STEM defined as Science, Technology, English and Maths was a term coined to show the merging of all of these subjects to improve education and integration of subjects within education. However this is not a fully inclusive term as it excludes the arts so the push now is to take STEM and make it STEAM- Science, Technology, English, Art and Maths.

STEAM is a movement championed by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and widely adopted by institutions, corporations and individuals.

The objectives of the STEAM movement are to:

• transform research policy to place Art and Design at the center of STEM
• encourage integration of Art and Design in education.
• influence employers to hire artists and designers to drive innovation

(STEAM, 2017)

In the workshop we looked at merging english with art to complete the unit of work we had been looking at on our evocative objects.

For the english side of it we had to write 62 words to sum up our evocative object. For my piece of writing I choose to write the names of family and places that featured in my memory book (my evocative object).  To blend this with art I choose to do my piece of writing in a shape that resembles a finger print. I choose this shape because just like finger prints are unique to a person so are the memories we have and the people in them.

My initial idea was to stick this image down on a large sheet of paper a few times and write the names and places inside over and over again moving outwards until all of the pieces touched. However this proved to ambitious and I was not able to complete my image in this session and that I would have to reconsider my idea and finish it the final week of the module. This is how far I got in this session.

In education: 

Taking STEM and making it STEAM is important in education as currently STEM careers are very male dominated. Perhaps by adding art and creating STEAM it may encourage more woman and girls to take up these careers and even out the balance (Edudemic, 2015). Encouraging more woman into these careers begins at primary school level as this is when pupils will begin to take interest in certain subjects more than others. By providing experiences within STEAM it may peak interest early and encourage more pupils- particularly woman- into STEAM careers. Providing a more even balance of the two genders.

REFERENCES

STEAM. (2017) STEM to STEAM. [Online] Available: http://stemtosteam.org. [Accessed: 02 February 2017].

Edudemic. (2015) Stem vs. Steam. Why the “A” makes a difference. [Online] Available:http://www.edudemic.com/stem-vs-steam-why-the-a-makes-all-the-difference/. [Accessed 02 February 2017]