Nurturing Young Thinkers and Creators: Promoting Innovative Skills for Young Children Using STEAM4INNOVATOR Approach and Loose Parts Play

Abstract

Twenty-first Century skills including creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, and collaboration are essential competencies that should be cultivated from the earliest life. This article illustrates the “Little Innovator program”, a guided play-based learning approach developed from two integrated concepts. The first is the STEAM4Innovator approach, which combines science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) with the entrepreneurial concept. The second is Loose parts play, which encourages children’s creativity through exploration using open-ended materials from surrounding environment. The program consisted of four stages include 1) knowing and understanding, 2) thinking broadly and creatively, 3) trying out ideas, and 4) sharing with others. This learning process encourages children to initiate their play, while teachers act as co-players and facilitators. Teachers support learning by providing loose parts, an open-ended materials and environments, fostering a positive learning atmosphere, and selecting stories as entry points for exploration. The implementation of the program demonstrates its potential to promote innovative skills among children 4 - 9 years, particularly in creativity, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. The integration of the STEAM4Innovator approach and Loose parts play offers an effective pathway for developing young children’s innovative skills through child-centered and active learning.