A two-day educator training session sponsored by Dell Technologies.

Learners who are ready to make advancements that will shape the rest of the century and beyond tend to be excited by flexible, open-ended, project-based, real-world learning situations. These types of problem-solving opportunities not only teach content skills, but instill curiosity, which is fundamental to lifelong learning, and help to develop communication and teamwork skills — as well as the freedom and responsibility that comes from taking charge of their own learning.

Looking ahead at the new year, we’re excited to be launching new cybersecurity lessons, professional development cycles on climate change and new, free resources for families. To give you a preview, we spoke to one of our expert curriculum developers at EiE^®, Derek Butterton, who shared insights with us into the things educators have been asking for and the resources we are creating in response to those needs.

We know elementary school is a critical time for students’ career interests. By the end of fifth grade, some students have already decided to pursue a career in STEM, while others have concluded such a career is “unthinkable” (DeWitt, 2011). The good news is that teaching about professions at the elementary level can affect this trajectory: students with greater knowledge of STEM careers are more likely to aspire to careers in those fields. (Blotnicky, 2018).