Putting it All Together: STEAM + PBL

Two big ideas in education today: STEAM and PBL. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math and PBL stands for Project-Based Learning. So, how can these two ideas work together? Andrew Miller states in his article, PBL and STEAM Education: A Natural Fit, “With a push for deeper learning, teaching and assessment of 21st-century skills, both PBL and STEAM help schools target rigorous learning and problem solving.” He gives some suggestions on how they can work together:

• [Move] Design Challenges to Authentic Problems - Take a classroom design challenge that meets the STEAM goals and find a way to relate it to something the students know.
• 21st Century Skills - The 4Cs - creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. These skills most common to PBL are a natural fit for STEAM as well.
• Integrated Disciplines - Marrying STEAM and PBL allow educators to fill gaps and capitalize on each philosophy's strength.

Charles R. Drew Charter School in Atlanta is making this a reality. The charter school is a STEAM-focused school and teachers are using PBL to make the learning authentic to the students.

Here’s how these teachers and students are working to make this initiative successful:

• Getting Started With Planning - Come up with one driving topic for each grade level that will be the focus of each quarter.
• Identifying Standards and What Students Need to Know - Look at state and national standards and identify how they can be addressed through your topic.
• Creating the Driving Question - Inform the question based on the standards, real-world application, and with the end in mind.
• Providing an Authentic Audience - Help students connect with their audience and relate to the problem.
• Making the Project Authentic - Connect the driving question to a local event or problem that impacts their students and their community and let them work towards a solution.
• Sustaining Inquiry - Connect your content standards to the project.
• Encouraging Student Choice and Voice - Let students come up a solution to the problem and determine the best way to present it.

Students at Charles R. Drew Charter School are interested in what's happening in the world and engaged in their own learning. The integrated approach of STEAM and PBL allow them to take ownership of their education and see how they'll apply it later in life.

Pepper Professional Development Courses and the Resource Library can help you create a more engaged and active classroom that includes STEAM learning concepts and can help with a Project Based Learning approach to instructional delivery. We’re adding new courses and resources regularly, so be sure to check them out.

STEAM = STEM + Arts

A couple of weeks ago we focused on the importance of creativity in the classroom - both for teachers and students. Creativity is not just reserved for arts education, but is widely being integrated throughout curriculum. Additionally, it’s a 21st century skill employers are looking for in its employees. Creativity - in the form of arts education, is making itself known in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). There's a new letter in the acronym - A, for Arts - that changes STEM to STEAM. Many believe that educating our students in these areas will be crucial to both their future and the future of our country.

According to Edutopia article, Creativity is the Secret Sauce in STEM, “Researchers have found that play is important for productive thought. Playing with ideas also increases learning. We must encourage playing with concepts to nurture creativity in students. Playing with concepts provides multiple entry points and multiple ways of engagement.” STEAM proponents are all about creative thinking. Students who work and think scientifically must also work creatively and be willing to experiment and try new ideas and ways to make things work. Students must be comfortable with working old concepts in new ways. Careers for the 21st century will require creative, smart-thinking students.

Pepper offers a variety of Science courses to sharpen your STEM skills and allow for creative arts integration, including our Engineering K-2 course. Our Language Arts and Writing and Poetry courses also provide opportunity for integration into Science and Art. We would love to hear how our Pepper teachers are using courses to change the way they teach in the classroom.

Courses available through Pepper will provide a foundation for concepts that will allow teachers to implement a creative classroom approach. Check out our wide range of Pepper Courses and our Pepper Resource Library to further your own professional growth.

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Photo Credit: Terry Williams Graphic Art