Toward a Philosophy of STEAM in the Anthropocene

STEAM – Arts Integration Frameworks for Transdisciplinarity

“…Definitions STEAM Education STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) education has been taken up as a varied approach to curriculum that seeks to integrate, synthesize, or otherwise combine these disciplines to cultivate inter-or transdisciplinary learning experiences. [11]…”

“…3-STEAM for Transdisciplinarity. As of 2018, new conceptualizations emerge for "arts-focused approaches to STEAM as inspiring transdisciplinary social" [22] and "material possibilities where disciplines meet and coalesce" [11]. Peppler & Wohlwend [4] state that, "The promise of STEAM approaches is that, by coupling STEM and the arts, new understandings and artifacts emerge that transcend either discipline".…”

“…On the other hand, it is worth noting some authors [24] argue that despite the most frequently cited argument for integrating Arts with STEM disciplines being to "bring creativity, design thinking/innovation, aesthetic inquiry, and other qualities that are somehow missing from STEM education" [3], this conceptualization of STEAM fails to recognise that there are "creativity and innovation already within the STEM fields" [11]. Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein [15] demonstrate that creativity and a creative process are, in fact, inherent in all STEAM disciplines: "For at the level of the creative process, scientists, artists, mathematicians, composers, writers, and sculptors use a common set of what we call 'tools for thinking', including emotional feelings, visual images, bodily sensations, reproducible patterns, and analogies.…”

“…The authors also add that "learning to think creatively in one discipline therefore opens the door to understanding creative thinking in all disciplines" [15]. Furthermore, Guyotte [11] argues that arts can offer much more than creativity to STEM, "what STEAM education can offer is the potential for teachers/learners to disrupt traditional disciplinary boundaries and to collaboratively engage with topics and ideas in a critical, nuanced, and interconnected way" [22]. The author claims that such a transdisciplinary approach corresponds to what is needed to address complex contemporary problems [11].…”

Mapping Digital Competence: Students' Maker Literacies in a School's Makerspace

“…Kafai et al (2014) also remind us about the synergistic relationship between technology and aesthetics in makerspace settings and argue that makerspaces are not only about the technology itself, but are also about the aesthetic and cultural aspects of engaging and learning in makerspaces. In addition, research points out the need to address and promote students' critical literacies in makerspaces considering ethics, sustainability, and relationality (Guyotte, 2020;Marsh, 2020).…”