Playful STEAM Learning in the Early Years: An Educator's Guide to Screen-Free Explorations (Early Childhood Education Series) - Softcover

Sullivan, Amanda; Strawhacker, Amanda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807787086 ISBN 13: 9780807787083

Publisher: Teachers' College Press, 2025

Synopsis

'This essential guide shows readers developmentally appropriate and equitable approaches to deliver important STEAM skills to young children in ways that are both impactful and fun.' -Julie Dobrow Tufts University

Decades of research has shown that introducing STEM content like coding and engineering during the foundational early childhood years can lead to many benefits such as improving children's number sense problem-solving skills and sequencing ability. Unfortunately the costs of STEM technologies can be a barrier for many early childhood educators. Additionally many digital tools and apps are not playful or developmentally appropriate for young learners and can be less inclusive of students who have been historically excluded from STEM.

This book addresses these barriers by demonstrating how to leverage an interdisciplinary STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics) approach to pique the curiosity of young students through play-based learning. The authors provide evidence-based hands-on approaches as well as a practical framework to effectively integrate STEAM learning in the early grades (pre-K to 3rd grade). Readers will explore new ways to play alongside their young learners to make powerful STEAM discoveries and foster a lifelong love of learning.

Book Features:

• Provides tips and strategies rooted in existing frameworks and guidelines as well as the authors' original research on the cognitive and socioemotional benefits of STEAM experiences.
• Empowers early childhood educators working in any setting (informal formal or home settings).
• Describes a new framework for the equitable design and implementation of play-based STEAM learning in early childhood settings.

About this title

About the Author

Amanda Sullivan is a senior researcher at the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and co-creator of the ScratchJr Coding Cards: Creative Coding Activities.

Amanda Strawhacker is the STEAM curriculum coordinator at Schechter Boston school in Massachusetts and has contributed to the development of commercially available educational STEAM products.

Edition details

• Publisher: Teachers' College Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807787086
• ISBN 13: 9780807787083
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192