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STEAM education

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STEAM education is an approach to teaching STEM subjects that incorporates artistic skills like creative thinking and design.[1][2] The name derives from the acronym STEM, with an A added to stand for arts. STEAM programs aim to teach students innovation, to think critically, and to use engineering or technology in imaginative designs or creative approaches to real-world problems while building on students' mathematics and science base.[3][4][5]

The STEAM Journal

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Under the leadership of Sara Kapadia who was a graduate student at Claremont Graduate University (CGU), The STEAM Journal was launched in 2013 with the support of the Transdisciplinary program at the university.[6]

STEAM in U.S. education legislation

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An amendment, Bonamici Amendment, added to the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) offered by Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) provides STEAM programs in schools by providing critical federal support for the arts and improving access to the arts for potentially 50 million students, 100,000 schools, and 3 million teachers.[7]

The Creative Coalition support for the legislation

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The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group consisting of members of the U.S. entertainment industry, supported the legislation with the following remarks:[7]

  • Actor and President of The Creative Coalition Tim Daly:

We look forward to President Obama signing the Every Student Succeeds Act into law. STEAM is a tremendous breakthrough that will encourage creativity and innovative thinking vital for our citizenry to remain competitive, and ultimately be successful.

  • Robin Bronk, CEO of The Creative Coalition:

Integrating the ‘A’ into STEM ensures our next generation of leaders is equipped with the critical resources and learning tools that make for the most successful citizens.

STEAM in children's media

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  • Sesame Street's 43rd season continues to focus on STEM but finds ways to integrate art. They state: "This helps make learning STEM concepts relevant and enticing to young children by highlighting how artists use STEM knowledge to enhance their art or solve problems. It also provides context for the importance of STEM knowledge in careers in the arts (e.g. musician, painter, sculptor, and dancer)."[8]
  • MGA Entertainment created a S.T.E.A.M. based franchise Project Mc2.[9]

Criticism of STEAM

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STEM subjects can incorporate art to assist teaching STEM, where art is tool for STEM in the form of STEAM education. However, some criticism holds that art and STEM subjects should be of equal value in the education process.[10]

Other uses of the STEAM acronym

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  • Other meanings of the "A" that have been promoted include agriculture, architecture, and applied mathematics.[11][12]
  • The Rhode Island School of Design has a STEM to STEAM program and at one point maintained an interactive map that showed global STEAM initiatives.[13] Relevant organizations were able to add themselves to the map, though it is no longer available at the location stated in press releases.[14] John Maeda, (2008 to 2013 president of Rhode Island School of Design) has been a champion in bringing the initiative to the political forums of educational policy.
  • Some programs offer STEAM from a base focus like mathematics and science.[2]
  • SteamHead is a non-profit organization that promotes innovation and accessibility in education, focusing on STEAM fields.
  • As part of a $1.5 million Department of Education grant, Wolf Trap's Institute of Education trains and places teaching artists in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. The artists collaborate with the teachers to integrate math and science into the arts.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "STEAM Rising: Why we need to put the arts into STEM education". Slate. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  2. ^ a b Jolly, Anne (18 November 2014). "STEM vs. STEAM: Do the Arts Belong?". Teacher. Education Week: Teacher. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  3. ^ Pomeroy, Steven Ross. "From STEM to STEAM: Science and Art Go Hand-in-Hand". blogs.scientificamerican.com. Scientific American. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  4. ^ Jones, Elena (2022-01-11). "STEM Vs STEAM: Making Room For The Arts". Spiral Toys. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  5. ^ Eger, John (31 May 2011). "National Science Foundation Slowly Turning STEM to STEAM". www.huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  6. ^ "The STEAM Journal | Current Journals | Claremont Colleges". scholarship.claremont.edu. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  7. ^ a b creativecoalition (2015-12-10). "Education Bill Gains STEAM". The Creative Coalition. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  8. ^ Jean-Louis, Rosemary (24 August 2012). "Sesame Street: New Season Focuses on S.T.E.A.M." gpb.org. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  9. ^ Entertainment, M. G. A. "November 8 Is National S.T.E.M./S.T.E.A.M. Day". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  10. ^ Mejias, Sam; Thompson, Naomi; Sedas, Raul Mishael; Rosin, Mark; Soep, Elisabeth; Peppler, Kylie; Roche, Joseph; Wong, Jen; Hurley, Mairéad; Bell, Philip; Bevan, Bronwyn (2021). "The trouble with STEAM and why we use it anyway". Science Education. 105 (2): 209–231. doi:10.1002/sce.21605. ISSN 1098-237X.
  11. ^ "Virginia Tech and Virginia STEAM Academy form strategic partnership to meet critical education needs". Virginia Tech News. 31 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Public Engagement | Academics | RISD".
  13. ^ "Rhode Island School of Design Launches STEAM Map to Demonstrate Global Activity and Support for the Movement". 7 May 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  14. ^ "STEAM Map Debuts on Capitol Hill". 21 May 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  15. ^ Chen, Kelly; Cheers, Imani (31 July 2012). "STEAM Ahead: Merging Arts and Science Education". PBS NewsHour. PBS. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
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