CC-BY, Unsplash Introduction This educational activity was carried out during the skills workshops, in the context of the natural science lesson as well as in the IT lesson. It took 6 teaching hours and 34 students of the fifth grade of the primary school participated. The theme is related to the human body and the anatomy of the hand. The students built a hand using cardboard, straws and rope to learn about the anatomy of the human hand. With the help of Lego WeDo, they programmed the hand to open and close and move its fingers. Procedure First, students were divided into mixed ability groups ..read more

CC-BY, Unsplash Sustainability is a critical aspect of addressing environmental challenges and ensuring the well-being of our planet and future generations. Biomimicry and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are two powerful approaches that can play significant roles in achieving sustainability goals. Biomimicry is an approach that draws inspiration from nature’s designs, systems, and processes to create sustainable solutions. It involves observing and understanding the strategies that plants, animals, and ecosystems have developed over millions of years to adapt and thriv ..read more

CC-BY, Unsplash All the students from our school and kindergarten (aged 3-14 years) are involved in our specific Hands-on Science Program. Kindergarten children are amazing scientists. They observe and explore with an open mind, curiosity and great enthusiasm. Often these wonderful scientists draw conclusions so scientifically accurate that they leave you speechless. They use simple words, according to their young age, but the statements show a clear mind and common sense. A strong connection to the natural environment. In primary school our little scientists gather knowledge and upgrade their ..read more

CC-BY, Unsplash Teaching foreign languages in general education, particularly English, is one of the necessary components. Knowing foreign languages contributes to the general education of students, and develops their cognitive abilities, speech and thinking. To make language learning lessons interesting, I often use game methods, such as the method of role-playing games. The game activates the mental activity of students. With the help of games, children learn social functions and develop norms of behaviour. So, let’s say, if the game is used as an educational exercise during the initial cons ..read more

CC-BY, provided by author The Eco Club project was implemented with the children of the 3rd grade of Abovyan Primary School No. 10 (named after V. Hambardzumyan), from 2022 to 2023. There is a problem of waste sorting all over the world, including Armenia. It is difficult to separate paper, plastic, glass and metal from a huge amount of garbage in landfills. People throw all the garbage together, so there is a problem of sorting and processing it. All this refers to the protection of the Earth. Therefore, we decided to create an “eco club”, thanks to which students get knowledge about: Enviro ..read more

CC-BY, provided by author What are the Sustainable Development Goals? Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals): It is a universal call to action to eradicate poverty, protect our planet and ensure that all people live in peace and prosperity. The major objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals are: To end extreme poverty, To combat inequality and injustice, and To fix climate change. Sustainable Development Goals have three dimensions: society, environment and economy, and it is possible to achieve sustainability when these dimensions are considered as a whole. What is STEM Educati ..read more

CC-BY, provided by the author While using STEM education, teachers implicitly aim for students to choose STEM fields in the future as well as trying to develop 21st century skills in students. One of the reasons for this aim is the idea that employment in STEM professions will increase by 2031 (1).  However, is it enough just to carry out STEM activities for students to be interested in STEM professions? As someone who has been implementing STEM education in classrooms for about 7 years, I think it is not enough. In addition to doing STEM activities, talking to experts and asking question ..read more

CC-BY, provided by the author In today’s fast-paced world, where cities glow brightly even during the night, the concept of a dark sky filled with twinkling stars seems like a distant memory. Light pollution, the excessive and misdirected artificial lighting that obscures our view of the stars, has become a global concern. However, by educating and inspiring the younger generation, we can foster a love for dark skies and empower children to take action against light pollution. The first step in encouraging children to embrace dark skies is to raise awareness about light pollution and its conse ..read more

CC-By: Unsplash Parents should be included as partners in their child’s STEM learning, since it has been proven that family involvement in the kindergarten environment has many benefits for children. Parents can prepare their children to become the creators and inventors of tomorrow with STEM. By taking traditional learning concepts and twisting them to favor hands-on experiences and real-world applications at home, parents can foster the development of their children’s innovative minds. Fortunately, STEM is all around us; we just need to be aware of it. With every block game comes small const ..read more

CC-BY, provided by the author Some STEAM topics related to physics, for example, motion, friction, acceleration etc. and related to Genetics, for example protein and DNA structure, can be difficult to understand for 12-13 year-old students or sometimes even boring. Starting from that I decided to use a different approach more engaging and more motivating: tinkering! I collected some waste materials and put them upon my teacher’s desk. I suggested to my students to form small groups (2-4 persons) and I proposed challenges. Later we reflected and discovered the physics behind our handmade object ..read more