I have been working with graduate students, trainees, and faculty for the last seven years at an academic medical institution. In my current role I create and direct graduate degree and internship programs, international workshops, and a clinical fellowship in the fields of biomedical informatics and data science. Despite leading and growing these programs that fall under the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) umbrella, my background is actually in the arts. My undergraduate degree is in theatre, and while I did work (a little) as a professional actress, I spent ten years as a teaching artist, directing children's theatre, teaching acting classes, and going into schools and working with teachers to connect arts to their curriculum. Eventually I found myself managing these types of programs at a non-profit called Springboard to Learning. There I had the opportunity to collaborate and create programs in partnership with underserved K-12 schools to integrate arts into their curriculum; especially in the areas of STEM.

One program I launched, Science Literacy, Science Learning (SLSL), was in collaboration with the University of Missouri St. Louis (UMSL) and the Hazelwood School district, a large district serving residents of Florissant and Hazelwood in St. Louis, Missouri. During this process I became a full-fledged STEAM advocate, which adds an "A" for arts to the STEM acronym. Dell'Erba (2019) defines STEAM education as a way of teaching where students have the opportunity to demonstrate critical and creative problem-solving at the intersection of science, technology, enigineering and math. According to Cook, Bush, and Cox (2017), adding the arts to STEM can be more impactful for students due the interdisciplinary nature of the teaching and the ability to appeal to multiple types of learners.

Springboard 2011 Annual Report

The SLSL program was certainly interdisciplinary; geared toward 4th-5th graders, classroom teachers in two pilot schools, that received 100% free and reduced lunch, were provided a library of science trade books (non-text books) recommended by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). They were then paired with a teaching artist to bring to life some of the science concepts listed in the books. For example, Students read "Who was Ben Franklin" by Dennis Brindell Fradin. They then learned about Ben Franklin's electricity discoveries via his kite experiment and then created their own kites and wrote their own biographies following the model of "Who was Ben Franklin." The goals of the project were to:

1. Boost literacy, especially in the area of reading comprehension, by having 4th and 5th graders read trade books instead of text books
2. Teach curriculum appropriate science topics
3. Integrate arts to connect literacy and science concepts via an interdisciplinary experience for teachers and students
4. Boost communication skills by giving students the opportunity to present their artworks to peers and the public

The results of the project were successful; the 4th and 5th graders in both pilot schools' literacy skills improved and they wanted to read more of the trade books. They also were able to put some of the science concepts into practice and think critically about them via the arts.

Springboard 2011 Annual Report

They also improved their MAP testing scores, which brought more support from district leadership and grant funding to expand the program. This program's success illustrates a recent trend in integrating the "A" in STEM in that districts hope it can improve test-scores (Drozd, A. L., Smith, R. L., Kostelec, D. J., Smith, M. F., Colmey, C., Kelahan, G., . . . Bertrand, J.).

Despite the improved test scores mentioned above, this literature review will not argue for improving scores. Rather, it will discuss how the addition of arts to the STEM curriculum can help students make connections across disciplines and to their own experiences while integrating 21st century learning skills necessary to thriving in tomorrow's workforce.  

The U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology predicts that over the next ten years, approximately one million more STEM graduates will be needed to meet the demands of the US workforce (Ellis, Fosdick, & Rasmussen, 2016). As a result, K-12 schools have been emphasizing STEM curriculum and programs. According to Quigley & Herro (2016), teaching in the STEM arena can increase academic achievement in schools while also helping students to acquire knowledge critical to succeeding in the tomorrow's workforce. Despite the significant emphasis U.S. schools have placed on STEM over the last 20 years (Drozd, et al., 2017), which President Obama focused on with the White House’s "Education to Innovate Initiative," there has been a steady decline in STEM interest (Quigley & Herro, 2016). A 2018 study conducted by the Pew Research Center revealed that over half (52%) of American's think students don't go on to pursue STEM degrees because the subjects are too hard (Kennedy, Hefferon, & Funk, 2018). The bar chart below illustrates these numbers.

