The
educational curriculum needs to evolve and adapt itself to accurately reflect the
changing realities of life and the work force. Students need to graduate with
skill sets that can directly help them in their chosen profession. This is the
reason a growing number of Quebec elementary and high schools have recently incorporated
the STEAM initiative into their curriculum.
What is STEAM?
STEAM
stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.
It’s an educational approach to learning that taps into each of these subjects.
The STEAM initiative guides students to ask questions, engage in discussions
and apply critical thinking. This approach has many long-term advantages such
as promoting innovation, fostering creative problem solving and shaping a
better world.
Michael Brown, the
principal at Elizabeth Ballantyne Elementary School, couldn’t agree more. Since
officially becoming a STEAM school, he notes a marked increase in student engagement
and conversely, a decrease in the amount of behavioural issues.
Moreover, Brown
adds that the
STEAM approach helps show students the interconnectivity of subject areas. “In
the work force, any job requires a wide range of knowledge and skill sets,” he
says. “We need to educate our students so that they are familiar in different
media. It makes it easier for a teacher to reach the different intelligences as
compared to a traditional curriculum.” Since traditional curriculum isn’t
effective for all learning types, STEAM allows for a broader range of skills to
be acknowledged.
The Value of Art
Before
STEAM became popularized, a more conventional STEM approach was often applied
to learning. It includes the same four scientific components but excludes the
arts. However, many argue the arts are critical.
Kristy Westlake is an educator at St.
Charles Elementary School, another STEAM school. She notes that art is a very
dynamic part of the curriculum and for some students, it’s the only way they
can express themselves and connect to the material. “Integrating art within
STEM/STEAM allows those students to flourish and succeed in ways they may not
otherwise be able to do,” Westlake argues.
STEAM helps break the boundaries between
the arts and sciences. Looking back on our history, many pioneers had a similar
multi-disciplinary approach to knowledge. For example, Leonardo da Vinci not
only excelled as a painter and sculptor, but was also a renowned inventor,
engineer and scientist. Similarly, Albert Einstein spoke of the importance of
creativity within the scientific framework. Both acknowledged that art and
science are essential to our growth as a society.
How STEAM Benefits
Students
So
how does STEAM work in the classroom? Principal Brown says it starts by
fostering collaboration and creative problem solving. For instance, students
may work on a project from initial concept to final product. They brainstorm,
generate ideas and then test those ideas. If they run into obstacles, they go
back to the drawing board and re-work their designs. “We truly learn when we
persevere through mistakes, adapt and move forward,” Brown says. “The process
is more important than the final product as that’s where learning occurs.”
Westlake adds that the whole teaching and
learning dynamic becomes more interesting with STEAM because there’s a tangible
context. It allows students to do real world learning. Every year, her school
picks a general theme and each grade level builds a different STEAM project
inspired by that theme. For example, her class once did a project in
collaboration with Bombardier. The students studied aeronautics
and the forces in Earth’s atmosphere and built prototypes, which they then
tested.
Through a STEAM initiative, students are
encouraged to take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning and persevere
in problem solving. For all professions, ranging from the arts to medicine to
politics, creative problem solving will always be a necessary skill.


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