Working on STEM projects helps students integrate life skills by fostering important concepts such as:

Communication

Whether sharing ideas or findings, or explaining topics, the ability to get their message across effectively is vital for students. STEM lessons ask students to communicate their questions, and reflect and explain what they did to solve a problem to the best of their ability.

Collaboration

In STEM lessons, students work with their classmates towards a common goal. Collaborative, hands-on activities allow each student to contribute and shine. Students practice working as a team, listening to one another, and seeing each other’s point of view. When a task is accomplished by the entire class, everyone celebrates in the success, and no one is left out.

Critical Thinking

STEM lessons also require students to use analytical and critical-thinking skills to look for patterns, make predictions, determine if their predictions are correct, and then use data to support their claim. Students learn to make decisions based on scientific data that supports the best solution. This gives them practice in the skills they will need to make informed decisions in their everyday lives.

Problem Solving

In open-ended STEM assignments, there may be multiple ways to successfully solve the problem, and students work to come up with their own solutions. This gives them confidence to find their own solutions to real world problems.

Adaptability

STEM lessons help students embrace the idea that it’s OK to fail multiple times before they succeed. It’s like a game where students can restart and try again as many times as they need to be successful.

Did you know?

Working on STEM projects helps students develop into critical-thinking collaborators who can think abstractly and approach problems from multiple angles to find practical solutions to the best of their ability. STEM lessons give students practice in these ever-important life skills. Transferring this STEM thinking into everyday problems will only help foster their current and future success.