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Lucy Barton

Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010, Section Four

12 April 2019

Early Childhood Education:

Integration of STEM Principles to Support the Growing Tech Economy

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are becoming increasingly more

important in the workforce as more technology is improved and implemented into businesses all

over the world. Universities, businesses, organizations, and individuals use technology—desktop

computers, mobile phones, apps, and programs—for communication, transactions, and other

essential purposes. Being able to understand how this technology works, and how to make it

work, is a well-sought after skill for today’s employers and will become more sought after in

coming years.

Utah, an up and coming state to watch in the tech field, recently welcomed many large

technology companies into the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys, an area now termed the “Silicon

Slopes” (Lee). The opportunity for employment in fields related to STEM increases with the

development of more advanced and effective technology; correspondingly, in Utah, the top seven

careers in highest demand are all STEM related (“7 Careers”). There are relatively “low numbers

of students pursuing STEM disciplines and degree programs” compared to the demand for

STEM graduates (Dejarnette 181). Recent studies found that tech companies in Utah had

thousands of open positions and planned to increase their employment numbers in the next

twelve months (Lee). Increasing the supply of workers that are well-versed and excited about
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STEM topics and developments begins with the introduction of these topics in early childhood

education.

While there is overwhelming evidence that the STEM field in the United States is

growing, the country’s growth is far behind the growth of other leading European and Asian

countries. A large reason for the lagging of the United States’ growth is the lack of focus on

STEM education in public schools; in fact, results from the PISA and TIMSS, international

exams of math and science, “have shown that American youth fall behind other developed

countries in their abilities in science and math” (Dejarnette 181-2). Darrell Robinson, member of

the Jordan School District board, stated that a commonly used word in board meetings is the

number “2035,” because that is the year

the first-graders of today will enter the

workforce (Robinson). Educators are

concerned that their students will not be

prepared for the positions, predicted to be

mostly technological, in the workforce

that will be available and in high demand

when they graduate college. These

discussions have led to more integration

of STEM into elementary education.

Teaching students these topics has

many benefits. (see Infographic)

Introducing children to STEM topics

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teaches them how to use and analyze data, think critically, solve problems, and excites them.

Currently, multiple initiatives designed to increase the amount, availability, and quality of STEM

content in public schools are in place. Policy makers, teachers, and members of communities

work together to advocate for these initiatives in national and local areas. One important national

organization is ​The Partnership for 21st Century Skills ​whose goal is “to prepare American

children to develop the skills they will need in order to compete in our global economy.” This

organization works to provide equal tools for education to public schools across the nation and

fights for policies that promote its mission (Dejarnette). Most of the initiatives from the federal

and state governments focus on math, natural sciences, engineering, and technology (Chen 2).

Individual schools and businesses often organize after-school STEM programs or hold STEM

nights designed to get children more excited about learning STEM. Another recent initiative,

“Educate to Innovate,” was launched by Barack Obama. When speaking about this initiative in

2015 at the White House Science Fair, Obama explained the importance of teaching children

about these topics:

When we give students the inspiration: not just that math and science are inherently

interesting, and technology and engineering are inherently interesting, but there’s

actual problems to solve, it turns out that young people, they rise to the challenge.

And that’s what’s so exciting about it. (“Remarks”)

The development of ​twenty-first century skills, b​ eing able to analyze data, think critically​,

and solve problems​,​ early in education helps students flourish in other classes, in future jobs, and

in life (Asunda 2). These students also exhibit less gender-based stereotypes relating to STEM

careers (Sullivan and Bers 5). Robinson explained that one of the most important elements that
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should be included in STEM education is personalization; in doing this, teachers should allow

their students to create their own projects, employ their creativity, and eventually develop their

problem solving and critical thinking skills (Robinson). Most elementary classrooms focus on

the science of nature, such as plants and the weather. Young students enjoy learning about how

the world around them works, but, apart from the workings of nature, a substantial part of their

world includes technology and engineering. A study conducted by Amanda Sullivan and Marina

Bers found that children as young as four years old can understand and experiment with robots

and the programming of robots. Another study of the text-based programming language Logo

shows that becoming educated in robotics and computer programming in early childhood can

help children develop number sense, language skills, and visual memory (para. in Sullivan and

Bers 5). Furthermore, the introduction of robotics and computer programming curriculum has

been found to foster “computational thinking” which “involves the ability to abstract from

computational instructions” or programming languages (Sullivan and Bers 4-5).

