STEAMing and ST 2 REAMing your STEM Programme
By Dr Kenneth Wesson
“ Drawing does for the brain during the day what dreaming does for the brain at night .”
– Kenneth Wesson
It does not stretch the imagination to surmise that 19 th century proponents of the 3R ’ s did not foresee the day when technology and engineering would be considered “ basic education .” In the 21 st century , here we are .
Sharing Good Practice
There is a common misconception that disciplinary standards must be taught / assessed independently . Educational researcher , Bob Marzano states that it would take approximately 25 years for educators to accomplish that task . STEAM and ST2REAM are the antidotes to that instructional misunderstanding . Although some educators have fallen prey to the notion that STEM education is overwhelming , others recognize its benefits . More importantly , many are now expanding into the STEAM and ST2REAM models of learning .
While STEAM incorporates an “ A ” for art , ST2REAM unifies the disciplines of Science , Technology , Thematic instruction , Reading / Language Arts , Engineering , and Mathematics through engaging integrated contexts where problem-based learning ( PBL ) presents the STEM fields where students learn how to act and think like a scientist or engineer . This permits students an opportunity to experience the dynamic real-world conditions that produce scientific knowledge .
STEM / STEAM / ST2REAM Disciplines
As our ancestors encountered problematic situations , they crafted means to identify , describe , measure , examine , categorize , and resolve those challenges with tools , techniques , and inventions . They learned to make connections between the natural world and the principles of physics to solve the problems confronting them . Early mankind survived and thrived by deploying STEM strategies before there was “ STEM .”
The old adage “ A picture is worth 1000 words ” suggests that many concepts and processes cannot be described with words alone . This is particularly true in STEM . Early humans conceived of names for concrete objects and animals well before generating abstract terms . Artistic and verbal representations captured their physical world . From the Lascaux cave paintings to the Roman aqueducts , evidence abounds that recorded art ( drawings ) preceded recorded words by approximately 15,000 years , suggesting that the practical integration of the complementary STEAM fields merged together with the interdependent language skills of speaking and listening as our ancestors produced engineering solutions . Understandably , every noted university during the 18 th and 20 th centuries had a “ College of Arts and Sciences ,” because of their perceived indisputable nexus . In practice , each of these subjects contributes different varieties of steps towards the problem solution endpoint .
Teachers who are overwhelmed by the idea of teaching engineering should be mindful that all engineering begins with a design , which is a drawing . The instructional on-ramp to engineering is by means of art . Any teacher recognizing this connection is one step closer to successfully teaching STEAM and engineering . Whether brainstorming ideas or designing a product , drawings ( nonlinguistic organizers ) make thinking more visible and actionable .
Sequencing STEAM and ST2REAM instruction (“ ID-HIS ”)
1 . Introduce an engineering problem / scientific phenomenon : experience the “ it ” ( first-hand ).
2 . Discourse : describe their observations ( the “ what ”) through dialogues , taking notes .
Class Time
3 . Hypothesize : construct explanations ( the “ why ” and under which conditions - the “ when ”).
4 . Illustrate : draw pictures explaining the processes ( science ) or product ( engineering ) ( the “ how ” labeling parts with key vocabulary .)
5 . Summarize : write claims with illustrations explaining their conclusions using data , evidence , and reasoning (“ making thinking visible ”).
According to neuroscientist John Medina , students who hear information will have a 10 % recall three days later . However , adding a picture increases recall to the 65 % figure . For all learners , memory duration is enhanced by visual material . Conceptual understanding is also boosted by visualization . Consequently , “ aha ” moments are frequently followed by , “ Oh , now I see !” indicating a peak of insightfulness .
Education that is organized in the ways I have described transcends the traditional subject-matter boundaries , allowing for a “ thinking ” curriculum . The true purpose of a holistic education is not to teach science , technology , engineering , mathematics or any specific discipline . Our mission in education instead is to teach students how to “ think ” and solve problems in real-world contexts , and to do so without the restrictive lenses of a single discipline . The word “ cognition ” means “ to know together .” Achieving this educational mission will require replacing our traditional curriculum delivery systems with an increasing emphasis on the interdependence of the STEAM and ST2REAM disciplines .
| | Jan - Feb 2017 |
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