STEAM Activities in the Inclusive Classroom: Intentional Planning and Practice

• Published in: Education sciences Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 1161
• Main Authors: Wade, Clarissa Bunch, Koc, Murat, Searcy, Andreia, Coogle, Christan, Walter, Heather
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.11.2023
• Subjects: Activity programs in education; Autism; Case studies; Children with disabilities; Classrooms; early childhood education; early childhood special education; Educational Environment; Educational Needs; Families & family life; inclusion; Individualized education programs; Individualized Instruction; Instructional design; Language Acquisition; Learning activities; Mathematics education; Mathematics teachers; Pedagogy; Planning; Preschool education; School environment; Science education; Special education; STEAM pedagogy; STEM education; Students; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Technology education; Thinking Skills; UDL; Young Children
• ISSN: 2227-7102; 2227-7102
• DOI: 10.3390/educsci13111161

The promotion of equity and access for all children to learn science is critical in early childhood settings. Considering the benefits of teaching science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM), it is important that educators embed this pedagogy across early childhood settings. In order to promote access in inclusive early childhood settings that include young children from birth to 8 years of age with or without disabilities to STEAM pedagogy, educators need to be intentional about their practice. This article provides a four-step approach to using an intentional framework, universal design for learning (UDL), to plan for and implement STEAM pedagogy in the inclusive classroom. Practical implications are illustrated through examples of an early childhood educator and a child with autism in an inclusive urban education setting.