Introducing technology use into the classroom can make learning easier. There are

hundreds of software applications that have been designed for use in schools; these applications

include Google Classroom, Khan Academy, Quizlet, Kahoot, Online Libraries, and many others.

Chun-Yi Lee and Ming-Jang Chen completed a study and observed that, when teaching

mathematics, the use of online manipulatives is equally as effective as the use of real

manipulatives. This study even found that the students using virtual manipulatives had a more

positive attitude than those using non-virtual manipulatives (Chun-Yi 273). Many parents and

teachers are under the impression that the use of technology such as mobile phones, tablets, or

laptops is too big a risk of distraction as students can easily switch between tabs on browsers and
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between applications on phones or tablets. Almost all schools have a written policy on mobile

device use, but in an exploratory study only 44.5% of teachers surveyed considered the policies

easily enforceable. These dismal statistics pointed researchers to study the positive effects of

mobile devices in classrooms. This study concluded that allowing mobile device use in

classrooms would provide access to technology with little cost to the school, facilitate the

expanded use of learning applications, and “prepare students for the technologically rich

workplaces” (Mupinga 77). Exposing students to technology that is used in the workplace will

further prepare them to enter the workforce.

The topics taught to young children influence their interests and further excitement about

learning and should be meticulously chosen. The number of available jobs in STEM related

businesses is growing exponentially. Young students today can be prepared for further education

and the workplace by the integration of STEM in early childhood education. This integration has

benefits such as developing problem solving skills, developing critical thinking skills, and

expanding the creativity of students. The curriculums and elements of early childhood education

are the vertebrae of the future.

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Works Cited

“7 Careers in High Demand in Utah.” ​KSL.com,​ www.ksl.com/article/46389456/7-careers-in-high

-demand-in-utah.

Asunda, Paul A. “Infusing Computer Science in Engineering and Technology Education: An

Integrated STEM Perspective.” ​Journal of Technology Studies​, vol. 44, no. 1, Spring

2018, pp. 2–12. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.21061/jots.v44i1.a.1.

Chen, Xianglei. “Students Who Study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

(STEM) in Postsecondary Education. Stats in Brief. NCES 2009-161” ​National Center

for Education Statistics.​ July 2009, pp. 2-15. ERIC. Web.

Chun-Yi Lee, and Ming-Jang Chen. “Effects of Worked Examples Using Manipulatives on Fifth

Graders’ Learning Performance and Attitude toward Mathematics.” ​Journal of

Educational Technology & Society​, vol. 18, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 264–275. ​EBSCOhost,​

Search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102055728&site

=ehost-live.

Dejarnette, Nancy K. “America’s Children: Providing Early Exposure to Stem (Science,

Technology, Engineering and Math) Initiatives.” ​Reading Improvement​, vol. 53, no. 4,

Winter 2016, pp. 181–187. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

=true&db=aph&AN=120237575&site=ehost-live.

Lee, Jasen. “Demand Outpacing Supply of Utah Tech and Engineering Grads.”​DeseretNews

.com,​ Deseret News, 24 Feb.2015,www.deseretnews.com/article/865622637/Demand

-outpacing-supply-of-Utah-tech-and-engineering-grads.html.

Mupinga, Davison M. “School-Wide and Classroom Policies on the Use of Mobile

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Technologies: An Exploratory Study.” ​Journal of Technology Studies​, vol. 43, no. 2, Fall

2017, pp. 70–79. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.21061/jots.v43i2.a.2.

“Remarks by the President at White House Science Fair.” ​National Archives and Records

Administration​, National Archives and Records Administration, Obamawhitehouse.arch

ives.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/23/remarks-president-white-house-science-fair.

Robinson, Darrell. Personal Interview. 8 April 2019.

Sullivan, Amanda, and Marina Bers. “Robotics in the Early Childhood Classroom: Learning

Outcomes from an 8-Week Robotics Curriculum in Pre-Kindergarten through Second

Grade.” ​International Journal of Technology & Design Education,​ vol. 26, no. 1, Feb.

2016, pp. 3–20. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1007/s10798-015-9304-5.