steam education pdf

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

What is the Point of STEAM? A Brief Overview of STEAM Education

STEAM is a new framework of subjects which has been evolving to support a new educational theory.

Related Papers

LUMAT: International Journal on Math, Science and Technology Education

Marina Milner-Bolotin

Lately STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art/aesthetics/architecture/all, mathematics) education has become a common notion. Yet, the theoretical and practical perspectives on STEAM, from its nature to classroom applications and its implementation in teacher education have unexamined potential. This special issue grew out of the International LUMAT Research Symposium “Promoting STEAM in Education” that took place at the University of Helsinki, Finland in June of 2020. With the challenges of organizing an online symposium in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, its online nature had significant advantages. The symposium drew international scholars inviting a multitude of prospective on STEAM education, while uncovering the challenges faced by educators. The issue aims at examining these challenges through a collection of papers. In this editorial, we introduce some key notions, discourses, and challenges of STEAM education, as a relatively novel concept and briefly discuss the ...

Journal for the Study on Education and Development

Alfredo Bautista

While the acronym STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics has become a buzzword in educational settings, STEAM Education is still at an early stage in its development. In fact, many consider the promotion of STEAM Education as being based on relatively weak empirical grounds. This special issue responds to the need for additi the STEAM construct is defined, with its origin, characteristics, and various models described. The barriers that hinder or prevent its application in the classroom are also analyzed. The second part presents the six articles included in the special issue. The first article analyzes the theoretical bases of STEAM Education. It is followed by five empirical studies: two are contextualized within Primary Education, two within Secondary Education, and one final study on STEAM teacher education. We trust that this series of studies will contribute to further develop the theoretical, epistemological, and practical frameworks underpinning STEAM Education.

Georgette Yakman

Original Chinese Article: http://www.duxuan.cn/doc/26649688.html Professor Georgette Yakman and her team put forward STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) on the basis of STEM education, constructed the STEAM education framework, designed the STEAM teaching process card, and STEAM education training certification. STEAM education based on mathematics, engineering and art from the perspective of science and technology, interdisciplinary concept of different subjects will be integrated for the development of modern society to provide excellent human resources support. As a researcher and practitioner in the field of STEAM education, she has helped STEAM education in the United States, Korea and other countries, and has been widely recognized by international peers. She also developed the STEAM Education website to meet the needs of different audiences for STEAM educational resources. Reporter: Professor Yakman, thank you very much for joining us. Your STEAM education research is very fruitful, in the international influence, can tell the Chinese readers about your STEAM education motivation? Professor Yakman: Depending on the nature of the comprehensive study, I solve the problem of how schools teaching a single discipline arising out of multi-level thinking. I envision turning traditional schools into integrated learning centers, giving students full access to all disciplines. Based on these assumptions and practical needs, I put forward STEAM education theory. STEAM educates students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics with an interdisciplinary approach, leading students to adapt to constantly changing professional knowledge and rapidly changing social life. STEAM education philosophy can be summarized as: based on mathematics, engineering and art interpret science and technology. STEAM Education supports students to understand the world in a multi-disciplined way, transforming the world in the form of comprehensive innovation, and cultivating their ability to solve problems. STEAM education is mainly based on project-based learning, problem-based learning

Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design

Merrie Koester

Arts Education Policy Review

F. Javier Perales

Journal-health education and welfare

Jessica Sandoval Palomares

Texto Livre

Angel Alsina , Jefferson Rodrigues-Silva

STEAM is a recent educational approach intending the interdisciplinary teaching of science, technology, engineering, arts/humanities, and mathematics. The literature reports conceptual confusion that frequently diverts STEAM practice and research to issues concerning particular activities or contexts. Therefore, we carried out a narrative review of articles indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) to elucidate STEAM education’s history, epistemology, and divergences. As a strategy, we first focused on documents that could offer a panoramic view of the object of study – literature reviews and articles about STEAM frameworks. Through them, we identified essential discussion points and further expanded the review. As a result, we articulated rationalities about why STEAM is not a mere evolution of STEM, a teaching methodology, or just a synonym for interdisciplinarity. Furthermore, we discussed the appropriateness of interdisciplinarity in STEAM – since it is strongly supported by the disciplines and their intersections – instead of pursuing transdisciplinarity, meaning knowledge remains undefined in a holistic whole. We differentiated STEAM disciplines (list of the five knowledge areas), STEAM activities (interdisciplinary teaching unity of at least two STEAM disciplines), and STEAM education (educational approach of interdisciplinarity between all five disciplines). Finally, we defined and proposed a framework for STEAM in a table format that stresses two necessary and sufficient conditions – interdisciplinarity and the five acronym areas. The framework permits envisioning the plurality of teaching methodologies and educational objectives consistent with STEAM.

Gregory T Papanikos

This book includes the abstracts of all the papers presented at the 2nd Annual International Symposium on the Future of STEAM Education (23-26 July 2018), organized by the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER).

School Science and Mathematics

Danielle Herro

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Melissa Silk

Unpublished Masters Thesis

Marja Bertrand

Academia Letters

Mohinder Singh

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning

Immaculate K I Z I T O Namukasa

Linda N Keane, FAIA

Challenges and Opportunities for Transforming From STEM to STEAM Education

James Basham

International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Explorer (IJMRE)

IJMRE Journal , Chittaranjandas Devulkar

Kareem Elnagar

Education Sciences

Meltem Alemdar

Journal of STEAM Education

Niroj Dahal

Futurum Careers

Odesma Dalrymple

European Journal of STEM Education

Shaun Ussher

Ministry of National Education / Directorate General of Innovation and Educational Technologies

Ceyda AYDOS

International Journal of Education & the Arts

Scott Nykl , Chad Mourning , David Chelberg

Journal of Technology and Science Education

Enric Ortega

Joshua Agyekum

Nicole Anderson

Teresa Franklin

Early Childhood Education - Innovative Pedagogical Approaches in the Post-modern Era [Working Title]

Camelia Delia Voicu

Education, Sustainability And Society

Shamini Thanga Rajan

STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills

Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning

ISSN : 2397-7604

Article publication date: 27 April 2020

Issue publication date: 24 June 2020

Design/methodology/approach

This study addresses the following research question: what interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills do students learn through different models of STEAM education in nonprofit and in-school contexts? We carried out a qualitative case study in which we conducted interviews, observations and data analysis of curriculum documents. A total of 103 participants (19 adults – director and instructors/teachers – and 84 students) participated in the study. The four STEAM programs comparatively taught both discipline specific and beyond discipline character-building skills. The skills taught included: critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; and creativity and innovation.

The main findings on student learning focused on students developing perseverance and adaptability, and them learning transferable skills.

Originality/value

In contrast to other research on STEAM, this study identifies both the enablers and the tensions. Also, we stress ongoing engagement with stakeholders (focus group), which has the potential to impact change in teaching and teacher development, as well as in related policies.

