Benefits Of STEAM Education
In recent years, there’s been an increased emphasis on STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), for students of all ages. Partially this is because of society’s increasing dependency on technology and partially because girls and minority students were being left behind in these core subjects.
Somewhere in the race to adopt STEM into classes and schools, however, something got left behind. That’s why STEAM education is gaining ground – in elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools across the country.
In STEAM, the “A” stands for arts, and teachers and administrators everywhere are starting to embrace the notion that education based on “left-brain” thinking and “right-brain” thinking creates more engaged, more well-rounded students.
STEM education is based on subjects that, for the most part, are unbending and fact-based. Whereas art education encourages creativity, taking risks, learning at your own pace, and self-expression. The interdisciplinary approach – STEAM – can be incredibly powerful. Thanks to STEAM, students can perceive themselves as “scientist-artists” and not have to choose between one or the other. And they can learn to value the arts, even if their primary interests are STEM-related.
Other benefits of STEAM education include:
- a more stimulating, less rigid approach to learning (and life)
- 3-dimensional learning
- hands-on and experiential learning
- incorporation of context into learning
- a goal-oriented and process-oriented method of learning
- encouragement of creativity
- a richer learning experience for students, no matter where they fall on the “scientist” or “artist” spectrum
Online Professional Development Course On STEAM Education
If you’d like to learn more about STEAM education, we offer an online professional development course for teachers on STEAM. In this 3-credit online course, you’ll learn how to combine arts and STEM. The online course (which is approved for LAUSD salary points and is available for graduate level credit) covers a variety of topics, including an overview of STEAM and how to include the arts in everyday activities.
Click here to learn more about our 100% online STEAM education course for teachers.