PLAY – PASSION - PURPOSE
STEM and STEAM education have become the contemporary catch phrases that promise to remedy this challenge of teaching the new skills required for the changing future. But what exactly is STEM and/or STEAM, and what is it promising?
The STEM spectrum is comprised of 4 subjects and all of their sub-categories. However, we believe that the inclusion of Arts into the STEM model is an indispensable necessity. The Arts are a crucial element in the innovative thought processes that happens holistically in the mind. When it comes to this kind of thinking, children are born geniuses because they have not yet begun to separate phenomena into distinct disciplines. So, why separate an integral part of how we experience the world (artistically) from a learning approach that is meant to be the meta-disciple that pushes the boundaries of creativity.
We at Tinker Labs have developed a number of programs for children 4 – 16 years of age that are designed to supplement and enrich their standard education. Our intention is not to teach them what they need to know in order to pass a standardized test, but to engage their innate curiosity and inspire them to ask questions about the world around them.
- Each one of our programs contains 40 classes
- The programs follow the academic school year
- The 40 classes are divided into 4 sets of 10 classes
- There is a specially designed workbook that accompanies each 10-unit set
- Our teachers are all trained and certified in the Tinker Labs method
- Small classes, up to 10 children, allow for a personalized learning experience
- Each TL Learning Center is designed as a lab that inspires the innovative process
- Each program is designed for a specific ability level (pre-school, elementary)
- The programs introduce certain core themes and build on them throughout the year
- The progression of the programs is designed to incorporate more concepts each year, and to build on their foundational knowledge acquired in the previous courses.