Half of Americans think young people don’t pursue STEM because it is too hard, 2018

One of the solutions that has been proposed and integrated to increase enthusiasm and knowledge in STEM is STEAM. López-González (2017) describes the STEAM movement as a way of merging science with art disciplines. She says: "It is, in essence, the societal rebirth of the Renaissance" (p. 2). Townsley (2017), builds upon the abovementioned statement and states: "STEAM is an educational approach to learning that focuses on guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking through interdisciplinary instruction that values both the proficiency of knowledge and understanding." STEAM helps learners decipher the difference between knowing (e.g. memorizing then immediately forgetting) and understanding content (p. 4-5).

The longitudinal study released by the National Endowment of the Arts revealing that ninety-four percent of at-risk youth, who participated in a high amount of arts went on to a four-year college further cements the case for integrating the "A" into STEM.

The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies (2012)

Before launching into the framework of STEAM, it is important to note STEAM is different than Arts Integration, which is defined by the Kennedy Center (2010) as  “an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both" (p. 1). STEAM approaches multiple types of teaching included, but not limited to arts integration. Arts integration helps learners connect to a specific subject area on a deeper level,  where STEAM supports this, but adds an additional layer of problem solving that can tie to other subject areas (Dell'Arba, 2019). The Education Commission of the States suggests STEAM learning happens at the intersection of STEM, STEAM, and Arts Education and Arts Integration. 

Education Commissions of the States, 2019

Keeping the above mentioned Venn Diagram in mind, a framework behind STEAM was developed in 2006 by Georgette Yakman. She writes: “My first interpretation of how to explain the STEAM linkages was: We now live in a world where you can’t understand Science without Technology, which couches most of its research and development in Engineering, which you can’t create without an understanding of the Arts and Mathematics” (Yakman, 2010). Yakman analyzed the interactive nature of both the practice and study of the formal fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts and created the diagram below to establish a framework for STEAM.

STE@M Education Theory. Yakman, 2010.

This framework emphasizes that the arts moves STEM from a multidisciplinary approach to that of an integrative approach. Drozd, et al. (2017) supports Yakman's framework by noting that teaching each STEM discipline in isolation has not helped US students build interest or aptitude in STEM fields nor has it helped them to be "agile." They suggest that a shift to an integrated approach will provide students with more relevant learning experiences. Further Quigley, et al. (2016), state that students strengthen their ability within each of the STEM disciplines, but also between them due to the opportunity to make connections with art, music and design.

Johnson (2017), describes the success of an afterschool program that eventually lead to a fully integrated STEAM curriculum in her Title I school located in Huntington Beach, CA. The teaching staff decided to teach reading, writing, and math via STEAM by creating hands-on, project-based learning opportunities. The program was so successful the school eventually adopted STEAM during the school day. She writes: "Children have a natural curiosity and interest, so when presented with open-ended STEAM problems, the students easily jumped into the STEAM activities and collaborated with each other. They expressed joy and confidence and found school to be fun!" (p. 4).

Springboard 2011 Annual Report

Riley (2013) uses basketball to describe how children make connections. She writes: "Think of this like a basketball court. There are many different areas to connect the ball of knowledge with another type of content. Integration allows the player to plant a foot and connect with whatever strategy works best to get the ball of knowledge across the court" (p. 3). To build upon Riley's metaphor, the video below produced by MIT reveals how the integration of coursework can not only connect with a strategy, but also create new areas of curriculum and future job possibilities such as biotechnology.

Having STEAM opportunities available for students allows them to see themselves applying these skills throughout their education and into their careers. Feldman (2015), describes STEAM as a way of helping students to use their imaginations to innovate through hands-on projects. She says most significant is the application of creative and design thinking so students can imagine ways to bring STEM skills into adulthood. To that end, STEAM builds self-efficacy in students, which Ofori-Boadu (2017) defines as the belief in one's ability and believing it possible to solve a problem. She also notes that self-efficacy or lack thereof can impact a student's selection of activities and interests.

