Integrating microscopy, art, and humanities to power STEAM learning in biology

Abstract

Close observation is central to both art and science as practitioners in both disciplines describe, compare, and seek to understand or interpret the natural world. Indeed, as the artist and writer Guy Davenport noted, “The vision by which we discover the hidden in nature is sometimes called science, sometimes called art.” In the last decade, the movement to integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with arts and humanities (i.e., STEAM learning) has gained traction in K–12 education. A recent National Academies report (2018) examines the case for integrating humanities and the arts in undergraduate STEM education. Microscopy provides an excellent vehicle for engaging all kinds of students in integrative (STEAM) learning about biology and for encouraging them to observe the world closely. In this essay adapted from my keynote address to the American Microscopical Society in 2020, I highlight activities and approaches that use microscopy to engage learners of all kinds, examine how using microscopes changes students’ attitudes about science and biology, and explore the intersection of microscopy and visual art.

Providing interactive and field laboratories while teaching university marine biology classes in an era of COVID‐19

“…The articles in this special issue of Invertebrate Biology provide many innovative ideas of how to teach about invertebrates under different circumstances. Some articles, such as Lindsay (2021) and Nova et al, 2021) provide ideas for situations in which the students retain some access to campus or to specialized equipment. Others, such as Eugene et al (2021), Middlebrooks and Salewski (2021), and Schulze et al (2021) work well for situations in which students cannot access campus but retain some access to the field sites being studied.…”

Molluscs, morphology, and metaphor in Pablo Neruda's STEAMiest poem

“…Poems with strong biological content contribute to scientific literacy among writers and readers (Binns, 2021) and can serve as STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics + Arts) materials that inspire education, research, and creative works (Magrane & Cokinos, 2016; McVey & Pechenik, 2020; Moya‐Méndez & Zwart, 2022). At a time when interdisciplinary research and STEAM education and initiatives are building bridges among the silos of academia (Bennett & Roth, 2019; Brennan, 2018; Lindsay, 2021; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018; cf. Snow, 1961), re‐examining classic works can surface previously unrecognized STEAM potential.…”

“…Their biologically sophisticated literary works are likely to reach a different audience than exclusively scientific works—and in more affective and esthetic fashions—and thus have the potential to enhance biological appreciation and literacy more broadly. Although it is not always possible to effectively illustrate or translate every aspect of an original work (see Binns, 2021, for examples), optimizing the biological fidelity of illustration and translation maximizes the power of the work to convey beauty, to reinforce interdisciplinary bridges between the arts and the sciences (e.g., Lindsay, 2021; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018), and to support growing STEAM endeavors in science communication and in conservation (e.g., Bennett & Roth, 2019; Brennan, 2018).…”

Innovation in teaching and learning invertebrate zoology in remote and online classrooms

“…Lindsay (2021) helps us as scientists make the connection that observation is the first step in both the scientific method and also in art. Through that connection, we can learn about the natural world.…”