The trouble with STEAM and why we use it anyway

Abstract

As an emerging field of theory, research, and practice, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) has received attention for its efforts to incorporate the arts into the rubric of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning. In particular, many informal educators have embraced it as an inclusive and authentic approach to engaging young people with STEM. Yet, as with many nascent fields, the conceptualization and usage of STEAM is somewhat ambivalent and weakly theorized. On the one hand, STEAM offers significant promise through its focus on multiple ways of knowing and new pathways to equitable learning. On the other hand, it is often deployed in theory, pedagogy, and practice in ambiguous or potentially problematic ways toward varying ends. This paper attempts to disentangle some of the key tensions and contradictions of the STEAM concept as currently operationalized in educational research, policy, and practice. We pay particular attention to the transformative learning potential supported by contexts where STEAM is conceptualized as both pedagogical and mutually instrumental. That is, neither STEM nor arts are privileged over the other, but both are equally in play. We link the possibilities suggested by this approach to emerging theories for understanding how designing for and surfacing epistemic practices linked to the relevant disciplines being integrated into STEAM programs may point the way toward resolving tensions in inter‐ and transdisciplinary learning approaches.

Zines as Reflective Evaluation Within Interdisciplinary Learning Programmes

“…In their thorough overview of the various contested conceptualisations of the term STEAM, Mejias et al (2021), (p.209) also feature the word "mutual", concluding that STEAM has the most potential for positive impact when the arts is given equal status among the STEM subjects, and both are "mutually instrumental" to one another. Bevan et al (2019) and Mejias et al (2021) present a framework of conjectured STEAM epistemic practices developed through observation of out-ofschool transdisciplinary art and science programmes for youth, including those in Science Gallery Dublin described in Learning Environments and Methods. We adopt a version of this framework, modified by us, as a pedagogical model within which to position zines as a STEAM learning and reflective tool (Figure 1).…”

“…The zine-making sessions outlined in the subsequent sections of this paper asked students to reflect on their learning within an informal STEAM environment and are designed to surface these epistemic practices of STEAM in their own right, as described in the following questions that a zine-maker may ask themselves during one such session. These questions were developed specifically for the zine activity and highlight the adaptability and flexibility of the STEAM pedagogy framework of Mejias et al (2021). This provides an example of how practitioners may examine the STEAM potential of their proposed activities under the three strands of this framework: exploring, meaning-making and critiquing.…”

“…At the Kersnikova Institute, learners aged 10-14 participated in a weeklong series of programming and robotics workshops. The unifying factor between these locations is a pedagogical approach which combines one or more STEM subjects with the arts, and meeting the criteria set out by Mejias et al (2021) of being mutually instrumental and pedagogical, with neither the arts or the STEM discipline given precedence over the other. The learning design of all of these STEAM programmes promotes learner autonomy and agency through problem-solving, open-ended discovery, and exploration.…”

“…Framework for using zines as a STEAM learning and reflective tool. Adapted from(Mejias et al, 2021).3. Defining the problem space-which element of my learning shall I focus on in this tiny booklet?…”

The culture of disciplines: Reconceptualising multi‐subject curricula

“…The role of 'A' in STEAM education STEAM education has risen up the research agenda in recent years (see Yakman, 2010Yakman, , 2017Colucci-Gray et al, 2017;MacDonald et al, 2019;Perignat & Katz-Buonincontro, 2019;Mejias et al, 2021). There are a number of different justifications for the inclusion of the arts in the more familiar STEM acronym, reflecting a range of practice and ideological reasons.…”