STEM and arts
STEM and creativity
Art integration
Integrated curriculum
Art-based curriculum
STEAM and Canada
Transferrable skills
Transdisciplinary
21st century skills
Domain-general skills
Workplace skills

Bertrand, M.G. and Namukasa, I.K. (2020), "STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills", Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning , Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 43-56. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIT-01-2020-0003

Emerald Publishing Limited

Published in Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

Globally, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning in schools has become an increasingly popular and growing area of interest for educational reform. This prompts discussions about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), which is shifting educational paradigms toward art integration in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. According to Reeves et al. (2004) , learning opportunities for students should include “authentic tasks” set in a real-world context. Authentic tasks consist of ill-defined problems, complex or multistep questions, multiple ways to approach a problem and subtasks that integrate across disciplines ( Armory, 2014 ). The main purpose of this study is to better understand the learning that results from STEAM instructional programs. This study has implications for designing and teaching learning tasks in STEAM programs. This study addresses the research questions: what interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary skills do students learn from engaging in STEAM programs offered by nonprofit organizations and by publicly funded schools? What are students observed to learn when they engage in tasks offered in these programs?

Curriculum models and the transdisciplinary approach to STEAM

Industrial, political and educational leaders rally behind initiatives that support the development of students' workforce competencies, such as by “‘promoting deeper' learning through skills such as problem solving and collaboration” ( Allina, 2018 , p. 80). STEM and STEAM education scholars agree that STEAM initiatives enable students to transfer their knowledge across disciplines and thus to creatively solve problems in a different context, both in the classroom and out-of-school ( Gess, 2017 ; Liao, 2016 ). According to Hughes (2017) , students need these character-building or transferable skills: “students need to develop and apply for successful learning, living and working” (p. 102). STEAM teaches students skills such as “critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; and creativity and innovation” ( Liao et al. , 2016 , p. 29) that can be transferred to another context. Transdisciplinary approaches to STEAM education are highly valued by both the teacher and the student because they allow the student to view the problem or design process from multiple angles or different perspectives that can be applied to a real-world context ( Costantino, 2018 ). Empirical research on STEAM education, however, is in its infancy and little research has compared more than two STEAM programs or models. Our research compares four STEAM programs and focuses particularly on the nature and learning outcomes of models of STEAM education in those programs.

Theoretical framework

The theoretical frameworks adopted for this study are multilayered to analyze three levels: task design, STEAM models and interdisciplinary learning experiences. For the level of task design, we adopt the “low floor, high ceiling, wide walls” lens. Gadanidis (2015) utilizes this term to describe learning environments when designing and implementing tasks that integrate mathematics and coding in the classroom. The goal of the tasks he designs is to enhance the students' overall learning experience and make it more meaningful through curiosity and creativity. This learning environment provides multiple entry points, multiple ways to approach a problem and multiple representations of these activities, so that students of all ages and abilities can participate ( Gadanidis et al. , 2011 ). To analyze pedagogy, curriculum and instruction models in the four STEAM programs we take into account critical work by previous researchers. A critical lens has been adopted by researchers such as Blikstein (2013) to critique efforts that limit students' engagement on interdisciplinary learning tasks such as surface or basic learning of how to use technology tools and skills. Kafai et al. (2019) support adopting frameworks that cross boundaries and focus on cognitive skills, social participation, critical-social justice approaches and on learning using computer technology. According to Blikstein (2013) , educators should avoid “quick demonstration projects” that are aesthetically pleasing to the students but require little effort. Instead they should promote “multiple cycles of design” so that students create complex solutions and products, design “powerful interdisciplinary projects” that narrow the gap between disciplines, “contextualize the learning in STEM [/STEAM]”. This makes abstract concepts more meaningful and engaging, and generates an “environment that values multiple ways of working” (p. 18). Thirdly, we use three of Kolb and Kolb's (2005) guiding principles of experiential learning theory as a framework to analyze the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary student learning in the STEAM programs. The main guiding principles of experiential learning theory according to Kolb and Kolb (p. 3) are the following: learning is best conceived as a process, learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world and learning is the process of creating knowledge. Kolb and Kolb's framework resonates with Papert's work. Papert's (1980) constructionism theory of learning is foundational to Maker education, which is guiding the adoption of the broader Maker culture and makerspaces ( Halverson and Sheridan, 2014 ) in schools. Kolb and Kolb's work also resonates with the emphasis on the processes developed in design-based learning and the learning of transferable skills.

Research design

This research was a qualitative case study. According to Yin (2004) , a case study focuses on a bounded-system and sheds light on a situation. The main purpose of a case study is to focus on a particular phenomenon, such as a process, event, person or other area of interest ( Gall et al. , 2007 ). A collective case study ( Stake, 2005 ), in which the researcher selects more than one representative case, enables more theoretical generalizations ( Cousin, 2005 ).

We took a sample of four different STEAM programs in Ontario, Canada, two nonprofit organizations and two in-school research sites, with a total of 103 participants, 19 adults and 84 students. We collected data from document analyses, observations and interviews. The lead author observed the participants during the lessons. She also conducted conversational interviews using open-ended questions ( Arthur et al. , 2012 ). Table 1 summarizes the settings of the research sites and the environment. At each of the research sites three to eight classes or sessions were observed. Most of the classes observed, apart from In-School 1, depended upon the teacher/instructor's availability. The curriculum documents analyzed consisted of course and program overview, collaborative meeting notes, unit plans and lesson plans for each of the sites. The data analyzed included: interview transcripts, observation data written by one of the researchers and analysis of curriculum document photocopies. A focus group discussion was also conducted with four elementary classroom teachers. At this discussion, one of the researchers presented preliminary results on the curriculum and instructional models of STEAM. The lead researcher then orchestrated discussion on how classroom teachers viewed such models as meeting their goals. The focus group discussion was audio recorded, transcribed and analyzed.

This paper presents the research results from the analysis of observation data, interview transcripts, curriculum document photocopies and focus group transcripts.

Student learning and transferable skills

Interviewer: What would you say are the learning objectives for this STEAM program?

Teacher Librarian: I'm all about giving them skills to express their ideas, transferable skills so they can take with them to the next grade level. Keep practicing those skills, keep developing those skills and hopefully bring some of those skills together in unconventional ways.

Similarly, the director at Non-Profit 1 wanted his students to “look at the world around them as the place that can be changed by their ideas . . . [and] make this city [world] a better place somehow.” At Non-Profit 2, instructor 2 explained that “giving them the tools to have a better life essentially and work life, that's where adding technology and adding these new features, new STEAM learning comes from.” The director, instructors and teachers are empowering the students to make a difference in their community and the world. The director of the STEAM program said, “what we are trying to do is to empower people [kids] to feel like . . . they can make a difference in the world” (Non-Profit 1). The findings suggest that, by teaching these character-building skills, the instructor/teacher can empower these students to solve real-world problems, to have more opportunities in the future and to have an impact on the world.

