Art and science both hinge on discovery, and discovery requires thinking out of the box. But how do you lead students to think creatively in STEM education? The answer is STEAM, and A is for the arts.
STEAM—the integration of music, visual arts, and drama into daily STEM instruction—is proven to enhance student achievement in STEM subjects. After all, creative, real-world problem-solving is what working scientists and mathematicians actually do. But how do busy STEM educators weave arts activities into a sometimes inflexible STEM curriculum?
In this new edition of From STEM to STEAM, the ground-breaking bestseller, the authors provide lessons from the field to detail the way. Authors David Sousa, expert in educational neuroscience, and Tom Pilecki, veteran arts educator, pool theircombined eighty years of expertise to deliver:
- Research studies in cognitive and social neuroscience, including new findings on how technology is rewiring students’ brains, that demonstrate how arts activities enhance creativity, problem solving, memory systems, motor coordination, and analytical skills—all critical elements to achieving STEM objectives.
- Classroom-tested strategies and techniques for integrating the arts into STEM instruction, including sample K-12 lessons plans and planning templates.
- Tools for building a professional development program designed to helps arts and STEM teachers collaborate to create STEAM lessons.
- Sample planning frameworks that provide a smooth transition from STEM to STEAM, including advice on adapting STEAM to meet the individual needs and limitations of a school or district.
- A list of resources available to teachers in the STEM subjects, in the arts, in arts integration, and for STEAM.
The main objective of both art and science is discovery. Lead your students to make that connection and STEAM ahead to academic success!
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Author Bio
Dr. David Sousa is an international consultant in educational neuroscience and author of 15 books that suggest ways that educators and parents can translate current brain research into strategies for improving learning. A member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, he has conducted workshops in hundreds of school districts on brain research, instructional skills, and science education at the Pre-K to 12 and university levels. He has made presentations to educators at national conventions of educational organizations and to regional and local school districts across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
Tom Pilecki, MA, is the former executive director of the Center for Creative Education (CCE) in West Palm Beach, Florida, where, for twelve years, he provided professional development to over one hundred teaching artists, preparing them to teach collaboratively with elementary and middle school teachers in all curriculum content areas. With an MA in educational administration, Tom is a former elementary school teacher as well as a choral and instrumental music teacher. His forty-plus years in education include being founder and principal of St. Augustine School of the Arts in the South Bronx, New York, the subject of the Sundance Film Festival Award-winning documentary Something Within Me as well as feature segments on 60 Minutes, World News Tonight, and The McNeil-Lehrer Report. His expertise in curriculum writing, implementation, and arts integration brought him to Chicago as curriculum director for six West Side schools before going to Florida. He continues to consult with schools and communities on a national basis.