STEM leaders

Carreen Long is Preschool Co-ordinator at St Thomas School and Preschool, the 2018 Early STEM award winner for SA. She has 30 years experience in early childhood education. Carren says when she thinks of STEM, she thinks… of wonder; fostering children’s and adults’ curiosity; children working creatively; children using their imagination; children exploring and discovering the things they are interested in; teaching resourcefulness; enhancing engagement, joy and excitement; engaging children in research; supporting children with the construction of theories; collaboration…

Michelle says… STEM is a vehicle to support children’s innate curiosity about the world. Children love to explore their environment, want to find out how things function, how man-made objects or machines work and how new things can be constructed, created and built. STEM exploration teaches children so much about our society and explains the order, patterns and relationships of our world.

Tanya Steers has loved science and maths her whole life and has a degree in molecular genetics. She’s excited that she now has the opportunity to share her love of STEM with the children of the next generation.

For Carla Silvestri, STEM exploration means happy and engaged children: Children working together, learning from each other, experimenting with different materials and resources and exploring technology. Inquiry-based STEM practices respect children, their prior knowledge and ideas. The hands-on nature of experimenting and exploring…

Our first featured STEM leader, Rajaa Halabi shares why early-years STEM education is important to her, how she integrates STEM learning in her service and the role she plays as an educator in STEM learning.