By 2030, new technologies will reshape job expectations; 85% of the jobs K-12 students will be doing don't exist yet. The skills needed for success in this evolving landscape will continue to be communication, problem solving, and collaboration (Dell'Erba, 2019). These skills fall under the learning and Innovation skills or the 4C's as defned by P21, Partnership for 21st Century Learning. 

P21 Partnership for 21st Century Learning

The 4C's in the framework above illustrate the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors students can acquire from the arts to succeed in the classroom and in the global workforce. Teaching with STEAM is a vehicle for educators to integrate all 4C's of learning and innovation across the curriculum (Platz, 2007). Educators have the opportunity to help students build creativity by using the arts to think fluently, which Dell'Arba (2017) describes as an essential element of problem-solving to generate a new set of creative and unconventional solutions. She goes on to discuss the intersection of arts and STEM encourages students to think about concepts from different points of view, using critical thinking skills to approach different solutions to problem solving. 

Miller (2014) discusses using Project Based Learning (PBL) as a vehicle to address the 4C's. In a STEAM PBL project, he indicates that teachers teach and assess at least one of these "C's." He suggests the project-based learning can be a useful tool for teachers as it creates intention around teaching, connecting to standards, and assessing 21st-century skills in the space of STEAM. This could be in the form of a formative assessment attached to collaboration, collecting evidence, and reflecting on the project. An example of this type of learning, according to Segarra, et al., (2018) is through Readers Theatre. While this is typically used to increase fluency, in the case of STEAM it can be used as a means for students to collaborate to generate a script to summarize, visualize, and analyze content, while providing them with the opportunity to present their works to their peers. 

Dramatic Results, 2019

Despite all of the literature supporting STEAM and it's benefits to 21st century learners, I had a very difficult time finding outcomes or empirical data. I was able to find statistics regarding the success of students who had an "arts-heavy" education but had a difficult time locating STEAM or even arts integration data. For example, the data below from the National Endowment of the Arts' 2012 longitudinal study revealed students who had a high amount of art classes could envision themselves pursuing a greater breadth of careers.

National Endowment of the Arts, 2012

There are some states who have implemented a STEAM curriculum, such as South Carolina, so it would be interesting to follow their graduates and observe college enrollment rates and number of graduates to go on to STEM fields after college.

The other issue is arts often get defined as "enrichment," which then doesn't appeal to school leadership. Townsley (2017) writes that despite the argument and literature supporting the need for arts integration and STEAM, there is a lack of data supporting the efficacy of arts integration in the curriculum. Further arts budgets are always the first to get cut.

Finally, unless schools have a partnership with a university or an arts organization, there is not much instructional guidance or literature for educators on how to integrate STEAM into their classroom (Quigley, 2016). Further work that could be done include teaching artists pairing with classroom teachers to create a pedagogy of practice to be shared with other educators.

In the beginning of this review, I described the opportunity to work with kids on a STEAM project. My former organization was awarded grant money to continue the implementation of the program. I wish we would have tracked our student's progression through their educational careers, particularly those who participated in longer term projects such as Science Literacy Science Learning. To that end, I am working on creating biomedical informatics and data science programs for K-12 schools and am very enthusiastic to create these programs from the lens of STEAM as I want kids to make connections and remember the discipline. I will also work in partnership with my colleagues to create a study around to help address the lack of data that exists. 

According to Feldman (2015), STEAM is about the individual student versus the subject. Feldman writes the pressure to be a scientist is off, but students do discover they can be an engineer, artist, and scientist at the same time, which is of benefit to both the artists and STEM fans in the classroom. She writes one of my favorite pieces in the literature I reviewed: "In STEAM, creativity is the central tenet. It not only revives and modernizes STEM, it actually addresses, through real-world projects, why the STEM subjects should matter to everyone. And that’s how we should all be learning."

Boy, G. (2013). From STEM to STEAM: toward a human-centered education, creativity & learning thinking.

