STEM is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths. “STEAM” includes STEM plus the Arts – humanities, language arts, dance, drama, music, visual arts, design, and new media.
The main difference between STEM and STEAM is STEM explicitly concentrates on scientific concepts. STEAM investigates the same concepts but does this through inquiry and problem-based education methods used in the creative process.
'STEAM' education in schools provides students with the opportunities to learn creatively, practicing 21st-century skills such as problem-solving. These extensive capabilities are crucial to growing a future-ready workforce that understands the potential of “what if” when resolving problems that occur in real life.
So the idea of “what if?” is not dependent on the purchase of STEAM-specific technologies or even classroom or the maker space design. It’s more dependent on the creativity and curiosity of the teachers collaborating with their students.
We at The Orbis Schools strongly believe that the purpose of education is not the ability to ace some tests and beat your peers. That is not real success. It is rather the nurturing and development of one’s creative brainpower and essential talents, enhanced by the breadth of knowledge gained from ALL subjects. There is as much creativity in engineering, science, and mathematics as there is in the arts, by the way. It requires an enormously creative and expanded brain to comprehend quantum physics for example!
The schools and universities must redefine how and what they teach to remain relevant to the industry. Education should give fair value to all subjects and how these subjects relate to solving current and future real-world problems, whilst embracing the use of technology and how to develop the world with technology. Digital disruption is affecting the whole industry and our kids need to be ready for this. STEM is important, but so is the broader thinking outside of STEM subjects. STEAM should be the future.
- School Editorial Team