Engaging Preschoolers in STEAM Education: An Adaptation of a Nano-Literacy Program in Distance Education

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a program in nanoscience and nanotechnology (NST) to pre-school children through distance education. The activities followed the teaching learning sequence (TLS) methodology and dealt with: a) the nano scale and size, b) exposing children to appropriate instruments/tools through which they investigated elements of the nanoworld and c) raising pre-school children’s awareness of applications of nanotechnology, based on the interdisciplinary STEAM approach. For this reason, a series of organized activities which had been implemented at an earlier time in a kindergarten setting were redesigned to meet the current needs of the children in the context of distance learning during the pandemic lockdown. The results from the implementation of the learning sequence were very encouraging in terms of the perceptual and exploratory abilities of the preschool children. By the end of the program, the children were able to identify "nano" size materials. In addition, they seemed to be able to reflect on the application of nanotechnology in their daily lives.