An innovative age for education

In our ultra-connected, ever-changing world, traditional learning methods are no longer the ideal choice for equipping students with the knowledge they need to tackle real-world problems. Historically, traditional teaching has alienated important elements of education from each other and drawn a clear distinction between the classroom and life outside of school, forcing students to ask the question, “when will I use this?”

STEM and hands-oneducation is starting to replace traditional learning methods, connecting topics to each other and enabling students to directly relate classroom activities to real-world experiences.

The aim of STEM education, alongside inspiring students to make real-world connections, is to empower individuals with the skills to succeed in a modern world, thanks to its components of science, technology, engineering, and math.

What does the A in STEAM stand for?

The A in STEAM stands for “arts”, which is a relatively recent but important addition. It ushers a new approach in education that will allow students to be more creative in solving problems. It has provided the right balance for the learners not only to be analytical and technical, but also to be innovative.

Arts are an important component of a truly balanced curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the changing world. The scientifically inclined must also learn to become expressive and creative through the arts.

The rise of artificial intelligence will render many repetitive and technical jobs obsolete. Humans will have the difficulty to compete with A.I. in the job market. However, humans can have the competitive advantage in the creative fields, which can aid scientific and technological endeavors. Instead of a disjointed approach in problem-solving, the arts can make the highly technical aspects more cohesive and focused.

When was the A in STEAM added?

Historically, the adding of the arts in the STEM curriculum began with the desire of American educators to make the young American students more globally competitive. It has its roots in the various tests such as the International Student Assessment (PISA) administered Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Program. In international tests for junior high school students aged 15 years old, the U.S. has consistently been in the middle rank among developed countries in science and math subjects.

This has prompted many educators and policymakers to make some reforms in the mid 1990s when the issue caught the attention of the media and the general public. First, the STEM curriculum was developed to have a more holistic and integrated approach.

Several years later, the idea of adding arts in the STEM curriculum began to take hold. On December 15, 2015, then president Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds act (ESSA) into law. The STEAM curriculum in high school education is part of the mandates of the law.

Why was arts included in STEAM?

Arts was included in the original STEM curriculum as a strategy to develop the creativity, ingenuity, and communication skills of students. Many scientifically inclined students might not be as strong when it comes to communication and expressions. Hence, they may find it difficult later in life to be part of a team and solve problems creatively. Adding arts into STEM helps in solving these issues.

Incorporating the arts

Putting the A in STEM to create STEAM learning celebrates the use of creative practices alongside technical analysis, eliminating epistemic injustice, and allowing students to take a multi-disciplined, inclusive approach to problem-solving - something that they will unquestionably require in our modern age.

Whether or not students connect with the arts, bringing creative elements into STEM subjects offers definite benefits. It makes STEM more accessible, understandable, and provides a capacity for learning by design.

Despite STEAM learning being a current, modern-day methodology, the principle has actually been around for a long time, with more examples being the multimedia, immersive-experience lectures given by Charles and Ray Eames at the University of Georgia in the 1950s. Two of the most important designers in American history, this husband and wife duo are a great example of incorporating the arts into essential learning.

The need for creativity

As well as providing an obvious balance of elements, creativity is an essential tool when it comes to problem-solving. When it comes to future employment, for example, creativity was found to be the most desirable skill in 2019, during a study undertaken by LinkedIn, and a study by Arts Education in America found that 72% of business leaders looked for creativity above everything else when hiring.

Students have also responded positively to instances of a more creative approach, with enhanced performance and a more personalized response evident in STEAM-centered classes. A more creative approach to subjects such as math and science will help engage students, strengthen long-term memory, and stimulate the right-side of the brain (reserved for creativity and emotion), as well as the logical/analytical left.

How to put the A into STEAM learning

There are many methods you can adopt in order to incorporate the arts into STEM learning. These include:

• Using choice boards - Presenting students with various options on how they’d like to explore a subject stimulates the emotional and creative side of the brain. Options can include various forms of research, discussion, and presentation.
• Implementing art-based assessments - While art in the traditional sense might not be the strongest suit of all students, encouraging them to find their own artistic way of presenting their findings will allow them to solve new problems and provide a great opportunity for reflection.
• Letting students make doodle notes - Shown to enhance memorization and allowing students to tackle complex subjects from another angle, doodle notes are a quick and easy way to incorporate the arts into STEM subjects.
• Encouraging students to create their own quiz - Not only will this encourage students to think differently when approaching a topic, it will also nurture their teamwork and social skills if you divide them into groups.
• Holding open discussions on topics without a right or wrong answer - Empower students to harness their critical thinking and relate a subject directly to personal experience by encouraging open discussions.
• Ending the topic with a result-display session - By asking students to present their final findings in various forms, skills such as public speaking, creativity, IT proficiency, and organization are enhanced.

The Arduino Student Kit

Another innovative and exciting approach to STEAM learning is the Arduino Student Kit. Providing an interactive experience, the kit can even be used for remote teaching. Giving students the chance to truly harness their creative learning skills, each kit is designed in a way to provide multiple outcomes, teaching users the basics of programming, coding, and electronics without the need for prior experience.

Allowing students to work at their own pace and engage with software that reflects real-world scenarios, the kit has been used in classrooms all over the world for exciting projects such as battling robots, building solar panel circuits, and measuring plant moisture.

To purchase the Arduino Student Kit, find your country's distributor, or buy online.