The analysis of the curriculum documents revealed that those documents of the in-school research sites were more detailed and aligned with specific standards in the Ontario curriculum than those of the nonprofit sites, which were less detailed and not tightly based on the curriculum standards.

All sites included an initial stage that built on students' curiosity and interest in the lesson or session.

Both nonprofit cases used games and storytelling to pique the interest and curiosity of their students at the beginning of an activity. At Non-Profit 1, the director explained that “the first stage is play so that they can experiment with the technology [to] get an idea of what it can do, [and] get excited about it.” At Non-Profit 2, students were given the opportunity by the instructors to tinker and play with the craft materials and technologies to spark their interest and curiosity as they researched, designed and created objects. For example, students played with an apparatus made out of Popsicle sticks and syringes in which they learned how changes in pressure can make the contraption move.

In contrast, both in-school cases used inquiry-type questions to get students to wonder, and to stir their imagination and pique their curiosity at the beginning of an activity. In the post-observation interview, the special education teacher expressed that the “inspiring piece [is] . . . doing these type of learning activities . . . you are activating kids' natural curiosity, their natural interest in figuring out how things work and how they can make things better” (In-School 2). Both in-school cases allowed students the opportunity to tinker as they explored a new technology before using it to solve a problem or to create a digital or concrete object, such as a robot or a multimedia work of art.

Oral communication

All sites included opportunities for students to discuss their making processes verbally.

Non-Profit 1 and 2 facilitated group discussions with their students and prompted them to answer inquiry-type questions as a class. Non-Profit 1 also provided students with several opportunities to communicate their ideas verbally. Students used oral communication skills when discussing the features of their product in a video commercial or when sharing what they learned about the design of their product in a video presentation.

At the in-school research sites, students documented their “making process” of the prototype and expressed their thoughts verbally. At In-School 1, the students documented every stage of the making process in a video to capture their observations, creations and group discussions. The teacher librarian commented that the intent of the documentation was to “drive their thinking forward,” and this documentation appeared to deepen the students' understanding as they reflected on, articulated and then shared their thoughts and ideas.

Written communication

The two nonprofit sites provided students with the opportunity to communicate their ideas in writing at different stages of the making process.

Non-Profit 1 clearly indicated specific tasks in their lesson plans where students communicated their ideas in writing. For example, when coding in the visual programming language Scratch, students were asked to write a story by creating a plan and a sequence of events for their characters. During the planning stage of their projects, students sketched their ideas and expressed their thoughts through writing and drawing as seen in Plate 1 . Non-Profit 2, similarly, allowed their students the freedom to make a plan or sketch their ideas and prompted them to use multiple media. For example, some students wrote out their plan, while others designed them digitally, or used modeling clay to create their 3D figures.

In-School 1 encouraged students to document the making process by writing, and completing a handout provided by the teacher librarian. The handout provided the following writing prompts: to write their answer to the inquiry questions about the activity, to write notes resulting from their Internet search and to write out a plan for their design (as seen in Plate 2 ). In-School 2 used nontraditional ways of getting students grades 1–3 to write, which included using sticky notes and index cards. The teacher librarian then encouraged the students to further organize and review their ideas by articulating their thoughts into categories and subcategories. At In-School 2, the Grade 5 students were, specifically, prompted to complete a log during the design-inquiry lesson. During this lesson, the students were given a hand-out, which documented every stage of the design-inquiry process, to complete. It appeared that the two in-school cases provided students with more opportunities to communicate in written form and share their thinking since students were given a handout and student log to record their ideas and thoughts, as seen in Plate 2 . In contrast, Non-Profit 2 instructors did not explicitly mention in the curriculum documents or during the lessons observed that students should document or write, but allowed their students the freedom to make a plan or sketch their ideas using multiple media, such as writing, modeling (e.g. clay) and/or designing them digitally.

Perseverance and adaptability

At all sites the adults interviewed spoke about how they engaged students in specific activities to develop perseverance.

At Non-Profit 1, the instructors used picture books to get kids (6–9 years old) to discuss selected transferable skills such as adaptability and persistence. These picture books allowed students to visually understand the skills and to discuss their views such as on their experiences where these skills could have been helpful. Students, for example, discussed their views on making mistakes. The instructor at Non-Profit 1 said she wanted her students to “not be afraid of making mistakes and trying new things.” When asked “what type of curriculum or instructional models do you commonly use in the STEAM lab/center?”, the director and instructor at Non-Profit 1 mentioned that they created a learning environment where failure and iteration were built into the lesson or session.

To develop perseverance among students both nonprofit and in-school cases got students to plan, design, make a prototype, test, redesign and, when the prototype did not work, to repeat the design-inquiry process (see Plate 3 ). At the in-school and nonprofit sites, 12 out of 15 adult participants mentioned perseverance during the interviews. For example, when a teacher librarian was asked what the students learned she answered, “developing mindsets, developing perseverance and grit in an openness to try new things” (In-School 2). The teacher librarian at In-School 1 talked about the goal to “grow persistence and [to] keep a positive frame of mind.” Similarly, a Grade 5 teacher mentioned that he “saw a lot of [perseverance]. . . and problem solving even with robotics, they had to code the robot to move around a shape and to escape the maze through using trial and error and you know they had to keep going and not give up” (In-School 1).

Collaboration

Both nonprofit cases encouraged students to collaborate and work as a team when they were given group challenges. For example, in the spaghetti challenge, students had to build the tallest free-standing structure using spaghetti, and in the class mascot challenge students had to design an original mascot character for their team using wood and the laser cutter (seen in Plate 4 ). The two in-school sites provided students with the opportunity to work collaboratively in groups on a project or on a mini-assignment that took more than one day to complete. In contrast, the group challenges at the nonprofit sites were used as a team-building activity in which students were given a limited amount of time and resources to complete the task. For example, Non-Profit 2 gave the students specific constraints, such as 40 sticks of spaghetti, 5 marshmallows, 1 strip of tape and 10 min, to complete the spaghetti challenge. In the interview, the director at Non-Profit 1 explained that their goal was to teach the students “personal skills . . . which are collaboration, knowledge about themselves, . . . [knowledge] about their own personal strengths and challenges” so they can effectively work as a team.

The in-school STEAM programs provided students with several opportunities to work in groups whether they were designing a robot, creating a pattern in Minecraft, programming a robot such as LEGO EV3, Ozobot or Sphero to move around a perimeter or move to the beat of a song. At In-School 1, a Grade 2 teacher expressed that she “think[s] that collaboration is absolutely key.” A Grade 5 teacher found that when kids did not know what to do “after they explore[d] and [then were given opportunities to] collaborate with their own teammates . . . they would create these amazing things” (In-School 1).

