MOOSE JAW — In partnership with Skills Canada Saskatchewan and the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, the Nanan STEM Academy hosted a recent educational summer camp to teach young students about life skills through the hands-on application of science and gaming.
The program began on July 29 and concluded Aug. 2, but organizers plan to host another iteration of the educational camp next summer following its success.
“We use tools such as coding, robotics, e-sports, and 3D printing to make learning fun,” explained Shaun Nanan, the academic director of Nanan STEM Academy Inc.
The purpose of the Nanan STEM Academy is to teach essential skills for the future workforce and provide students with a pathway to success in education. By utilizing tools that range from computer coding to video games such as Minecraft, the program also aims to make learning enjoyable.
One unique approach described by Nanan is the academy’s approach to failure.
Instead of focusing on a student’s grade on a given project or written assessment, he said the academy views failure as a necessary step to learning and it doesn’t penalize mistakes. These failures, he added, are evaluated based on the approach the student takes toward making improvements based on real-world feedback.
To help students develop the tools needed to thrive in today’s rapidly changing economy — and to facilitate students learning from feedback and failures — Nanan STEM Academy has organized its instruction around 10 essential life skills:
- Leadership: involves decision-making, conflict resolution, and delegation
- Character: involves integrity, empathy, and accountability
- Collaboration: involves adaptability, active listening, and communication
- Creativity: includes idea generation, problem identification, and risk-taking
- Communication: involves clear expression, active questioning, and feedback delivery
- Critical thinking: involves analysis, evaluation of evidence, and logical reasoning
- Metacognition: involves self-assessment, goal setting, and developing a learning strategy
- Mindfulness: involves present-moment awareness, stress management, and non-judgmental awareness
- Growth mindset: involves embracing challenges, persistence, and learning from feedback
- Fortitude: involves the development of resilience, patience, and courage
One Grade 8 student who helped as a teacher’s assistant, Joshua Overby, said he accepted the role because he learned the program’s administrators needed some help.
“I want to learn teaching skills,” he said, noting that the best way to develop the skill is through real-world feedback offered by instructing his peers and learning where he needs to focus to improve.
“I’m (also) planning to go into robotics and become a robotics engineer, so I found the course while searching because I was interested in coding. I found this and it was really useful,” he said.
The academy, he explained, helps set up students to learn valuable life skills not taught elsewhere and the earliest steps to personal growth are best learned in a safe environment such as that offered by the academy.
Gabrielle (Bri) is a student from St. Michael Elementary and will be going into Grade 5 this fall. She attended the camp with her friend Clara, who attends Ecole St. Margaret and will be going to Grade 6.
“(The camp is) a lot about growth mindset and leadership skills,” Bri said. “We played esports and then we played Minecraft. If someone died (in the game) we ask why and we try to get better at it each time.
“Right now, we’re making balloon-powered cars,” she said. “So, you have to design the car so the balloon will fit in it (to power the car).”
Both Bri and Clara said they had a lot of fun at the academy, and both girls hope to one day pursue a science-related career that was doubtless inspired by their experiences.
Although concluded, the Nanan STEM Academy’s summer camp was held at the Phoenix Academy, located at 278 Fourth Avenue Northeast.
For more information about the program, visit NananAcademy.com or contact Shaun Nanan by email at Shaun@NananAcademy.com.
To see a full agenda of this year’s programs, visit NananAcademy.com/All-Courses/FutureCamp.
To learn more, an April 29 TED Talk presented by Nanan is available at TEDx Talks by searching for “How to use technology to improve education” on YouTube.
