What is STEAM education and why, in my humble opinion is it better than the much ballyhooed STEM education? STEM education, a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics intensive education, is being touted as a way for students across the nation to stay competitive with an ever increasing flat, globalized economy. I love all those academic disciplines. I love STEM, I do. I've coached Jr. FIRST LEGO League. I've taught Principles of Engineering from the Project Lead the Way canon. I just think when you add the Arts, STEM gets better as it turns into STEAM. We can teach our students STEM, but without Creativity that the Arts are so key in delivering, we're missing something.
I launched a project just over three weeks ago. This mini-arcade game project (that's why we had such an unusual field trip to Chuck E. Cheese) is truly a STEAM project. Students measured, scaled down, reduced, cut, strengthened, glued, measured again, painted, improvised, weighed, tested, and drilled, all while asking the questions "Is this good? Do I like this? If not, what could I do so I might like it more?" These qualitative questions aren't asked with as much frequency in STEM education. STEAM forces kids to think in this increasingly important way.
Finally, I want to show this little video highlighting the game "Hole in One." It's amazing that students are learning very basic principles of electricity while wiring a scavenged sewing machine motor with a dimmer switch to make their machine functional. Yea STEAM!
I launched a project just over three weeks ago. This mini-arcade game project (that's why we had such an unusual field trip to Chuck E. Cheese) is truly a STEAM project. Students measured, scaled down, reduced, cut, strengthened, glued, measured again, painted, improvised, weighed, tested, and drilled, all while asking the questions "Is this good? Do I like this? If not, what could I do so I might like it more?" These qualitative questions aren't asked with as much frequency in STEM education. STEAM forces kids to think in this increasingly important way.
Finally, I want to show this little video highlighting the game "Hole in One." It's amazing that students are learning very basic principles of electricity while wiring a scavenged sewing machine motor with a dimmer switch to make their machine functional. Yea STEAM!