Critical thinking

Non-Profit 1 was not as concerned with the product as much as the process. The director said that one of the student learning objectives “is critical thinking, so that they can make a plan . . . and critically analyze [their] plan to make sure that it is awesome and doable, so the design always comes before the building” (Non-Profit 1). At Non-Profit 2, students were given various tasks that would prompt them to use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. For example, when Grade 7 and 8 students were creating conditional (if-then) statements in a programming language for novices such as Scratch or Java script, they would have to use problem-solving skills to write the code and critical-thinking skills to check for errors (debug) in their program when it was unsuccessful.

At the in-school sites, the learning objectives for two of the STEAM disciplines, science and mathematics, appeared to enhance students' opportunities to use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Each lesson at In-School 2 focused on a question or set of questions that prompted students to brainstorm and think about a real-life context, such as “How might we get Georgie [the robot] home and describe the path?” Students were given the opportunity to answer questions such as this one using multiple approaches. Further, students used unplugged methods (e.g. methods with no digital or screen technology, such as string stories, drawings, LEGO creations and arrow diagrams), as seen in Plate 5 , to focus their minds on and solve selected problems. In this example, Kindergarten and Grade 1 students had to think critically about direction, measurement, angles and scale factor and the distances that were represented on the path they defined for the robot. These students also used different digital technologies, such as Ozobots and Beebots, to code and enact the path that they had described as Georgie's path home. Thus, these students had to further use problem-solving skills to transfer their unplugged solution to the solution simulated by programming a robot to follow a specific path.

Summary of student learning and transferable skills

Every research site encouraged the students to tinker and experiment with the technology through play and discovery. During our observations, all students learned character-building skills that were exemplified in the curriculum documents, such as curiosity and imagination, oral and written communication, perseverance and adaptability, collaboration, and critical thinking and problem-solving. Specifically, Non-Profit 1 and In-School 2 used storytelling and answering inquiry-type questions to engage their students and to activate the students' natural curiosity. Non-Profit 1 and 2 used games to fuel the students' interest, imagination and curiosity. Both in-school cases also used the Ontario curriculum when creating some of the specific objectives and inquiry-type questions. Non-Profit 1 and both in-school cases, 3 of 4 sites, chose to document the “making process” through video. This allowed students to communicate and share their thinking. The two in-school cases allowed students to both share their thinking verbally in a video and in writing in a student log. The purpose of documenting the “making process” was to drive students thinking forward by reflecting on what worked well, what needed to be changed and what could have been done differently.

At the nonprofit and in-school sites, students learned to develop persistence and adaptability when going through the design-inquiry process of plan–design–make–test–redesign and repeat. At Non-Profit 1, the director and instructor created a learning environment in which students were not afraid to make mistakes. To encourage perseverance, failure and iteration were built into the lesson or session at Non-Profit 1. All four research sites created group activities and encouraged students to collaborate with one another, whether students were working on a team challenge or a group project. Through collaboration, students learned their strengths and “after they explore[d] and collaborate[d] with their own teammates and then they would create these amazing things” (Grade 5 Teacher, In-School 1). These character-building skills were also mentioned in the curriculum documents and were “all about giving [students] skills to express their ideas, transferable skills” that can be used in a different context or to solve a different problem.

Classroom teachers' views on student learning and transferable skills

Well we're preparing them for a better world. The world I grew up in was a factory world. Some of my fellow students went to jobs where they would do the same job every day for the rest of their lives and that's not the case anymore . . . I really like the authentic experiences and the rich tasks. I think that in our world today there are a lot of problems to be solved.

Whether it regards sustainability or you know just, compassion in the world, solving some of these food and hunger issues, water resources issues and I think that preparing our students to connect with their learning is a viable skill that they can take with them in the future. You know [for example, collaboration and communication skills] where there are so many different entry-level projects and contests [in these STEAM learning activities], where students are really creating things that are being used in our community and are being used to solve real-world problems. And I think that's when I find my kids the most engaged when they can actually see that thinking.

During the focus group discussion, teachers identified challenges they face when developing some of the character-building skills. For example, Teacher B described one of her challenges as “growth mindset [perseverance]. . . That's one of the biggest challenges when we're doing STEAM activities . . . it's like an unwillingness to try again or change the design even if it's not working.” Teacher D suggested “that's why I think that it needs to start in the younger years and this idea of building, designing and trying again, being resilient, knowing how many prototypes something takes before [you get the final product] in the real world . . . You are never going to get a final product without going through that messy process of try-fail-start again” and repeat. This idea of failure and reiteration of a lesson seemed to resonate with the focus group participants. They all knew that it was important for student learning and was built into both the design-inquiry process and the STEAM activities at the research sites.

At all the research sites, students learned character-building skills. These skills seemed transferable because they could be used in real life: in high school, in post-secondary education and, eventually, in the workforce. When the teachers were asked “what are some of the greatest benefits in STEAM education?”, they saw the benefits of how the STEAM tasks connected to students' real lives, to the world in which students find themselves, and to how students may prepare for future jobs. A Grade 5 teacher at In-School 1 said “I think the biggest thing is it just speaks to kids; this is their language right now. This is their world if you think about like future job opportunities, this is like 21 st Century learning for kids, this is what they know and what they are interested in.”

Instructor 2 at Non-Profit 2 said “giving them the tools to have a better life essentially and work life, that's where adding technology and adding these new features, new STEAM learning comes from.” The director at Non-Profit 1 wanted his students to “think about, think of, look at the world around them as the place that can be changed by their ideas . . . [and] make this city a better place somehow.” Teachers (and students in their interviews) in the STEAM programs considered the skills being learned as valuable and realistic. The director of the STEAM program said “what we are trying to do is to empower [kids] to feel like they can have control over their lives, they can make things that they want, … that they need. They can make a difference in the world and these tools of technology and science and engineering are really a great way to do that” (Non-Profit 1).

Our main finding on student learning in this study focused on students developing perseverance and adaptability, and character-building skills such as: curiosity and imagination, oral and written communication, collaboration, and critical thinking and problem-solving.

One of the main character-building skills mentioned during the interviews was perseverance. The instructors/teachers encouraged students to make mistakes and take risks. The students' learning experience, the “making process” as well as the product made were important in each STEAM program. Students documented the “making process” and shared their thinking through presentations, written documentation, photos and videos at Non-Profit 1 and at both in-school sites.

The findings also support Conley et al. 's (2014) claims that integrating the arts into STEM promotes communication and critical-thinking skills, and it helps students to develop a global perspective.

Perseverance, adaptability, failure and iteration

At the non-profit and in-school sites, students appeared to learn and practice perseverance and adaptability when going through the design-inquiry process of plan–design–make–test–redesign and repeat. The teacher librarian at In-School 2 said that one of the greatest benefits of STEAM was “developing mindsets, developing perseverance and grit in an openness to try new things.” She explains “I think that's one of the things that we're trying to build is perseverance and risk taking and grit and … it's more about the learning . . . [and] the learning is more about the process” (In-School 2). Encouraging students to persevere by taking risks, making mistakes, and by developing grit and resilience was evident in all the STEAM programs we studied. We observed that at all the nonprofit and in-school sites, the instructors/teachers also seemed to create an environment in which students felt comfortable making mistakes and taking risks because students had a positive teacher–student relationship. This appeared to be unrestricted (e.g. not restricted to a specific time or place) when the students were asking questions and interacting with the teacher.

