This student activity is not because the teacher is "lazy" in teaching, but in the future students will face different industrial trends where there will be problems that require literacy-based critical, logical, and analytical thinking skills.
Students need to be trained from an early age to have the right mindset and solutions.
Unlike the baby-boomer generation and generation X students in several countries who apply memory-based education rather than being focused on stimulating their way of thinking, generations Z and Y currently face different problems so their approach to the education system is also different.
Very tight industry competition, new problems that are increasingly complex, and standardization of world institutions towards changing industry players mean that we cannot only rely on intellectually intelligent human resources who are not able to optimize their knowledge to solve a problem.
The education method that is currently suitable to be applied is STEAM. It is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Graduates of a STEAM-based education are predicted to become a hot topic for companies in various industrial sectors in the future. According to a report released by the National Science Foundation, 80 percent of tomorrow's jobs require graduates who have STEAM skills.
What are the benefits of STEAM for children's education in Indonesia? The focus of this method is to shape the way students think about a problem. Students are assisted in integrating and applying knowledge from various disciplines so that they are able to think holistically, and can connect one kind of knowledge to another.
A way of thinking like this is very beneficial for any industry. Employees are not only required to comply with whatever management requires, but are have to be able to criticize an instruction and policy so that a dialogue will be created between management thinking and employee thinking. This is a very positive culture for a business organization.
In most industrialized countries, the average organizational structure is horizontal so that the levels between subordinates and top management are not too far apart, making it easier for employees at lower levels to provide feedback at higher levels.
To develop such human resources, the STEAM method is able to strengthen the 5C competencies in students, namely Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Character. As a result, students become more confident individuals and have strong learning goals.
STEAM can integrate experiential learning that students get through project-based learning so that it is very effective and efficient in helping students stay focused. Such competencies are certainly not built overnight, but must go through a long, measurable, and verifiable process by the industry.
Of the 5C qualifications, one of those parts is Communication, which means that students are able to master strong English literacy.
Then at a certain point, the STEAM-based education model encourages the creation of a global minded generation who have the power of thinking, critical power, and the ability to empower each other in the work team.
Companies and industry will be greatly helped by the presence of human resources and management who are always creative in finding solutions to existing problems which do not refer to previous solutions.
They also really hope that the discourse and management plan that is being rolled out can be criticized and weak points discovered by the core team, not just considered perfect.
