From S.T.E.M to S.T.E.A.M

A recent trend in arts integrated learning has begun to take hold in several schools across the country. A new learning program called STEM, (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), integrates these four disciplines throughout the curriculum. However, some schools have taken it one step further and changed the STEM program to STEAM. The added "A" stands for the arts!

This fall, Robbinsdale Schools in Robbinsdale, Minnesota will be launching a new "STEAM" school for grades K-5 in an effort to take pressure off of other schools in the district that are reaching capacity. The school district originally agreed on the STEM program, but then decided that the city had too long and too rich of a history in the arts to not incorporate them in the curriculum. On choosing the STEAM program, Tia Clasen, a district spokeswoman, said "We have such a rich tradition in the arts, it seemed like such a seamless fit."

STEAM programs have been gaining popularity all across the country in recent years and another district in Minnesota, the Mounds View School District, plans to introduce the program into all three of its middle schools in the fall of 2012. The curriculum combines the five listed disciplines for a well-rounded, engaging, innovative education. To learn more about why Robbinsdale School District chose the STEAM program, click here!

The "hot" new concept of STEAM is also having an impact at the university level. Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio now offers a course for art and music education majors called STEAM3. This uniquely designed course uses the creative arts to teach science and mathematics. The class combines the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine with art and music.

The concept for this new innovative course came about when Edgar Hardy, a former chemist and former director of research for the Monsanto Company in Dayton, approached Herb Dregalla, chair of the Department of Music, about designing a course that combined these disciplines. The first STEAM3 class was taught in the Fall of 2008 and continues to grow and take shape. The select few art and music education majors selected for this experimental course believe it had a profound effect on their students and their teaching methods. To read more about the STEAM3 project at Wright State and discover what the professors and students have to say about using the arts and music to teach science and math, click here!

To learn more about what you can do to advocate for the arts in your school district, please visit our website at www.yaindy.org.

Intern Angelina