What is STEAM?
STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. In the school setting, STEAM is an interdisciplinary approach to learning. When these areas are taught in an integrated way, students are better able to appreciate how each part is necessary for the success of any complex, real world project.
The idea behind STEAM education is to prepare students for successful careers in the 21st century workforce. We live in a time of knowledge and information explosion. Our children will be working in jobs that don’t even exist today. One thing which is certain about careers of the future is that they will involve constant change. STEAM education seeks to teach students to be creative, innovative, critical thinkers; all skills needed for adapting to change. It engages students in project based learning, where they are often given real world engineering challenges. Teams of students work together to seek multiple solutions to these challenges. They learn that failure is sometimes part of the process and they should seek to try again and improve upon ideas. If students develop skills needed to think deeply and critically, they will be prepared to become the innovators and leaders of our future.
