The Transitions from STEM to STEAM

In the early 2000s, the state of science, technology, engineering, and math education troubled policy makers in the United States. Together, these four subjects became known as STEM, and there was a greater push to ensure they are properly taught in schools. The impetus behind this push largely arose from a landscape of jobs that need more skilled workers with a knowledge of these subjects, as our world became more focused on technology and its implementation in everyday life. In more recent years, however, there has been a shift to add arts into this focus, making the acronym now STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math). The government itself developed a Congressional STEAM Caucus, and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 included the arts and music as part of a “well-rounded education.” However, there isn’t a clear outline or framework of what exactly a STEAM education is, or how schools and classrooms are supposed to be implementing this learning. Even among the academic articles about STEAM, there is disagreement about STEAM, its definition and implementation.

What is the “A” in STEAM?

In 2018, a pair of researchers, Elaine Perignat and Jen Katz-Buonincontro from Drexel University, published a literature review of STEAM education. They identified two problems within the literature surrounding STEAM education: a lack of agreement on the meaning of “art” in STEAMs, and a lack of agreement on the implementation of STEAM learning. They identified four main definitions of the arts in STEAM: non-STEM, visual art, arts education, and pedagogical practices. Non-STEM refers to any subject that is not captured by the STEM subjects, often used to refer to things like the humanities. Visual art refers only to art forms such as painting or sculpting. Arts education refers to many different kinds of arts like visual or performing. Pedagogical practices include things like project-based learning or design-based learning.

A lack of clarity about the definition of the arts still persists. I conducted a (less-extensive) literature review which showed similar disparities (see Figure 1). Arts education was the most commonly used definition, but there still exists a lack of clarity on what the arts in STEAM are supposed to mean. Without clear messaging on this topic, implementation is difficult. Teachers already do not feel equipped to implement STEAM in their classroom, how can they be expected to implement it if there is not a unified definition of what it means to incorporate the arts in with the STEM subjects?

How should STEAM be implemented?

Perignat and Katz-Buonincontro also identified and defined different implementation models for merging the STEAM subjects: transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and arts-integration. Transdisciplinary refers to disciplines that are fully merged without lines differentiating them. Interdisciplinary refers to bringing disciplines together under a theme, but allowing each to remain distinct. Multidisciplinary refers to collaboration among the disciplines without any merging. Cross-disciplinary refers to looking at one discipline through the lens of another discipline. Arts-integration refers to using arts projects or ideas in the other disciplines.

Once again, there is still disagreement around what the implementation of STEAM looks like. Continuing to use this framework, the literature review found that arts-integration was the most frequent, followed closely by interdisciplinary. Similar to ideas surrounding the definition of the arts in STEAM, there is a diversity of opinions on how to put STEAM into practice within a classroom. Often, articles don’t address this issue.  Many articles refer to their thoughts on the implementation of STEAM not as an opinion, but rather as the only course of action. However, there is clearly some disagreement about the best way to work across or between the disciplines in STEAM. Once again, without a unified definition of what it means to implement STEAM, it is difficult to see how it can be used in a classroom.

Arts in the STEM classroom

Initially, educators created the STEM acronym to emphasize the importance of these subjects. Since introducing STEAM rather than STEM, there has also been a shift in how the acronym is viewed. Now, the focus is on how the subjects work together, rather than a discussion of the importance each subject has on its own. With this shift, STEM subjects view the arts in STEAM as a tool to further their own subjects. STEM background articles often discuss topics such as the soft skills like creativity and collaboration as a reason for why the arts should be used in their classrooms, rather than presenting the merit in taking arts classes, even for STEM students. STEM subjects often use STEAM to argue for a specific pedagogical approach, as is described in an article from an engineering perspective that uses STEAM to make the case for project-based learning over lecture-based within the engineering field.

The arts are often viewed as a path to attracting those who do not feel represented in STEM subjects. For instance, robotics events and competitions are often brought up as a way to attract girls to STEM subjects, as they offer the chance to be more creative beyond just learning programming. While there may be an issue of representation within the STEM subjects, and it is incredibly beneficial to figure out ways for people who are not usually represented to be more involved in these subjects, the arts have more to offer.

STEM in the arts classroom

There are absolutely justifiable reasons for why arts education should exist within the STEM subjects, such as higher rates of long-term retention when the arts are integrated into lessons, but why should the STEM subjects exist within an arts classroom? And how would that really work? 

In answer to the first question, while it doesn’t appear to be written about quite as much, there is a lot for arts students to gain from the STEM subjects. Carnegie Mellon University has IDeATe, or Integrated Design, Arts, and Technology Network, which offers courses that aim to “merge technology and creativity and provide learning opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.” In speaking with the Assistant Director of IDeATe, Kelly Delaney, it was clear that she has seen the value that students get from working with both arts and technology. She states that students have reported “thinking about their own discipline differently… not just ‘I didn’t know artists could do that’... but ‘I didn’t know that I as a designer could tackle this.’”

Many models exist to implement STEAM techniques and learning in a classroom. For instance, LEGO has done extensive work to build kits and products specifically for classrooms that merge STEAM disciplines in an integrated way. Students access arts skills through designing/building robots and technology skills through programming the robots. While these areas may seem advanced, even young students can pick up on them with surprising speed. In fact, Dr. Kim Hyatt of Team RobotiX, a nonprofit focused on providing robotics education to K-12 students, witnessed its success firsthand when her son and some of his friends completed a teacher training course in robotics before  sixth grade. While robots may not seem like the first option, artists like Madeline Gannon are using robots in their art, so learning these skills may be useful for future artists.

There are also more arts-focused integration options available. Recently, more and more technology is being used as a part of the arts. Visual art can stem from things like a 3D printer, or a laser cutter, and electronic music continues to grow in practice. Plus, it cannot be ignored that arts areas such as design rely on technology in order to practice. In schools, places like makerspaces offer students the opportunity to create art with these new technologies. Other options can include things such as e-textiles, a robot for young students that can encourage students working on artistic endeavors. No matter the integration method chosen, there are many ways in which the STEM subjects can be leveraged in an arts classroom.

The value of a STEAM education

Regardless of the exact approach taken, each of the disciplines within STEAM has something to offer to every student. For educators in both the arts and the STEM subjects, it is useful to remember that there is something to be learned from other disciplines, and at the same time, each discipline has something to offer on its own. Often, the arts are taken for granted, with a focus on arts pedagogy, or other skills learned rather than the inherent value of an art education. But within the arts, it can also be difficult to see how the STEM subjects can fit in. However, there are only more opportunities being made to incorporate these ideas into an arts education. One of the wonderful things about art is that it has no limit, and adding new ideas and approaches can only lead to an increase in the new and unique perspectives that we see within art itself.

John Maeda, the former president of the Rhode Island School of Design, spoke passionately and wonderfully on his own experience with STEAM, and the value it has added to his own life. If you have an extra hour and a half to spare, it’s a fantastic argument for STEAM education.

Special thanks to Jeff Poulin, Dr. Kim Hyatt, and Kelly Delaney for their assistance with this research.

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