STEAM is an educational discipline that aims to spark an interest and lifelong love of the arts and sciences in children from an early age. Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math are similar fields of study in that they all involve creative processes and none uses just one method for inquiry and investigation. Teaching relevant, in-demand skills that will prepare students to become innovators in an ever-evolving world is paramount, not only for the future of the students themselves but for the future of the country.
STEAM empowers teachers to employ project-based learning that crosses each of the five disciplines and fosters an inclusive learning environment in which all students are able to engage and contribute. As opposed to traditional models of teaching, educators using the STEAM framework bring the disciplines together, leveraging the synergy between the modeling process and math and science content, for example, in order to blur the boundaries between modeling techniques and scientific/mathematical thinking. Through this holistic approach, students are able to exercise both sides of their brain at once.
The interplay between art and science is highlighted in an article titled “Communicating Science Concepts Through Art: 21st Century Skills in Practice,” by Sandy Buczynski, an associate professor with the University of San Diego’s Master of Education program, and three co-authors.
“There is a dynamic synergy between the visual arts and the natural sciences,” according to the article. “For example, science relies heavily on individuals with visual-art skills to render detailed illustrations, depicting everything from atoms to zebras. Likewise, artists apply analytic, linear and logical thinking to compose and scale their work of art.”
Buczynski and her co-authors write: “These parallel spaces of science and art are pulled toward each other by the education needs of the 21st century.” STEAM education, they contend, is particularly important in the scientific disciplines because, “The next generation of scientists will need to develop their communication skills through both traditional means of writing and speaking, as well as more artistic means including illustrating, animating, videography, cartooning and model building. (See the full article.)
In one real-life example of STEAM in action, an Andover, Mass., high school drew the spotlight for its approach to teaching geometry through the lens of art. “Through a scavenger hunt at a local museum, math and art students come to understand that scale in geometry is the same thing as perspective in art,” Andover High teacher Meghan Michaud said in a U.S. News article.
Beyond the classroom, both scientists and engineers use models — including sketches, diagrams, mathematical relationships, simulations and physical models — to make predictions about the likely behavior of a system. They also collect data to evaluate the predictions and possibly revise the model as a result. However, many engineers are not particularly comfortable with sketching; so connecting them with basic artistic skills through STEAM, and equipping them to better “see” their ideas, can help them become better engineers.
Also considered to be very helpful in preparing secondary students to succeed in higher education, STEAM has gained popularity among educators, parents, administrators, corporations and other institutions.
Why is STEAM so Important?
In today’s world, setting students up for future success means exposing them to these disciplines holistically in order to develop their critical thinking skills.
“Education is under pressure to respond to a changing world,” education writer Jeevan Vasagar asserts in a Financial Times article. “As repetitive tasks are eroded by technology and outsourcing, the ability to solve novel problems has become increasingly vital.”
And the earlier students are exposed to the STEAM disciplines, the better. In a study by Microsoft, 4 in 5 STEM college students (78%) said they decided to study STEM in high school or earlier, and one in five (21%) decided in middle school or earlier. Yet, only 1 in 5 STEM college students feel that their K–12 education prepared them extremely well for their college courses in STEM. There also appears to be a major disparity in the female to male ratio when it comes to those employed in STEM fields.
Getting more girls interested in STEAM disciplines is another facet of the movement.
Not only does a STEAM framework teach students how to think critically, problem solve and use creativity, it prepares students to work in fields that are poised for growth. A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth in STEM and STEAM-related occupations of 8% between now and 2029, compared to 3.4% for non-STEM occupations. It also lists median annual wages of $86,980 for STEM/STEAM jobs, compared to $39,810 for all occupations.
Even for students who don’t choose a career in one of the STEM/STEAM fields, the skills students gain from a STEAM education can be translated into almost any career.
“Educating students in STEM subjects (if taught correctly) prepares students for life, regardless of the profession they choose to follow,” technology innovator and President of Enterra Solutions Stephen F. DeAngelis says in an article in Wired. “Those subjects teach students how to think critically and how to solve problems — skills that can be used throughout life to help them get through tough times and take advantage of opportunities whenever they appear.”
An important part of this educational approach is that students who are taught under a STEAM framework are not just taught the subject matter but they are taught how to learn, how to ask questions, how to experiment and how to create.
STEM vs. STEAM
Before there was STEAM, there was STEM. The key innovator credited with updating STEM to STEAM by adding the arts is Georgette Yakman, an engineering and technology teacher who was the founding researcher of the STEAM educational framework in 2006.
However, the change was not about just “adding another thing” to STEM. Yakman explains that: “STEAM is about more than converging the fine arts and design thinking into STEM fields. The liberal arts are, the ‘who & why,’ the reasoning, to the ‘what & how’ of STEM.”
What is the History of STEM?
The acronym STEM was reportedly introduced in 2001 by scientific administrators at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which had previously used the acronym SMET. More generally, America’s expanded emphasis on science and technology education dates back at least to the early days of the so-called “Space Race” between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which kicked into high gear when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the Earth, in 1957.
Why the “A” in STEAM is Important in Education
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), one of the early champions of adding the arts to the original STEM framework to create STEAM, said that doing so emphasizes the vitally important “symbiosis between the arts and sciences.” According to RISD, “The goal is to foster the true innovation that comes with combining the mind of a scientist or technologist with that of an artist or designer.” Former RISD President John Maeda, an early influencer for STEAM, has emphasized the idea that design thinking and creativity are essential ingredients for innovation.
The addition of the ‘A’ (The Arts) to the original STEM discipline to create STEAM is important in part because practices such as modeling, developing explanations and engaging in critique and evaluation (argumentation), have too often been underemphasized in the context of math and science education.
Adding “the Arts” to STEM to create STEAM is about “incorporating creative thinking and applied arts in real situations,” according to SteamPoweredFamily.com, whose article “What is STEM and STEAM? A Guide for Parents and Educators” asserts that, “Art is about discovering and creating ingenious ways of problem solving, integrating principles or presenting information. Picture an architect, they use engineering, math, technology, science and arts to create stunning buildings and structures.”
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