To put the "A" into STEM, see the work of Daniel Pink...
STEAM – It actually is quite obvious that the Arts be included in STEM education. A look at the works of Leonardo da Vinci will attest to this! The very first time I heard the idea of integrating the Arts into STEM education was while watching a keynote made by Daniel Pink at the NECC Conference in Washington DC. Pink presented strong evidence that educators must include right brain lessons in addition to the inclusion of historical left brain activities. A reading of his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule The Future, is a must for any educator,especially those interested in STEM education. It is evident that inserting the A (Arts) in STEM and creating STEAM allows for true innovation, and it is innovation that will allow students to be successful in a flat world. Bringing the Arts to STEM allows students to remember the creative juices that come with the smell of a Crayola Crayon, the engagement of Tinker Toys, and the creation and remixing of that first Easy Bake Oven. It is the STEAM that allows students to not just be technology consumers, but technology creators! Proper infusion of the Arts will create a STEAM culture that engages and promotes intrinsic learning. In the space below I have included some sites that may just allow educators to integrate the Arts, allowing STEM to become STEAM!
How to persuade others (To Sell is Human) His first book Free Agent Nation describes why schools need to change to help students practice being "free agents" (entrepreneurs). When was the last time a teacher
said, "You are in charge of today's class. What do you want to learn and how do you want to learn it?" That's the skill of "taking the initiative," one of seven survival skills identified by Tony Wagner, Harvard University. See "Seven Survival Skills"
If you want to turn STEM into STEAM with the arts, why not use digital portfolios (combining photos and videos with the logical presentations of science projects) and Dan Pink's themes? The combination can be seen in the work of students at High Tech High. See the comment presented by Jay Vavra:
Adam Winkle uses Google Glass to flip his classroom (using videos to students in their homes so that students show up in class the next day ready to discuss the experiment that thye have watched)
These experiments can be tracked in a student's iPortfolio:
Look at this video. Remarkable. There is a remote button that allows an officer to open the back door of a car and release his K9 officer companion... Look how that dog attacks the passenger of the car who was going to club the officer....
the dog has pulled the person on the extreme left out of the camera's view
The passenger is shown sneaking out of the right door
This is where the dog grabs the passenger and the officer defends himself.
WOW-- many thanks to Officer Ramiro Valdes of the Hollywood City Police Department for bringing this video to our attention. It's the first class when all six of the male students were in the same classroom and silent. CLICK HEREhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVeb15eVPWA
Myths pages: "Don't believe everything you've seen in the movies," said Officer Valdes
