Live Webinars: March 2023

What does STEM in preschool look like?

It’s something you already do every day

Event details

This event has concluded.

We will be holding more webinars throughtout the year.

• Watch the video recording
• Access a PDF of the presentation slides

For many early childhood educators and teachers, the increasing emphasis on STEM education can perhaps feel a bit daunting.

What we do know is STEM education is happening in centres every day – you might just call it something different. Sorting objects, making patterns, describing position, water, or block play. They’re all part of STEM teaching moments.

In this 30-minute webinar, we’ll talk about STEM and discover how many of the everyday activities you do in your centre are already STEM-based.

You’ll learn:

• Why STEM education is important in preschool
• What it looks like in a preschool setting
• Examples of minor adjustments you can do to your existing activities to make them more STEM focussed

We’ll spend the last 10 minutes of the webinar taking any questions you have.

This is a free webinar brought to you by Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) and a specialist education team from the STEM Education Research Centre (SERC) at the University of Canberra.

Dr Kevin Larkin

Kevin started his career as a primary classroom teacher and spent 14 years as deputy principal. He now inspires the next generation of preschool and primary teachers as an Associate Professor (Mathematics Education) at Griffith University. Kevin specialises in STEM education in early years education, mathematics education in primary and middle school contexts, and pre-service teacher mathematics education.

Kevin has received numerous awards for his teaching, including Griffith University Teacher of the Year in 2016, a National Citation for Inspiring Learning in 2017, and the Australian University Teacher of the Year Award in 2018.

He was part of the team that developed the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) Program.

Dr Tracy Logan

Tracy specialises in mathematics education at the University of Canberra. Her work investigates how students’ spatial reasoning (the ability to manipulate objects and images in your mind) is critical for success in mathematics. Tracy’s research also shows the impact that targeted activities can have on improving a student’s spatial reasoning skills.

Tracy teaches mathematics education and STEM education to undergraduate early childhood and primary pre-service teachers and was part of the team that developed the Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) Program.