The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. – Albert Einstein, The World As I See It, 1949.
STEAM is curriculum focused on the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math subjects to help students to be able to compete with development of new technology and science. (Tara, Starship Nova Nova Wiki Assets and Playground, Media 111, 2020)
How Art Motivates STEM Learning
A few thoughts from Andy the Science Wiz Allan, of NAA, The National Afterschool Association (https://naaweb.org/professional-development/item/568-full-steam-ahead)
“Science, Technology, Engineering and Math—the subjects called STEM—continue to be a major focal point in education. This urgent focus on STEM came from the growing concern that education was not providing the building blocks necessary for students to achieve successful future employment in an increasingly technical world.
The goal of focusing on STEM is to provide today’s young people with the technical, critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills they will need tomorrow to compete and succeed in a modern job market.
The theory and research behind STEM education has continued to mature, and today there are a growing group of advocates who believe that STEM is missing a key component. That component is the arts! A growing number of educators would like to add art to STEM to turn it into STEAM.
Is STEAM simply a grab for the spotlight from the liberal arts community? As an education professional with 25 years of teaching experience, I am always wary of new acronyms. In education, trends and initiatives come and go. Most initiatives fade quickly, without a positive effect on the actual transfer of knowledge from the teacher to student. Sometimes it’s a lack of funding, sometimes it’s a bad idea, but many times a new idea fails because it doesn’t take into account the myriad demands already in place on teachers and students.
As a newly trained science teacher in the mid-’90s, I did some eye rolling when STEM was first introduced. I was successfully teaching science; how was calling it STEM going to make any difference? Well, history has shown how young and naive I was, and STEM research and implementation has continued to get stronger. The STEM movement has provided a common focus for distilling the skills society needs for a complex future. STEM initiatives have allowed educators to shift their focus from cramming content to practicing the skills that are needed to be technically literate. Science teachers have transitioned from rote blackboard learning and constrained dry recipe card experiments to more fluid, student-centered activities. Today, the focus on STEM has created activities that revolve around critical thinking, problem-solving, communication and collaboration. Will the addition of art add or detract from the successes STEM education has shown?
Many see art and science as being direct opposites. However, this is not true.
Great scientists—like artists—need to be builders, inventors and dreamers. Take Leonardo da Vinci, a great scientist and an amazing artist: This combination is not as rare as you might think. Scientists who have won the Nobel Prize are 17 times more likely than the average scientist to be a painter, 12 times as likely to be a poet and four times as liked to be a musician. There is something about having an artistic side that helps with having success in STEM fields. Expression through art encourages creativity, play and innovation. These are all traits needed for scientific breakthroughs.
Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, once said “The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin … or even different parts of the same continuum, but rather, they are manifestations of the same thing. The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.” Research has shown that there is a strong connection between art and science, as both inspire and demand creative thinking.
Adding art is not about spending less time on STEM, it’s about using art to inject a sense of play and spark a student’s imagination.
Art encourages creative thinking and innovative interpretations. It is important to note that in this context, the word art is used to represent the full spectrum of the liberal arts: language, social studies, physical art, fine art, music and design. Exploring the use of art can provide young people with new and imaginative opportunities for communication and expression. How can a new design be presented? What is the best way to communicate a finding or discovery? How can a prototype be built? The creative processes behind art can be used to drive innovation and find inventive solutions to problems. The addition of art themes inspires young people to be creative and communicate their ideas and findings.
Art can also serve as a pathway to STEM for traditionally underrepresented students.
Not everyone fits the profile for a traditional scientist, and STEM careers today are varied and wide-ranging. The addition of art can provide another avenue for young people to experience success in STEM and aid them in learning the skills they need to be successful in the 21st century. Additionally, it can provide non-science professionals the inspiration that they need to add STEM to their curriculum. If the addition of art provides another means of motivation for STEM learning, then STEAM does not take anything away from STEM, but only adds to it.
Celebrated physicist Richard Feynman once said, “Scientific creativity is imagination in a straitjacket.” Perhaps the arts can loosen that restraint, to the benefit of all.”
Contributed by Andy the Science Wiz, NAA STEM Specialist.
Universal Design
Tara, honoured crewmate aboard Starship Nova Nova, speaks to Principle No. 6 of Universal Design, “Low Physical Effort,” on her website, Tara N. Helms, (https://taranhelms.com/?page_id=156).
Tara’s search for content yielded what I think are an excellent series of videos, produced for the State of Georgia’s Tools for Life program. Each one of nine videos describes one of the nine principles. I liked them so much that I used them throughout my Universal Design pages. Thank you, Tara, for the inspiration, and the source!
Get started with these:
Universal Design (UD) is an approach to design that increases the potential for developing a better quality of life for a wide range of individuals. It is a design process that enables and empowers a diverse population by improving human performance, health and wellness, and social participation (Steinfeld and Maisel, 2012). It creates products, systems, and environments to be as usable as possible by as many people as possible regardless of age, ability or situation. Other terms for Universal Design used around the world include Design for All, Inclusive Design, and Barrier-Free Design. UD terminology and meanings differ from one country to another and often reflect each nation’s societal values. Cultural differences influence how the movement has been adopted in different countries. However, the common goal of social inclusion transcends national laws, policies, and practices.
Universal design is not a fad or a trend but an enduring design approach grounded in the belief that the broad range of human ability is ordinary, not special. Universal design addresses barriers faced by people with disabilities, older people, children, and other populations that are typically overlooked in the design process. UD reduces stigma and provides benefits for all users. For example, building entrances without stairs assist equally someone who moves furniture, pushes a baby stroller, or uses a wheelchair. UD can increase usability of an environment or product without considerably increasing its cost by reducing the need for design modifications later when abilities or circumstances change.
A competitive and global nature of modern business, the flourishing communications technology industry, the international disability movement, and the rapidly growing aging and disabled populations all over the world are driving the increasing demand for more universally usable products, environments, and services.
Universal design is not a synonym for accessibility standards. The UD process differs from one complying with accessibility standards by integrating accessible features throughout the overall design. This difference in process is important because integrating these features throughout results in better design. Additionally, it prevents stigmatization often associated with accessible features that have been added on late in the design process or after it is complete, as a modification. Universal design also differs from accessibility requirements in that accessibility requirements are usually prescriptive whereas universal design is performance based. Universal design does not have minimum requirements but instead addresses usability issues.
(Source: http://www.universaldesign.com/ )