STEM SMART Parenting

Alan Zollman; Lisa Hoffman; Emily K. Suh

doi:10.5771/9798881801168

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Copyright year: 2025
ISBN-Print: 979-8-8818-0115-1
ISBN-Online: 979-8-8818-0116-8
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 204
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
1. Why Focus on STEM Education? No access
2. What Qualities Do Kids Need for STEM Success? No access
3. How Can We Help Our Children Develop STEM SMART Skills? No access
4. What If My Kid Isn’t Interested in STEM? No access
5. There’s Not Just One Way to Be STEM SMART No access
6. Don’t Lose the STEM in STEAM No access
7. How STEM SMART Developed No access
8. How to Use This Book No access
1. “It’s okay if things are hard.” No access
2. Helicopter Parenting and Lawnmower Parents No access
3. Stopping the Lawnmower No access
4. Developing a Mindset for Productive Struggle No access
5. Words Matter: Don’t Raise a Praise Addict No access
6. Words Matter: Show Kids We Believe in Them No access
7. The Joy of a Challenge No access
8. S Is Not for Stubbornness No access
9. 1. 1. “It’s okay if problems are tough.” No access
    2. “Brains act like muscles.” No access
    3. “I believe in you.” No access
    4. “Looking back, what do you think?” No access
  2. 1. “This will be easy.” No access
    2. “Maybe this just isn’t your thing.” No access
    3. “I’ll just do it myself.” No access
  3. 1. Ask Questions to Help Children Find Alternative Solutions No access
    2. Ask a Child for Help No access
    3. Choose Activities Just Above a Child’s Current Ability No access
    4. Accept That Productive Struggle Is Inefficient No access
10. Productive Struggle Is Complex No access
1. “Mistakes are how we learn.” No access
2. Differences of Mistakes: Miscalculation or a Conceptual Misunderstanding No access
3. Perils of Perfectionism No access
4. Frank Talk about Fragility No access
5. STEM Anxiety No access
6. 1. 1. “Yet.” No access
    2. “Learning takes time.” No access
    3. “Help me understand your thinking.” No access
    4. “Let’s think about this for a minute.” No access
    5. “So what did we learn?” No access
    6. “We don’t have to be perfect.” No access
    7. “Isn’t this fun?” No access
  2. 1. “I was always bad at math.” No access
    2. “Don’t ask why—just get it done.” No access
  3. 1. Look for the Logic in Your Child’s Errors No access
    2. Narrate Daily Tasks for Children No access
    3. Encourage Accountability Rather Than Blame No access
    4. Ease the Pressure to Keep Learning by Making It Fun No access
1. “STEM is everywhere and for everyone.” No access
2. Why Do We Need the A in SMART? What Does “STEM for All” Mean? No access
3. Why All Children Need the A in SMART No access
4. All Means All Sexes and Genders No access
5. All Means All Races, Cultures, and Languages No access
6. All Means All Abilities No access
7. All Means All Locations No access
8. All Means All Interests No access
9. All Means All Social Groups, Not Just Nerds and Geeks No access
10. All Means in All Media—What Kids See and What Kids Hear No access
11. Beyond the Media: The Importance of Real-Life STEM Role Models No access
12. What Kids Hear from Us: Communicating Great Expectations No access
13. All Means in All Times and Places No access
14. 1. 1. “Interesting idea—maybe you could invent that!” No access
    2. “What problems would you like to solve when you grow up?” No access
    3. “I could see you doing that.” No access
  2. 1. “Stay within the lines.” No access
    2. “You’re just smarter than the other kids.” No access
  3. The Danger of What We Don’t Say No access
  4. 1. Make STEM Connections to Activities Kids Already Like No access
    2. Point Out How We All Use and Benefit from STEM Every Day No access
    3. Be Honest with Ourselves about Our STEM Stereotypes No access
    4. Introduce STEM Role Models Who Look Like Our Children . . . and Those Who Don’t No access
    5. Find Stories of Role Models to Paint a Bigger Picture for Your Child No access
    6. Remember That Children Can Develop STEM SMART Skills in Diverse Ways No access
    7. Give All Your Kids Opportunities to Contribute No access
    8. Tell the Untold Stories No access
1. “Go ahead and try it! Challenge yourself.” No access
2. Intellectual Risk Comes from Curiosity and a Sense of Wonder No access
3. Embrace the Questions No access
4. Adults Have to Take Risks to Allow Children to Take Risks No access
5. Rewarding Risk-Taking Means Giving Kids Time and Space No access
6. Breaking Our Own Boundaries No access
7. Expertise Is Not Always the Goal No access
8. When Children Aren’t Interested in Taking Risks No access
9. 1. 1. “I wonder how that works. I wonder why that happens.” No access
    2. “What a good question!” No access
    3. “Here’s a chance to learn something new!” No access
    4. “You can let fear advise you, but don’t let it control you.” No access
  2. 1. “That’s a bad idea.” No access
    2. “Don’t get dirty!” No access
    3. “You’re too slow.” No access
    4. “Don’t even think about it.” No access
  3. 1. Give Children Time to Tinker No access
    2. Create Intentional Environments That Reward Risk-Taking No access
    3. Value the Object of Your Child’s Unique Curiosity No access
    4. Think Tools Rather Than Toy Kits No access
    5. Give Children a Space in Which to Keep Their Discoveries No access
    6. Offer Opportunities for Kids to Share Their Work No access
    7. Preserve Analog Time in a Digital World No access
