STEAM Foundational Courses builds students' curiosity, questioning skills, observation skills, research skills, and human-centric-solutions design thinking.
Samples of Students Projects from STEAM Foundational Courses
taught using, Transformative Education Framework
Details of the Foundational Courses
Digital Storytelling Course
Students will explore, observe, and research social issues and effectively articulate their findings through a multimedia white-board animation project, based on industry best practices.
“Research on the human brain has shown it is predisposed to think in the terms of a story. This predisposition is continuously reinforced and strengthened throughout the life of your brain. Not only can you program your mind with a story — you can program someone else’s mind.” ― Isaiah Hankel, Author of Black Hole Focus: How Intelligent People Can Create a Powerful Purpose for Their Lives
This course will be taught using the Transformative Education Framework.
Benefits of Digital Storytelling Course:
- Builds technology competency
- Builds Analytical and Research skills
- Practice disruptive thinking
- Builds creative and innovative ideas
- Learn script writing
- Voice narration and recording
- Effective communication skills
- 21st century information sharing and visual expression
- Practice Critical thinking and logical reasoning
Analytical Writer Course
In this workshop students will learn three types of Analysis- Rhetorical, Process, and Causal Analysis. They will exercise and develop their analytical skills and articulate their analytical reasoning through a project that would be in the form of effective blog writing.
The Argumentation session in this course is structured to ensure that the outcome is not about winning the argument, but rather to spark intellectual curiosity.
“Take the perspective of a journalist or scientist. Really study what's around you. What are people wearing, what do the interiors of buildings look like, what noises do you hear? If you bring your analytical powers to bear, you can make almost anything interesting.” - Gretchen Rubin
Exceptional blogs written by our students will be published on our blog sites.
This course will be taught using the Transformative Education Framework.
The use of ANALYSIS in college and beyond:
- Analysis is an integral part of writing and organizing ideas.
- You need to analyze things to determine the similarities and differences, to classify them, to synthesize, and to critique a topic for further research and understanding.
- Growth Mindset - You would also find it a useful exercise to analyze yourself – helps improve time management, organization skills, effectiveness, and learning.
- Analysis itself can aid understanding and articulation
Naturalist Designer Course
Students will learn what is designing and understand the difference between Design, Science, and Arts. The culmination of Art and Math is an essential interdisciplinary skill for any Designer. Students will learn mathematical concepts and practice these concepts through design projects that involve observing nature’s forms and designs through these mathematical lenses.
Students will step into the role of an Industrial Designer!
“The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: creative and holistic ‘right-brain’ thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.” –Daniel Pink (An Author who studied law, and writes about work and management topics)
Our Naturalist Designer workshop builds the following skills:
- Creativity
- Observation ability
- Deeper insights
- Research
- Logical planning
- Problem-solving ability
- Empathy and appreciation
- Uncover new needs
- Understand the process of Industrial Designing
You can design the way you learn, work, lead, create and innovate. The design way of thinking can be applied to many aspects of your life and work
The purpose of design, ultimately, in our view, is to improve the quality of life for people and the planet.
This course will be taught using the Transformative Education Framework.
Public Speaking & Communications Course
Children’s Innovation Center equips next generation of socially responsible leaders and change-makers with knowledge, professional skills, and research skills.
“The secret of CHANGE is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new” - Socrates
In this workshop, through our instructor guided sessions, students will explore the world around them, make observations, and conduct research on the observations they make. Students will then share their findings through a project-based activity that would range from preparation and effective speech writing to delivering powerful persuasive presentations by adopting best practices.
“A speaker should approach his preparation not by what he wants to say, but by what he wants to learn.” ― Todd Stocker
This course is taught using the Transformative Education Framework.
Benefits of our Public Speaking & Communications course:
- Learn proper preparation techniques
- Speech writing
- Use of technology
- Build research skills
- Learn how to make deeper insights on observations
- Voice expression of ideas
- Build Interpersonal skills
- Build Communication skills
- Argumentation & listening Skills
Testimonials - STEAM Courses
"I always look for good programs to keep my kids busy over the summer. Children's Innovation Center was the perfect place for my daughter. Shanti's program did not disappoint. My child enjoyed the course curriculum and projects that were assigned. She really felt comfortable with the place and it turned out to be a really great learning experience along with an awesome environment. Thank you Shanti!" - AJ. Parent of 8th Grader
"I had an amazing time at Children's Innovation Center during the summer. I enjoyed the class structure as it really was a cool environment to be in and I also made some new friends too. The thing I liked most was the digital storytelling program. It was fun to learn about a new subject and being able to create an informative presentation about it. Ms. Shanti is a really good teacher and I would highly recommend other kids take her courses." - Arianna, Student 8th Grade
"Thank you for a well thought-out camp this summer. My daughter enjoyed an enriching environment and learned a variety of soft-skills which are not easy to acquire from elsewhere. I enjoyed watching her ideas come live through animation and design. As a parent, the camp gave me an opportunity to see the immense potential of the kids that was being kindled every day. The program was especially helpful in slowly getting the kids out of their comfort zone of doing things their text books or teachers told them. As the program progressed, I could see how it helped enhance the strengths of each individual child. I hope more and more kids can take advantage of this wonderful program." - Vidya, Parent of 8th Grader
"This camp was unique, as it taught us more life-skills than any other summer camp, I've attended. It showed us the importance of thinking out of the box, observing, and asking questions about nature. I especially enjoyed the digital storytelling course, analytical writer course, and the public speaking course, which had us exploring multiple topics from our daily lives. " - Shreya, Student 8th Grade
"Children's Innovation Center is a very helpful program that helped me with the skills that i need such as public speaking and writing blogs. I wrote a blog for the first time at Children's Innovation Center within only 2 days, which also surprised my parents!" - Jack, Student 10th Grade