Transferable skills

At all the research sites, students learned character-building skills (21st century skills) which were “transferable skills so they can take [it] with them to the next grade level” and use those skills in another context (teacher librarian, In-School 1). The findings on students learning skills that are transferrable is in line with the literature on the benefits of STEAM learning; in STEAM education students are able to transfer their knowledge across disciplines and creatively solve problems in another context ( Gess, 2017 ; Liao, 2016 ).

Industrial, political and educational leaders rally for students to develop workforce competencies by “‘promoting deeper’ learning through skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration” ( Allina, 2018 , p. 80). A Grade 5 teacher at In-School 1 echoed this by saying “this is like 21st Century learning for kids.” According to Hughes (2017) , students need these character-building skills to “develop and apply for successful learning, living and working” (p. 102). The STEAM programs in this study teach character-building skills, such as “critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; and creativity and innovation” ( Liao et al. , 2016 , p. 29) that can be transferred to another context, such as in the home, in high school, in post-secondary education and in the workforce.

Politicians and industry leaders tend to focus on the academic skills and career paths of students whereas in the STEAM programs in this study the instructors/teachers valued the process and the character-building skills that students developed. The findings are in line with Kolb and Kolb's (2005) guiding principle of the experiential learning theory which states that learning is best conceived as a process. For example, students were given the opportunity to document the making process to develop a deeper understanding. The focus on developing students' perseverance, collaborative and critical thinking skills is in line with Blikstein's (2013) assertion that if “the aim is efficiency . . . it could have undermined students' willingness to persist through difficult problems” (p. 15) or could encourage them to “prematurely [abort] design elements that they deemed too difficult” (p. 14). In these STEAM activities students were encouraged to persevere by taking risks, making mistakes, and by developing the grit to persevere on multistep tasks. All of the lessons and units studied by the researchers appeared to be student-centered and to incorporate student interests. For example, the activities started with “low floor” entry-level questions such as those that made students curious or in which they wrote about their design plans. In addition, the activities appeared to be “high ceiling” as students moved on to fabricate, program, solder and wire their designs. The activities were also “wide walls” because they allowed multiple ways to approach a problem and encouraged both student creativity and innovation ( Gadanidis et al. , 2011 ; Gadanidis, 2015 ).

In this paper, we highlight the findings from the interviews, observations, curriculum documents and the focus group as well as the cross-case findings among the different data sources. This study has implications for future research such as investigating the design and implementation of STEAM programs that promote the teaching and learning of workplace and transferable skills. Although the findings provide deeper insight into STEAM education, we offer several possibilities for future research. This study provides a snapshot of the STEAM programs, in which the data were collected over four months. In order to provide even more insight into this phenomenon of STEAM education there need to be more research sites, and data that are collected over a longer period of time. Specifically, we need to study how these character-building skills transfer to other contexts and different subject areas over time. Educators, researchers and policymakers have an invested interest in assessment and documentation; it would also be beneficial to gain more insight on how educators assess and document student learning in these STEAM programs.

The scope of this paper focused mainly on the character-building skills, but the STEAM curriculum also provided students with the opportunity to learn academic skills. The instructors/teachers focused on providing students with the opportunity to engage in rich tasks and authentic experiences. The STEAM programs and activities extended students' engagement beyond simple and quick explorations of robots, programming software and fabrication tools, could be attributed to these nonprescriptive settings (i.e. nonclassroom contexts timetabled for a single STEAM subject and/or makerspace environment). The findings support Blikstein's (2013) claim that educators should avoid “quick demonstration projects” and instead promote “multiple cycles of design” through “powerful interdisciplinary projects” (p. 18) that encourage students to transfer their knowledge across disciplines and solve problems in another context ( Gess, 2017 ; Liao, 2016 ). The setting of the in-school STEAM programs in the library learning commons (e.g. makerspace) or in the after-school program, in particular, outside the constraints of single-subject specific lesson, specific curriculum standard and expectations, concept or discipline, appeared to enhance the students' overall learning experience, making the experience deep and more meaningful. For educators, researchers and policymakers, the goal should be to seek to provide STEAM learning experiences in classrooms for all learners. This would encourage students to engage in and learn, even if occasionally, in ways that transcend their knowledge across individual disciplines and teach them domain-specific, domain-general/interdisciplinary and other transdisciplinary learning skills.

At Non-Profit 1, students expressed their thoughts through writing and drawing to describe the robot's functions

At In-School 1, students wrote information in the collecting Ideas section to answer the inquiry-type questions that would help them build and program their robot

At Non-Profit 2, students designed and built a prototype to make their own buzz wire game. Students then changed the materials used to make a more efficient version of the game

As a class, students sketched, designed and created a team mascot using the laser cutter

At In-School 2, students made an arrow diagram or collage

Description of research site and environment

	Environment	Research site
Non-Profit 1	A one room STEAM lab/center with a large space divided by movable walls. Space set up for small group work, with desks, chairs and workstations as well as floor mats	Urban STEAM center/lab in a metropolitan area. Caters to K-7 children and has programs for teens/adults. Offers paid programs: weekend, after school, PD, school hours and summer workshops. Staff members consist of a director, instructors and volunteers
Non-Profit 2	Multiple rooms set up as a computer laboratory for students to work individually or in pairs at desks. Stations (e.g. the Laser/Wood cutter room) were located in different rooms
In-School 1	Its learning environment is set in the Maker Lab located in the Library Learning Commons. It is a STEAM center/lab with work benches and stations for students	Urban public school in a metropolitan area catering to K-8 students. The STEAM program consists of one teacher librarian and selected school teachers
In-School 2	The Makerspace has both stationary and mobile stations. Some of the lessons happened outside of the Makerspace, such as the Science and Technology Application Centre (STAC) room or in their regular classroom

Allina , B. ( 2018 ), “ The development of STEAM educational policy to promote student creativity and social empowerment ”, Arts Education Policy Review , Vol. 119 No. 2 , pp. 77 - 87 .

Amory , A. ( 2014 ), “ Tool-mediated authentic learning in an educational technology course: a designed-based innovation ”, Interactive Learning Environments , Vol. 22 No. 4 , pp. 497 - 513 .

Arthur , J. , Waring , M. , Coe , R. and Hedges , L.V. ( 2012 ), Research Methods and Methodologies in Education , Sage , Los Angeles, CA .

Blikstein , P. ( 2013 ), “ Digital fabrication and ‘making’ in education: the democratization of invention ”, FabLabs: Of Machines, Makers and Inventors , Vol. 4 , pp. 1 - 21 .