    8. Give Children Some of Your Unplugged Attention and Experience Wonder Together No access
1. “Think before you trust.” No access
2. Stop and Think: What Does It Mean to Think Critically? No access
3. Evaluating Online Information No access
4. Outside the Box: Encouraging Divergent Thinking No access
5. Sorting through the Junk (Science): Separating Fact from Myth No access
6. 1. 1. “What do you think? Why is that?” No access
    2. “I wonder where they got their information.” No access
    3. “How could we verify if that is true?” No access
    4. “Let’s look at this from another perspective.” No access
    5. “Stop and think.” No access
    6. “I think you can answer this yourself. Take a few seconds and think it through.” No access
  2. 1. “Don’t ask why. Just get it done.” No access
    2. “Because I said so.” No access
  3. 1. Shift Your Default Response from Answering to Asking No access
    2. Consider Kids’ Odd Ideas No access
    3. Encourage Kids to Record Thoughts and Ideas No access
    4. Spot Bad Arguments Together No access
    5. Would You Rather? No access
    6. Consider Activities Such as Speech and Debate No access
  4. 1. Look Beyond “Kits” to Toys That Allow Divergent Thinking No access
    2. Utilize Reliable Digital Resources to Teach Media Literacy No access
    3. Spot Faulty Arguments Together No access
    4. When in Doubt, Ask a Librarian No access
7. The Role of Rationality No access
1. SMARTIE: Internally and Externally Focused Life Skills No access
2. Internal Skills: Keeping Yourself Together and Getting Things Done(Self-Regulation and Executive Function) No access
3. External Skills: No STEM SMART Kid Is an Island No access
1. 1. Does This Activity Allow Both Success and Challenge? No access
  2. Does the Material or Game Require Time and Effort to Accomplish a Goal? No access
  3. Does the Activity Allow for Improvement and Confidence Building over Time? No access
2. 1. Does the Toy or Product Have Only One Set, Scripted Procedure, or Does It Allow Creativity? No access
  2. Does the Resource Have More Than One Solution? No access
  3. Does the Activity Require Trial and Error? No access
  4. Does the Activity Require Strategic Guessing? No access
  5. Does the Activity Reward Trying Again and Adjusting Strategies after Failure? No access
  6. Does the Resource Have a Built-In Feedback Loop? No access
  7. Do Kids Know How Mistakes Have Improved Our World? No access
3. 1. Does the Toy or Resource Support Your Child’s Natural Interests? No access
  2. Have You Looked for Books, Media, and Toys That Feature Children from Diverse Backgrounds and with Diverse Abilities? No access
  3. For Children Who Love History, Have You Considered Stories That Depict Stem Smart Skills from Different Periods in Time? No access
  4. Do Our STEM SMART Stories Have a Wide Variety of Storytellers? No access
  5. Have You Considered Resources That Support STEM SMART Skills Even If They Don’t Focus on STEM Content? No access
  6. How Can You Arrange a Way for Children to Keep and Showcase Their Collections? No access
4. 1. Does the Resource Give Children Time to Tinker? No access
  2. Do You Play Games That Reward Taking Risks? No access
  3. Are You Willing to Allow Acceptable Risks? No access
  4. Does This Activity Encourage Child-Led Play? No access
  5. Does the Activity Encourage Initiative? No access
5. 1. Does the Activity Reward Divergent Thinking? No access
  2. Does the Toy Allow Children to Create Their Own Questions and Solutions? No access
  3. Does the Activity Allow Children to Organize Their Thinking? No access
  4. Does the Activity Allow Children to Spot Problems in Critical Thinking? No access
  5. Does This Activity Encourage Patient Observation Rather Than Instant Gratification? No access
6. 1. Have You Considered STEM SMART Playthings That Aren’t Toys at All? No access
  2. How Can You Increase the Amount of Unplugged Attention You Can Give Your Child? No access
7. 1. You Can Find Video Games and Apps Designed for Every Activity under the Sun. But Should You? No access
8. It Ain’t the Toy That Makes the Difference No access
1. Changing Pressures in Schools No access
2. Why It’s Good That Schools Teach Differently Now No access
3. STEM SMART at Different Ages and Stages No access
4. STEM Enrichment and Acceleration No access
5. How to Talk with Your Child’s Teacher No access
6. Supporting STEM SMART Schools Outside the Classroom No access
1. Why a STEM SMART Identity? No access
2. How Do Kids Develop STEM SMART Identities? No access
3. 1. Growth Mindset Self-Identity No access
  2. Belonging No access
  3. Purpose and Relevance No access
4. 1. Don’t Give Up No access
  2. Expect Success and Name Success When You See It No access
  3. Talk the Talk No access
  4. Walk the Walk No access
  5. Watch Who Has Control No access
  6. Look Out for Learned Helplessness No access
  7. Keep Developing Your Own STEM SMART Mindset, Tenacity, and Thinking Skills No access
  8. Remember Role Models Must Be Honest No access
5. It’s Their STEM SMART Identity, Not Ours No access
6. STEM SMART Is a Process, Not a Product No access
1. Chapter 1 No access
2. Chapter 2 No access
3. Chapter 3 No access
4. Chapter 4 No access
5. Chapter 5 No access
6. Chapter 6 No access
7. Chapter 7 No access
8. Chapter 8 No access
9. Chapter 9 No access
10. Chapter 10 No access
Bibliography No access Pages 179 - 194
Index No access Pages 195 - 202
About the Authors No access Pages 203 - 204