Catterall, J., Dumais, S., Hampden-Thompson, G. (March, 2012). The arts and achievement in at-risk youth: findings from four longitudinal studies. The National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved from https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf

Cook, K., Bush, S., & Cox, R. (2017). Engineering encounters: from STEM to STEAM incorporating the arts in a roller coaster engineering project. Science and Children, 54(6), 86. 

Dell'Erba, M. (2019). Preparing students for learning, work and life through STEAM edu. Retrieved from https://www.ecs.org/preparing-students-for-learning-work-and-life-through-steam-education/

Drozd, A. L., Smith, R. L., Kostelec, D. J., Smith, M. F., Colmey, C., Kelahan, G., Bertrand, J. (2017, 11-11 March 2017). Rebuilding smart and diverse communities of interest through STEAM immersion learning, presented at the 2017 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC).

Ellis, J., Fosdick, B. K., & Rasmussen, C. (2016). Women 1.5 times more likely to leave STEM pipeline after calculus compared to men: lack of mathematical confidence a potential culprit. PLOS ONE, 11(7), e0157447. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0157447

Feldman, A. (2015, June 16). STEAM Rising: Why we need to put the arts into STEM education. Retrieved from: https://slate.com/technology/2015/06/steam-vs-stem-why-we-need-to-put-the-arts-into-stem-education.html

Harris, A., & de Bruin, L. R. (2018). Secondary school creativity, teacher practice and STEAM education: An international study. Journal of Educational Change, 19(2), 153-179. doi:10.1007/s10833-017-9311-2

Johnson, R. (2017, May 18) How STEAM transformed our school's culture. Retrieved https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/05/18/how-steam-transformed-our-schools-culture.aspx

Kennedy, B., Hefferon, M., & Funk, C. (2018, January 17). Half of Americans think young people don’t pursue STEM because it is too hard. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/17/half-of-americans-think-young-people-dont-pursue-stem-because-it-is-too-hard/

López-González, M. (2017, 30 Nov.-2 Dec. 2017). For female leaders of tomorrow: Cultivate an interdisciplinary mindset, presented at the 2017 IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) Forum USA East.

Miller, A. (2014, May 20). PBL and STEAM education: a natural fit. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-and-steam-natural-fit-andrew-miller

Nord Anglia Education. (2016, September 18). "What is STEAM?" [Video File]. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4TE4e9LkpM&feature=youtu.be

Ofori-Boadu, A. N. (2018). Improving Middle-School Girls' Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Interests in 'Sustainable Construction Engineering' through a STEAM ACTIVATED! program. Proceedings of the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, 1-20. 

Ozkan, G., & Umdu Topsakal, U. (2019). Exploring the effectiveness of STEAM design processes on middle school students’ creativity. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. doi:10.1007/s10798-019-09547-z

Platz, J. (2007). How do you turn STEM into STEAM? Add the Arts! Ohio Alliance for the Arts.

Quigley, C. F., & Herro, D. (2016). Finding the joy in the unknown”: Implementation of STEAM teaching practices in middle school science and math classrooms. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 25(3), 410-426. doi:10.1007/s10956-016-9602-z

Riley, Susan. (2018, Dec 18). Pivot point: At the crossroads of STEM, STEAM and arts integration. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/pivot-point-stem-steam-arts-integration-susan-riley

Segarra, V. A., Natalizio, B., Falkenberg, C. V., Pulford, S., & Holmes, R. M. (2018). STEAM: Using the arts to train well-rounded and creative scientists. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 19(1), 19.11.53. doi:10.1128/jmbe.v19i1.1360

Silverstein, L. B., Layne, S., (2010). Defining Arts Integration. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Retrieved from https://www.kennedycenter.org/education/partners/defining_arts_integration.pdf

​Townsley, Kayla G., (2017).From STEM to STEAM: the Neuroscience Behind the Movement Towards Arts Integration in K-12 Curricula (University Honors Theses). Paper 446.