While robotics is all the rage in middle school and high school programs, children can also benefit from educational robots early in life. With robotics and STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math), young learners get a head start in a variety of complex topics, ranging from recognizing patterns to language learning.
Take a look at these five ways that robotics and STEAM education offer children a competitive advantage from a young age.
Pattern Recognition
Educational robots bring complex science and engineering into the classroom, in a very tangible way. They offer young learners a way to study complex subjects while starting from simple concepts. Using robotics, students can recognize and program patterns, they can repeat commands, and they can learn languages. They also get a chance to see their work come to life when an educational robot carries out the tasks that have been assigned to it.
Understanding Technology
As these children grow older, they will face a world filled with change and technological advances. They’ll need a firm grasp of the technology at their fingertips in order to keep up with their education and become competitive in the future. Giving students an early understanding of technological concepts will set them up for success, whether they are introduced to programming, hardware, and software, or even Artificial Intelligence. The more they know about these topics now, the better prepared they will be to master the technology in the future.
Inclusive Learning
Robotics is a fun way for children to learn, and it also fosters a culture of inclusivity. With the educational robots available today, students at any level can interact with and learn from these interactive machines. A variety of skills and talents go into making and operating a successful robot, and studies have shown that children with disabilities or on the Autism spectrum learn well from robots too. Robotics education also offers an inclusive environment where girls and boys can both master advanced concepts, even though the fields of technology and engineering tend to be dominated by male workers. With this unique approach to education, students of any background can be successful.
Monitoring Progress
One of the benefits of using educational robots with pre-school children is the ability to track and monitor the student’s progress. Many robots offer the option to record the tasks that are completed throughout the day, giving teachers and parents an effective way to track learning outcomes. Often, robots even come with built-in sensors that report what is happening around them. Whether children are engaged with deep learning or reinforcement of the concepts that have already been introduced, records of their progress are available with the push of a button.
Empowerment
No matter how students use robotics to learn, they will likely come away feeling empowered. STEAM education and robotics easily demonstrate to young learners that the work they do in school can have an impact in the world around them. Learners will work to master complex concepts at an early age, which will inspire confidence in their educational progress. They’ll also come away knowing that they can build and program robots that have a useful purpose in the real world.
These are just a few of the many ways children benefit from an early introduction to STEAM education and robotics. The results of this type of educational programming produce learners who are critical thinkers, inclusive workers, and empowered individuals. These students gain the tools they need to understand complexity, compete in a highly technological world, and build innovative solutions for the future.
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