PUTTING THE
“A ” I N S T E A M
Exploring that exponential power of
combining healthcare and the fine
arts is just one facet of the multi-
dimensional approach at the Linda
Berry Stein College of Fine Arts in
implementing STEAM principles.
While the focus on STEAM
education in the United States has
grown over the past decade,
Dr. Snyder emphasizes that the value
of arts exploration being infused
into scientific study is centuries old.
He harks back to the Renaissance
view of the supreme scientist also
being a supreme artist; of Leonardo
da Vinci and his compatriots
exploring everything from painting
to astronomy, sculpting to geology,
music to engineering.
“At the most basic level, STEAM is
about the recognition that all modes
of scientific inquiry require creative
skill,” Dr. Snyder said.
Today, research reinforces through
data what Renaissance-era students
understood through practice: that
studying art and engaging in the
creative process can help boost
scientific learning and output. A study
published in 2019 by the School of
Education at Johns Hopkins University
in the journal Trends in Neuroscience
and Education found that elementary
school students performing lower than
grade level retained more from science
classes that incorporated the arts –
including singing and drawing – than
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