Conley , M. , Douglass , L. and Trinkley , R. ( 2014 ), “ Using inquiry principles of art to explore mathematical practice standards ”, Middle Grades Research Journal , Vol. 9 No. 3 , pp. 89 - 101 .

Costantino , T. ( 2018 ), “ Steam by another name: transdisciplinary practice in art and design education ”, Arts Education Policy Review , Vol. 119 No. 2 , pp. 100 - 106 .

Cousin , G. ( 2005 ), “ Case study research ”, Journal of Geography in Higher Education , Vol. 29 No. 3 , pp. 421 - 427 .

Gadanidis , G. ( 2015 ). “ Young children, mathematics, and coding: a low floor, high ceiling, wide walls environment ”, Cases on Technology Integration in Mathematics Education , IGI Global , Hershey, PA , pp. 308 - 329 .

Gadanidis , G. , Hughes , J. and Cordy , M. ( 2011 ), “ Mathematics for gifted students in an arts-and technology-rich setting ”, Journal for the Education of the Gifted , Vol. 34 No. 3 , pp. 397 - 433 .

Gall , M.D. , Gall , J.P. and Borg , W.R. ( 2007 ), Educational Research: An Introduction , Pearson Education , Boston .

Gess , A.H. ( 2017 ), “ STEAM education: separating fact from fiction ”, Technology and Engineering Teacher , Vol. 77 No. 3 , pp. 39 - 41 .

Halverson , E.R. and Sheridan , K.M. ( 2014 ), “ The maker movement in education ”, Harvard Educational Review , Vol. 84 No. 4 , pp. 495 - 504 .

Hughes , J.M. ( 2017 ), “ Digital making with ‘At-Risk’ youth ”, The International Journal of Information and Learning Technology , Vol. 34 No. 2 , pp. 102 - 113 .

Kafai , Y. , Proctor , C. and Lui , D. ( 2019 ), “ From theory bias to theory dialogue: embracing cognitive, situated, and critical framings of computational thinking in K-12 CS education ”, International Computing Education Research Conference (ICER '19) , August 12–14, 2019 , ACM , Toronto, ON, Canada, New York, NY, USA , p. 9 , doi: 10.1145/3291279.3339400 .

Kolb , A. and Kolb , D.A. ( 2005 ), Experiential Learning Theory Bibliography , Experience Based Learning Systems , Cleveland, OH .

Liao , C. ( 2016 ). “ From interdisciplinary to transdisciplinary: an arts-integrated approach to STEAM education ”, Art Education , Vol. 69 No. 6 , pp. 44 - 49 .

Liao , C. , Motter , J.L. and Patton , R.M. ( 2016 ), “ Tech-savvy girls: learning 21st-century skills through STEAM digital artmaking ”, Art Education , Vol. 69 No. 4 , pp. 29 - 35 .

Papert , S. ( 1980 ), Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas , Basic Books , New York, NY .

Reeves , T.C. , Herrington , J. and Oliver , R. ( 2004 ), “ A development research agenda for online collaborative learning ”, Educational Technology Research and Development , Vol. 52 , pp. 53 - 65 .

Stake , R. ( 2005 ), “ Qualitative case studies ”, in Denzin , N.K. and Licoln , Y.S. (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research , 3rd ed. , Sage , London , pp. 443 - 466 .

Yin , R.K. ( 2004 ), Case Study Methods , AERA , or Yin, R.K. (2009). Chapter 2. Case Study Research: Design and Methods, London, Sage, available at: http://www.cosmoscorp.com/Docs/AERAdraft.pdf .

Acknowledgements

The research assistantship for this article was supported by Western University and SSHRC.

Corresponding author

About the authors.

Marja G. Bertrand is a MA graduate from Western University and a teacher in Mathematics, Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Presently, she is teaching for the local school board Grade 9, 10 and 11 Mathematics and working as a Senior Research Assistant at Western University. She is passionate about teaching and learning. She has presented at several conferences, seminars and workshops on STEM/STEAM education in Canada and abroad. She has also received several graduate awards from the Faculty of Education for her research on STEM/STEAM education. Specifically, the Art Geddis Memorial Award for her use of reflective practice as a critical lens to analyze the mathematics and science learning in the curriculum and pedagogy of the STEAM programs. She was also awarded the Joan Pedersen Memorial Graduate Award for her contribution to the “Early Years” education research. Her research interests are in STEM/STEAM education, Makerspaces, Designed-Based Learning and Computational Thinking tools.

Immaculate K. Namukasa is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of education and distinguished teaching fellow with the Center for Teaching and Learning from 2017 to 2020 at Western University in Ontario, Canada. She joined the Faculty of Education at Western from the University of Alberta, where she completed her Doctoral work in the department of Secondary Education. She is a past journal editor for the Ontario Mathematics Gazette – a magazine for teachers and educators and a current editor of the Math + code 'Zine. Namukasa collaborates with teachers in four public school boards, in one private school system, and with researchers and teachers in Canada, China, Thailand and Africa. Namukasa's current research interests lie in mathematics teacher education and professional development, integration of technology and computational thinking in mathematics education, mathematics learning tools, resources and activities, and curriculum and pedagogical reforms.

All feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

3D technologies in STEAM education

Open access
Published: 08 July 2024
Volume 3 , article number 92 , ( 2024 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

Ivaylo Staribratov ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2418-3679 1 &
Nikol Manolova ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8108-4864 1

41 Accesses

Explore all metrics

The article presents the application of 3D technologies in STEAM education through a conducted scientific research, highlighting the role of 3D modeling and 3D printing as an innovative approach in achieving an interdisciplinary learning model. The research included the following stages: preparation for designing a detailed 3D steam locomotive model; analysis of process difficulties; giving students and lecturers the opportunity to perform a specific modeling task, using basic primitives from solid geometry, as well as a questionnaire to analyze and evaluate the skills and knowledge of the participants in the 3D modeling field. In this context, the preparation process of a 3D steam locomotive model for educational purposes, using Autodesk 3ds Max software, is presented, and the 3D printing technology FDM is examined. We issued a challenge to the participants in the research to design a non-complex 3D model, using unfamiliar 3D modeling software Blender, within a limited time. The questionnaire covered topics in education, science, art, STEAM, and 3D modeling. The goal is to showcase the role of the integration of 3D technologies in educational environments with the idea of developing key skills and knowledge in learners.

3D Printing for STEAM Education

Modelling and 3D-Printing Architectural Models—a Way to Develop STEAM Projects for Mathematics Classrooms

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

We live in a world where technologies continue to develop at a rapid pace, dynamically changing our way of life with each passing day. The progressive increase in production, the demand for services, and the need to achieve a balance between quality and economic benefit find a solution in the advantages offered by 3D printing technology. The printing process is done in layers, as thinly sliced horizontal sections are layered on top of each other. Various printing technologies can be applied in the object design process with the usage of a wide variety of materials [ 1 ].

