STEM + Art = STEAM
Why Add Art?
The STEM to STEAM is an initiative originally led by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to add Art and Design to the national agenda of STEM education and research in America. 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.
http://www.risd.edu/about/stem_to_steam/
The objectives of the STEAM movement are to:
- Transform research policy to place Art + Design at the center of STEM
- Encourage integration of Art + Design in K–20 education
- Influence employers to hire artists and designers to drive innovation
STEAM advocates say that to be successful in technical fields, individuals must also be creative and use critical thinking skills which are best developed through exposure to the Arts. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/06/steam_vs_stem_why_we_need_to_put_the_arts_into_stem_education.html
According to former Education Secretary Duncan, “The arts provide us with new ways of thinking, new ways to draw connections…and they help maintain our competitive edge by engendering innovation and creativity.” And National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Landesman has echoed this sentiment, saying, “The arts can no longer be treated as a frill, … arts education is essential to stimulating the creativity and innovation that will prove critical to young Americans competing in a global economy.”
“The jobs in the greatest demand in the future don’t yet exist and will require workers to use technologies that have not yet been invented to solve problems that we don’t yet even know are problems.” Clinton’s former Secretary of Education, Richard Riley
The Benefits of STEAM
Hands-on STEAM projects work to both spark the imagination and to help students develop skills such as problem solving, collaborating, idea generation, design thinking, and tech literacy. These skills set students up for success in STEM, and beyond.
Anne Jolly argues in Education Week that STEAM uses the Arts as an “on-ramp to STEM for underrepresented students.”
The STEAM approach makes STEM more accessible and enjoyable to kids that might otherwise “pass” on subjects that don’t capture their interest or have turned them off in some way (e.g., missing a difficult concept and losing interest in the class, having a boring (or anxious) math teacher, or even not seeing people like them represented in those fields, like female engineers.)
STEAM also helps to close the diversity gap that exists in the STEM fields.
In an increasingly interdisciplinary and digital world, using design methods to approach STEM subjects can make them exciting, relevant and fun to all students, while creating STEM students who think creatively and remain engaged in their learning.
