STEAM in Action

Purpose & objective

Many people will tell you why it is important to add an ‘A’ for arts into STEM education, but few people talk about what it really looks like in the classroom today. Learn about how an elementary school changed their art and typing classes into something more. From transforming spaces to transforming thinking, participants will learn about how we have mixed a cardboard arcade with augmented reality, 3D printing with ceramics, Google Apps with worm composting, and more.

I teach in a K-5 STEAM Lab on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. As a developmental research school, we are a public school with the same testing and accountability requirements of other public schools in Florida. Our school created the STEAM Lab five years ago to help ensure that our students were ready for computer based testing. Over the last five year this preparation happened seamlessly along with authentic, meaningful learning opportunities.

As an elementary specialist, I see all K-5 classes once every 4 days for 50 minutes on a rotating basis. My STEAM classes each cover 6 units each year: Digital Citizenship, Computer Skills, Coding and Robotics, Earthenware Explorations, and New Technology. Each of these topics are covered with activities and projects that relate to the various STEAM disciplines. For example, students may post their artwork to Artsonia along with a reflective artist statement, without realizing that they are using the computer to publish grade appropriate writing.

From weeklong projects to stand alone lessons, participants will learn how to integrate science, technology, engineering, art, and math to make learning more meaningful to students. Sample projects will be shared and participants will be provided with the link to a list of electronic resources discussed in the session.

Outline

* Why STEAM?
* Set up of the STEAM Lab and how the space was transformed
* Sample projects & Resources
- Earthenware Exploration (ceramics using 3D printed M.C. Escher rolling pins and ceramics projects connected to classroom standards)
- Tracking vermicomposting (worm composting) using G-Suite for Education
- Augmented reality instructions at the school cardboard arcade
- Environmental poster contests
- Field trip to art museum with digital interactions
- Pumpkin auction & Baseball card style stats
- Blacklight Art Show
- STEAM Dots for International Dot Day
- Green screen sky camera videos
- Ozobot circulatory system model
- Coding projects (Code.org, Tynker, etc.)
- Robotics (Wonder Workshop, Sphero, Ozobot)
- App smashing Green Screen and Aurasma to put students “in” their artwork
*Resources and audience ideas (will provide participants with digital opportunities to backchannel during presentation)

Supporting research

The Effect of STEAM Education on Elementary School Student’s Creativity Improvement (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-35264-5_16)