The national agenda on competitiveness and investing in education is centered on the acronym STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is these subjects that officials say need to be stressed in public schools to drive the future of the United States economy.
But some educators think there is a spelling problem here. Add the arts to this tech/science mix and you get STEAM. The STEAM initiative – making sure arts is an integrated part of the STEM mission – is the inspiration of president John Maeda at the Rhode Island School of Design. Maeda is a designer and former professor at the MIT Media Lab. He says arts and technology drive learning better when they are in a curriculum together.
This STEAM approach is being tried in settings around the United States. Reporter Rob Manning at Oregon Public Broadcasting spent some time with principals, students, and teachers at a school in the Portland suburbs. Steam, he says, has been producing some real educational heat.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.