STEAM-based Teaming in Middle Schools

STEAM education is a movement that was launched into populated by the Rhode Island School of Design,
that consists of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. STEAM education centers around
creating a curriculum that integrates each field into a comprehensive and creative course for students;
this type of program goes hand in hand with the teaming structure within middle schools. At the middle
level, forming teams dedicated to educating their students based on a STEAM-centered curriculum would
greatly benefit the learning of every student. At the middle level, students learn best in creative and
engaging methods. By creating an integrative STEAM curriculum for middle grade teams, students will
learn via alternative learning styles, and therefore the content will become more relatable and relevant to
students. According to the University of Florida, students are four times more likely to be recognized for
academic achievement, and students that take some form of art each year throughout high school scored
98 points better on their SATs overall, and 43 points higher on the math section. Below, I have
incorporated an interesting graphic created by the University of Florida that details many of the statistical
benefits of incorporating a STEAM-based curriculum into schools. 

I am really interested in how implementing STEAM education programs could affect teaming and student
performance at the middle grade level. I believe that by creating teams with a more integrative approach
toward content, that content becomes more accessible to students, and therefore allows students to learn
more effectively. Because we live in a world where innovation and creativity is at the center of every
professional industry, it is important to introduce critical thinking, innovation, and creative skills to
students early in their academic career. Therefore, by creating teams that are designed to work together to
create an integrative curriculum for middle grade students, educators are effectively arming their students
with skills that will not only benefit them in middle and high school, but also in any professional field. 

The current public school model regards STEM and the Arts/Humanities to be completely separate content areas; though this is an archaic viewpoint that is no longer true in our 21st century society, many teachers and teams still believe in these very strict boundaries. The purpose of public education is not to get students to memorize a specific set of facts or knowledge, but rather to provide them the skills that are necessary to succeed in their life beyond the public school system. The society we live in is rapidly changing, therefore students require more general skill building experience rather than specific content knowledge. This can be achieved through intentional teaming, keeping the inherent connections between the STEM and Arts/Humanities fields: “Traditional education has always treated science and arts as two too different fields of study. And while it may be true to some extent,the two actually complement each other to help super charge innovation and creativity in many fields and industries including for example: software development, robotics, industrial design, and engineering“3. It is nearly impossible to prepare students with the knowledge that is needed the jobs that they will be doing, however it is possible to give students the ability to practice skills such as creativity and innovation, that will be the basis of a future career. 

In many ways, STEAM compiles the entirety of 21st century society, therefore it only makes sense to
educate our students accordingly; by forming middle school teams that are pro-STEAM education, and
work on developing an integrative STEAM-based curriculum, students will not only become “tomorrow's
designers and engineers; [STEAM Education] will develop innovative mindsets and the ability to
problem-solve, ensuring that our students become creators of technology, not just passive consumers”4.
It is incredibly important to provide students with the opportunity to dabble in projects that allow them to
be creative and innovative in all content areas, because students will be relying on those skills in higher
education and beyond. According to the US Department of Education, “the total number of STEAM
related jobs, in the USA, will increase by 14% over the course of this decade (2010-2020), a figure that is
5-8% higher on average than all the other job sectors”1. It is likely that this current generation of middle
school students will hold jobs in fields that do not exist yet, and therefore it will be the job of educators to
arm students with the ability to be innovative and creative. By instituting integrative STEAM teams in
middle schools, students will be exposed early on to skills that they will be utilizing for the rest of their
lives. 

Because innovation and creativity are the basis for the future of our society, it is important to create a team
that is equipt to allow students to practice using those skills in every content area. This can be achieved
through co-planning an entire curriculum that is based around central themes for each content to focus on,
as well as structuring the content being taught and assessed through project-based learning. This allows
students to work on their creativity and innovation skills, while also witnessing the intrinsic connections
between STEAM for themselves: 

As opposed to traditional models of teaching, educators using the STEAM framework bring the
disciplines together, leveraging the dynamic synergy between the modeling process and math and
science content, for example, in order to blur the boundaries between modeling techniques and
scientific/mathematical thinking. Through this holistic approach, students are able to exercise both
sides of their brain at once.2

By introducing project based learning into all content areas, and creating a curriculum centered around
common themes for the entire team, students will begin to see the real-life applications for the content
taught, and grasp a higher understanding because they have been given the opportunity to practice the
content extensively from many different angles. These opportunities build critical thinking skills and
allow students to learn in unique ways that will benefit them in the future. In a world that is driven by
innovation and creativity, forming teams at the middle level that focus on STEAM in both their curriculum
and content will greatly enrich the lives of students both in and outside of the classroom.  By creating a
STEAM-centered educational model, students will be armed with the skills that they will need to succeed
in an ever-changing world. 

Works Cited:

1) Berg, B. (2020, March 24). The Critical Importance of STEAM Education. Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/621170/critical-importance-steam-education/

2) Lathan, J., Lathan, Lathan, & Online Education Administration. (2020, February 14). The Movement Towards a STEAM Education in Schools. Retrieved from https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/steam-education-in-schools/

3) STEAM Education and Why Arts is Important in the Age of Technology. (2020, January 8). Retrieved from http://www.steamcraftedu.com/steam-education-arts-important/

4) STEM vs. STEAM. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Future-focused-learning/STEM-STEAM