“STEAM is an educational framework that brings reality into the classroom”.

During this session, we were learning about turning STEM into STEAM.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, maths and mathematics. It is in an effort to get children more enagaged with these subjects and and allow them to be capable of working within these fields in their future careers. However, what these subjects lack is a fundamental element of creativity and innovation and that is where STEAM comes in. STEAM is the integration of the arts into STEM subjects.

According to Education Closet (2017), STEAM creates students who are willing to “take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process” and describes these learners as the “innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century”.

These two videos explain why STEAM is fundamental, and how the arts can be successfully integrated into STEM subjects.

While I have seen STEM being implented in schools, I have yet to see evidence of STEAM. At the moment from the research that I have done it seems that STEAM, while it has really taken off in America it has yet to implemented as such in the Scotland. Creativity is what essentially makes us human (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013)and is at the heart of so many things, including careers in fields such as engineering and science. I believe that STEAM is a way to create a whole rounded educational experience that creates successful art integration in our schools and truly enhances STEM subjects. By embracing the arts teachers can “provide a pallet of learning” and allow STEM to reach new heights.

“STEAM removes limitations and replaces them with wonder, critique, inquiry, and innovation” (Education Closet, 2017).

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper-Collins.

Education Closet. (2017) What is Steam? [Online] Available: http://educationcloset.com/steam/what-is-steam/ [Accessed 9 April 2017]