STEM Education in Early Childhood

Speaker: Karan Young

Before children read fluently, calculate logically, or think scientifically, the brain must first build the architecture for learning — a foundation on which all future learning depends. During these early critical years, the brain forms more than one million new neural connections every second; what is used is strengthened, and what is unused is pruned.

This presentation connects modern brain research with Montessori’s understanding of movement, language, independence, attention, self-regulation and nature — an educational approach increasingly supported by neuroscience.

As education struggles to prepare children for tomorrow’s world, the question becomes: what kinds of experiences most profoundly develop the human mind?

Karan Young is a highly experienced and trained educator of young children, ages 2-6, particularly in the Montessori method. She has a BA from the University of Tennessee, a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Loyola University, 2 AMI Montessori diplomas (0-3 and 3-6) as well as a certificate in Brain Based learning. She founded four Int’l Montessori schools, 2 in Helsinki, Finland and 2 in St. Petersburg, Russia which she led for 20 years. She has worked on four continents as an educational leader and guide.