give them feedback on their effort. Kids learn that their efforts and attitudes determine their abilities.
  
  "Wow! You’ve been practicing and your skills are improving. I'm so proud that you persisted with this challenge. You've grown so much!"

Don’t over-encourage

• Offering children words of encouragement doesn’t mean you have to sugarcoat things for them. When kids are dealing with setbacks, use their time of struggle to help them sort through their feelings and identify their inner strength.

Be specific

• Giving children feedback such as ‘good effort” or “you worked hard” doesn't always help them make the connection between their effort and the outcome of their actions.  Aim to be as specific and descriptive as possible.

Be sincere

• Children are good at recognizing when people aren’t being genuine with them!  It’s best to be genuine when offering words of encouragement to children.
  
  “Thank you for showing me some of the new skills you’ve learned in class today.  How do you feel about them?”

Live the growth mindset  

• Parents and teachers can embrace the process of learning and believe that children’s intellect and talent can grow with effort and support.
  
  "Your teachers share hard problems because they believe in you! Challenges helped me grow and learn things. They still do!" 

The Benefits of Virtual Classroom - Collaboration

Collaboration

Starfire is excited to share the top 5 benefits of learning in our Virtual Classroom. STEAM learning is a collaborative, dynamic practice for both students and educators. Our classrooms support enriching learning experiences in which all learners participate and grow.

Increased opportunities for collaboration

Learning in our virtual classroom puts a big emphasis on collaborative learning. Students screenshare and work together in breakout rooms. Students encourage each other to use class time effectively. Remote team work is a  practice that will reshape schools and workplaces in the future. The virtual classroom exposes students to this practice and equips them to meet the future.

Teacher Collaboration

Collaboration is a core value for the Starfire teacher community. Starfire teachers have come together to improve the experience children are having via remote education. New approaches to curriculum, curriculum delivery, and classroom management resources have been developed and mobilized. Starfire teachers Shweta, Usha and Pallavi spearheaded our team’s redevelopment of our electrical engineering curriculum for the virtual classroom. Together, they developed a fun, project-based program for Starfire students.

The Benefits of Virtual Classroom - Ownership & Participation

Ownership & Participation

Starfire is sharing the top 5 benefits to students and teachers of learning in the Virtual Classroom. One of the most significant benefits we have seen is the ability and eagerness of students to take ownership for their own learning. Teachers have the tools to encourage all students to participate and meaningful opportunities to check for understanding.

Students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning

Students have the opportunity to develop a more mature and responsible outlook on their own education. The teacher is not physically present, impressing the need for order, rather the student is self-motivated to develop the discipline necessary for excellence.A Starfire Engineering teacher says, “Students follow class rules, help each other, and even ask their parents for the space to work independently. They understand the impact of their behavior on their peers: they mute themselves if there is too much background noise, ask those making noise to keep it down and then unmute themselves. I’m so impressed!”

Increased Participation & more intentional opportunities to check for understanding

Students uncomfortable being at the center of attention or those who have a more tentative approach to collaboration are often wary of participating in class. However, when teaching over Zoom, teachers can use the polling function to have students answer multiple-choice questions anonymously. Engagement increases, as does the teacher’s ability to see which students understand the challenge at hand. Teachers can create more opportunities to check for understanding. There is less classroom management happening in the virtual classroom and more time to check in with kids. Teachers can stop more frequently, and give more practice work without concern about losing kids’ attention and momentum of the lesson.A Starfire music teacher enthused, “I can use anonymous polling to ask for opinions and check for understanding. Students feel more comfortable taking risks and trying out new skills.”

Students experience learning as integrated into their lives

Sparking a lifelong love of problem solving is a core Starfire goal. However, some students have experienced learning as a “siloed” activity that happens only in school. The virtual classroom integrates school and home life, opening students to the perspective of learning independently outside of their familiar school context. Home is not just a place to simply crash out and watch YouTube videos after school – it’s a learning environment.

The Benefits of Virtual Classroom - Class Time

Safety, Accessibility and Class Time

Starfire STEAM classes have moved to an all virtual model. We are so excited by the positive responses of Starfire families and the possibilities unlocked by this change.

We’re sharing the top 5 benefits to students and teachers for the Virtual Classroom. Today, we’re talking about how we use class time and how class time is experienced in the Virtual Classroom.

Student safety

As teachers, our first job is to make sure children are safe and well. In online learning, we know that a parent is close at hand should a student require anything. Teachers don’t worry or spend time supervising approved guardians pick up and drop off.

More efficient use of class time

Tasks that can monopolize class time such as getting excused to go to the bathroom or waiting for students to get in line are managed more more simply in the virtual classroom. The start and conclusion of class are conducted quickly and smoothly. Students spend their class time on fun activities, engaged and focused on their challenges.

Accessibility for students with special needs

Learning from home provides students (in most cases) with a stable and secure environment that can be more easily tailored to their specific needs. See our Learning from Home resources on tips to adapt the home space for your learner. Starfire teacher Randel describes his experience with the virtual classroom, “students can focus better on problem solving without distracting each other. When a student needs to concentrate on a particularly challenging problem, it is easy for him or her to block all distractions from the rest of the class. Students can privately message me if there is something they need to feel comfortable or to understand the challenge.”

The Benefits of Virtual Classroom - Responsiveness

Responsiveness

Starfire STEAM classes have moved to an all virtual model. We are so excited by the positive responses of Starfire families and the possibilities unlocked by this change.

We’re sharing the top 5 benefits to students and teachers for the Virtual Classroom. This week we’re talking about responsiveness to student needs.

Small class sizes & Responsive Curriculum

Smaller Starfire virtual classes discard a classic “one size fits all” approach. The teacher has the ability to tailor classes more specifically to different students. The teacher also has the ability to adapt curriculum to suit student learning needs and interests. 

Grouping Students by Affinity and Interest

Classes are composed of students who are drawn together by their similar interests and knowledge levels, rather than simply their grades or school district. Students with advanced understanding can accelerate their learning. Teachers provide a curriculum that is responsive to the knowledge levels and interests of their student group. Students who share interests and affinities gain powerful social benefits from finding like minded peers. Starfire teacher Adrian has expressed surprise and delight at the amazing quality of the work produced by his “Animation in Scratch” students who are all experienced coders and interested in digital arts.

Computational Thinking

GIve your child the skills and the passion to tackle problems with innovation and perseverance with Starfire’s Computational Thinking class.  

Computational Thinking is the prerequisite skill for understanding the technologies, challenges and opportunities of the future. It is a systematic thought process, rather than a specific body of knowledge.

Starfire teaches the four cornerstones of computational thinking: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms. Decomposition invites students to break down complex problems into smaller, simpler problems. Pattern recognition guides students to make connections between similar problems and experience. Abstraction invites students to identify important information while ignoring unrelated or irrelevant details. Lastly, students use algorithms when they design simple steps to solve problems.

Computational thinking skills are important to many disciplines and careers and can be used to support student success across all disciplines including science, technology, engineering, math and the humanities.

Learn more about Starfire’s Computational Thinking class:
https://www.starfireed.com/computational-thinking