Unleashing your students ’ creativity through STEAM Education
By Joe Fatheree
Sharing Good Practice
Photos provided by Joe Fatheree of his students ’ project .
I
am constantly searching for new instructional methodologies that inspire my students and deepen their mastery of the subject matter . The arts have provided me with a way to tap into the passions of my students and engage them in the learning process at a level I never thought possible before . The most challenging decision I had to make was to understand a pen and paper test was no longer an adequate form of assessment . Over time , I discovered that traditional assessments did little to actually measure student achievement . Instead , I learned in many cases , those exams were actually limiting to what extent students could showcase their mastery of a subject .
What good was it for my students to get a 100 on a worksheet if they didn ’ t know how to apply the knowledge in the real world ? I wanted to find out what my students could do with that information if I really gave them the opportunity to unleash all of the power from the right side of their brains .
The addition of the arts in my STEM classroom was a game changer . It opened an unlimited number of possibilities as to how my students could demonstrate mastery . Most visitors walk out of my classroom with their mouths open , because they have never been around a group of students who are so willing to take on any subject matter and mold it to create something beautiful .
Secondly , it deepened student engagement to a level I had never seen before . The students in my program were hungry to learn . They were willing to tackle even the most difficult topics , ones that many students would consider boring , with a sense of excitement .
I decided to introduce polymers and 3D printing to my class . I chose to present it by telling the class that they were going to design and 3D print a full sized Iron Man helmet that would make Tony Stark proud . I knew the project was a homerun the second I saw the look on their faces . “ Really , you ’ re serious ? You actually want us to build an Iron Man helmet ?” That ’ s all it took … that and me getting out of their way .
The project required intense research on everything from design features to how plastics could be bonded together . Unfortunately , for most students that ’ s where the learning stops . However , a STEAM classroom requires that students showcase mastery of a topic by applying the acquired information in an artistic way . My students took the information
Class Time
they had gained during the research stage into the CAD lab and launched into the design phase . They broke the helmet down into 15 separate pieces that took over 100 hours to print .
There was much excitement in my classroom the day we printed the first piece . A student ran over to me with the freshly printed piece of plastic in his hand . The glimmer in his eyes told me everything I needed to know . His understanding of plastics , the bonding process , and 3D printing had accelerated to a level that I would have never been able to take him if I had decided to teach the process without the arts .
Word of the project quickly spread around the school . People lined up at the door to see the final product after the paint was added . Think about how often that happens in classrooms in schools around the world . It is a daily encounter in our program , as every student project is viewed as a piece of artwork .
My class is powered by STEAM . The integration of the arts into the program has forever changed how I teach . It provided my students with a blank canvas with which they can paint their next masterpiece .
| | Jan - Feb 2017 |
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