The additive process of the three-dimensional printing technology is fundamentally opposite to the traditional manufacturing, which is subtractive, involving cutting away a block of material to produce the desired object [ 2 ]. Special tools and equipment are not required during the three-dimensional printing process, apart from the presence of a 3D printer [ 3 ]. Therefore, the initial setup costs are low, and moreover, the types of materials that can be used in production are numerous and vary depending on the 3D printing technology—plastics, resins, rubber, metals, sand/ceramics, alloys, etc. Thanks to these advantages, 3D printing is widely used in various fields for prototype development, contributing to the integration of new technologies during the manufacturing process [ 4 ].

The development of 3D printers began in the 1980s, with the advent of FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), as one of the first additive manufacturing technologies. It is a 3D printing technology that operates on the principle of material extrusion, using thermoplastic filaments to build strong, durable, and dimensionally stable parts with the highest precision and repeatability. Three-dimensional printing has reached a stage where it can be used for the production of detailed and high-quality objects [ 5 ]. Also 3D printing is a valuable tool for problem-solving and a key competency for the future workforce. Integrating this technology into educational courses enables learners to create their own 3D models, use the necessary equipment, and conduct research on their own printed objects. It provides an opportunity to relate education to the real work environment that happens at the design and manufacturing companies, where the application of 3D printing technology becomes an inseverable part of the product design and visualization processes.

In recent years, there has been a rapid development in technologies, with education focused on the close connection and interrelation between many different disciplines in the learning process. From this perspective, 3D technologies are emerging as an important element in the key competencies development among learners. The article presents an analyzation process of the application of 3D modeling in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) learning approach, with a sequential execution of the following three phases of the research, titled “3D Technologies in STEAM Education”:

Preparation for designing a 3D model by the teacher and analysis of process difficulties, encountered in the object usage in workplace;

Giving students and lecturers the opportunity to perform a 3D modeling task;

Questionnaire to analyze and evaluate the skills and knowledge of the participants in the field of 3D modeling.

Before we conducted the research, focused on the integration of 3D technologies in STEAM education, a 3D steam locomotive model was designed, using Autodesk 3ds Max. The creation process of the complex object is examined in detail, and the FDM technology is presented as one of the most widely used 3D printing technologies. The research aims to assess the skills and competencies of the participants in the 3D modeling field by challenging them to perform a simple task, using unfamiliar 3D modeling software, within a limited time. The participants were assigned a 3D modeling task for creating a steam locomotive object, using basic primitives from solid geometry with the help of Blender, as free 3D modeling software. In this way, 3D technologies reveal opportunities for their integration in real workplace with application of the designed objects in various fields, during prototype development, and the specific technologies also contribute to the usage of new methods in the production process [ 6 ]. In educational environments , learners can be acquainted with the 3D modeling and 3D printing technologies and experiment with printing more complex models through the STEAM approach [ 7 ].

2 Materials and methods

2.1 3d model creation process.

In order to print a specific three-dimensional object, it is necessary to create the model with the help of 3D modeling software [ 8 ]. The process involves creating a computer-generated representation of a three-dimensional object or shape through 3D computer graphics software. The designed object is called a 3D model, and these three-dimensional models are used in various industries such as film, television, video games, architecture, construction, product development, science, medicine, etc. The application of 3D modeling encompasses visualization, simulation, and rendering of objects. Some well-known programs for 3D modeling are Autodesk 3ds Max, Blender, ZBrush, while specialized software in the field of industrial and product design includes Autodesk 123D Design, Autodesk Inventor, and Autodesk Fusion 360.

The realization of a three-dimensional product in a printed object form involves several distinct stages, chronologically organized as follows:

Conceptual design and study of product characteristics;

Design the 3D model, using three-dimensional modeling software;

Export the model as a .stl file;

Research on 3D printing technologies;

Import the .stl model into slicing software and determine the necessary printing settings of the 3D printer, as well as the available printing material, based on the selected technology;

Slice the model with the help of slicing software and review the layers;

Generate G-code, which is transmitted to the printer by the slicing software. The G-code translates the CAD language of the project into a code, recognizable by all 3D printers;

Application of the printed object.

Before we carried out the research, we decided to create a three-dimensional model of a steam locomotive for educational purposes as part of the preparation process, using Autodesk 3ds Max. The steam locomotive object is a combination of various locomotive models, which ensures its uniqueness. Prior to starting the object construction, references of different locomotives were prepared, and a study of the model’s components was done to achieve an accurate visualization of the object in the three-dimensional space. Modeling can begin from any side of the object, but a standard primitive should be selected as a base. In the steam locomotive project, the process started with the body of the model, for which the Cylinder primitive was chosen, as the closest object in the program that resembles this component. Then the 3D object was converted into an Editable Poly, and various modifiers, tools, and functionalities were used during the modeling process in accordance with the individual elements manipulation [ 9 ]. While designing the 3D steam locomotive model, manipulation of the object from different viewports in the three-dimensional space was done in order to achieve the correct visualization of the object, as shown in Fig. 1 .

Steam locomotive 3D modeling project, Autodesk 3ds Max

After designing the 3D object in a digital environment, using 3D modeling software, the steam locomotive model was exported as a .stl file, so that it can be used in the next 3D printing stage. The extension name itself is an acronym that stands for stereolithography, a popular 3D printing technology.

Before we moved on to the slicing stage of the object, a study was conducted on the 3D printing technologies for the general purpose of this research. Nowadays, one of the most widely used 3D printing technologies is FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), which is based on the principle of material extrusion. Specialized 3D printers and thermoplastic filaments are used to build strong, durable, and dimensionally stable parts with the best accuracy and repeatability, compared to other 3D printing technologies. FDM technology was invented and patented by Scott Crump, the founder of Stratasys, in 1989, and since then, Stratasys has been leading the revolution in 3D printing [ 10 ]. 3D printers create objects by heating and extruding the thermoplastic filament layer by layer, from the base upwards. The slicing software divides the CAD model into layers, after that the 3D printer heats the thermoplastic materials above the melting point and extrudes them through the nozzle in the printing area, along the calculated path, as shown in Fig. 2 . The printer converts the dimensions of the given object, loaded from the computer into X, Y, and Z coordinates, and prints it along the calculated path. When each individual layer is completed, the base is lowered (or the nozzle is lifted) in order to start building the next layer. The FDM technology allows usage of a variety of filaments, such as PLA, ABS, PVA, and FLEX, enabling the creation of complex geometries and details of the three-dimensional object, which are typically challenging areas [ 11 ].

