STEMGrow is a student-run program started by high schoolers who wanted younger kids to have a better introduction to STEM than many of us did. Many schools, including our own, have unfortunately faced budget cuts and limited resources for many years, with many courses even being eliminated from our schools entirely. Being passionate about STEM, many of us had to teach ourselves these skills, skills that we now want to share with others. Our goal is to improve STEM education in our community, making it more accessible, engaging, and comprehensive for students of all skill levels.
Many STEM education programs, especially for youth, have the flaw of jumping straight into rote memorization of skills, simply teaching the “how” without the “why.” The truth is that you gain very little by this, as it doesn't foster a deep understanding of the concepts that could be used to apply those skills. True learning requires changing the way we think, developing a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of the material. At STEMGrow, we start with the structural concepts underneath, valuing true understanding of them. Instead of focusing on teaching rote memorization of tasks, we teach the underlying structure of STEM skills. Instead of ignoring these concepts because it is difficult for younger learners to grasp them, we make sure to explain them in a way that is accessible, engaging, and effective. At STEMGrow, our goal isn't for students to finish a project. It's for them to understand it well enough to build the next one on their own.
See the students teaching the program.