Fused deposition modeling (FDM)

We continued with the stage of importing the model into the slicing software. The slicing process of the 3D object effectively translates the 3D image into a code, understandable by the printer. The software creates paths for the 3D printer to follow during the printing process. One of the widely used slicing software is Ultimaker Cura, which has the ability to establish a connection between the 3D model and the 3D printer [ 12 ]. The printing strategy is developed for the model, and in addition to the default parameters, specific settings for fast printing with optimized printing profiles can be set. Among the commonly used settings are determining the printing strategy, the overall strength of the model, automatically generated support structures with the available extruders in order to achieve reliable and successful prints, setting adhesion type, etc. Once the printer type, configuration, and printing settings are reviewed, the model is sliced into layers. When the slicing process of the model is completed, a preview of the print can be seen with the layer slider and the simulation view, which are used in order to check important elements of the 3D printed fragment structure.

The overall build process of the steam locomotive printed object, including the stages of modeling in Autodesk 3ds Max software, exporting as a .stl file, importing the file into Ultimaker Cura slicing software, forming the layers and generating support structures, and visualizing the print, is demonstrated step by step in Fig. 3 .

Steam locomotive 3D printed project process

The slicing software generates the G-code that is sent to the connected 3D printer. Therefore, the 3D printer reads the paths, provided by the software, in order to execute the printing process correctly. These paths consist of geometric instructions, as well as of instructions for the print speed and temperature analysis. The firmware is the software that controls the motors and heaters, and processes the motion and control commands from an online software and G-code [ 13 ]. Loaded onto the microprocessor board of the 3D printer and stored within the device, it controls the motors, the display screen, the brightness of the lights, and the temperatures of the hot end, during the 3D printing process. Marlin Firmware is well-known firmware for 3D printing that provides excellent print quality and full control over the whole process, as it coordinates the heaters, steppers, sensors, lights, LCD display, buttons, etc.

The presented project has a wide field of development in the STEAM education, based on the idea of focused learning across five disciplines—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, in an interdisciplinary and applied approach [ 14 ]. Projects and programs can be created with the idea of integrating academic subjects, such as mathematics, computer graphics, and physics. In this case, the goal of the transdisciplinary level of integration is to demonstrate to students the interaction between the three disciplines through topics related to the study of mathematical models in the field of solid geometry and their wide application in 3D computer graphics, with the execution of a real task for creating a three-dimensional model of a steam locomotive, and studying the functionalities of its individual components [ 15 ]. By integrating STEAM activities into academic domains, students are given an opportunity to develop skills necessary for their adaptation in the dynamically evolving technological environment, such as creative thinking, critical analysis, teamwork, and initiative, which provide them with a solid foundation for success, both in school and in real life [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].

3D printing becomes a valuable technology, not only for achieving faster production with minimal costs and high quality, but also for problem-solving and acquiring a key competence for the future workforce. From this perspective, integrating the technology into training courses allows learners to create 3D models, use the necessary equipment, and do research on their own printed objects [ 19 ]. It reveals an opportunity to combine education with the real work environment that takes place within design and manufacturing companies, where the usage of 3D printing technology becomes an inseverable part of designing and visualizing specific products in the workflow [ 20 ]. Figure 4 shows the 3D printed object of a steam locomotive. The idea is to be applied in the creation of a comprehensive railway modeling project, with additional components, such as a tender, wagons, railway stations, tracks, mountain landscapes, and other elements that recreate the appearance of railway layouts. Therefore, the project is suitable for both children and enthusiasts, and the created models can be printed in an economical and innovative way, using 3D printing technology [ 21 ].

Steam locomotive 3D printed project, ABS

In the context of STEAM education, there can be done an in-depth study of the build process of a steam locomotive printed object, along with the stages of creating the model and working with the necessary software for 3D modeling and slicing, examining the characteristics of material extrusion technology, conducting a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, experimenting with printing more complex and detailed models, etc.

2.2 Research “3D technologies in STEAM education”

In February 2023, the scientific research “3D Technologies in STEAM Education” was carried out with a 3D modeling task to be performed and a questionnaire to be completed by the involved participants. The target audience of the study included students and lecturers from the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, as well as students and teachers from the Academician Kiril Popov High School of Mathematics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The conducted research has a scientific purpose to highlight the importance of the integration of 3D technologies in STEAM education. The study is based on the idea of providing focused learning across five disciplines—science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, and its objectives could be summarized as follows:

Giving participants to perform a task to design a 3D model of a steam locomotive, using basic primitives from solid geometry with Blender, as unfamiliar 3D modeling software;

Assessment of participants’ skills and competencies in the field of 3D modeling through a questionnaire to analyze their knowledge and self-assessment of the assigned task.

The participants were challenged to create a three-dimensional model, using previously unfamiliar computer graphics software , within a limited time , by completing the task “Create a 3D steam locomotive model with Blender”. They were provided references of the object and information about the program, as well as guidelines for designing the model. The questionnaire consisted of 23 closed-ended questions, categorized into 7 sections, forming the concept of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). Topics in the field of education, science and art, STEAM, and 3D modeling, were covered with the aim to assess the respondents’ knowledge and self-evaluation in the research. The total number of participants who completed the task is 10, while the number of participants who responded to the questionnaire is 115. Male respondents are 31, and female respondents are 84, which indicates a significant difference in the number of participants based on gender, at first glance. However, using the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics with a conducted Independent-Samples T-test on independent samples with gender, as a dichotomous grouping variable, we concluded that there is no statistically significant difference in the opinions of both groups, regarding individual questions.

3.1 Correlation analysis

Through this analysis, we aim to study the correlations between the variables. We compare the correlation coefficients between one or more pairs of variables to establish statistical dependencies between them. For the purposes of the research, we conducted a correlation analysis of the sample data, using IBM SPSS Statistics, as we selected to investigate the presence of relationships between seven questions from the questionnaire [ 22 ]. The correlation matrix, shown on Table 1 , displays the values for Pearson Correlation and Sig. (2-tailed) for all indicators, for which we looked for relationships. The results showed that 3 pairs of variables have a negative sign – ${X}_{1}, {X}_{6}$ ; ${X}_{3}, {X}_{5}$ and ${X}_{4}, {X}_{5}$ , when determining the correlation relationship between them.

In the remaining pairs, the increase in one variable is associated with an increase in the other, based on the positive sign of the coefficient. The absolute value of the coefficient was also taken into account. The greater it is, the stronger the correlation relationship is between the two variables. The highest degree of correlation, based on its absolute value, was observed in the relationship between the variables in the pair ${X}_{3},{ X}_{4}$ , where $\left|{R}\right| = 0.645$ . For the rest, we concluded a weak or no degree of dependence, as the following scale was used to determine the degree of correlation relationship:

$\left|{R}\right| \, \ge \, 0.6$ (strong correlation)

$0.6> \, \left|{R}\right| \, \ge \, 0.45$ (medium correlation)

$0.45 > \left|{R}\right| \, \ge \, 0.3$ (weak correlation)

$0.3 > \left|{R}\right|$ (no correlation)

A significance test for the coefficient was conducted by examining the null and alternative hypotheses, regarding the value of the population coefficient and concerning the correlation relationship between the variables:

${H}_{0}: \rho = 0 $ (no correlation)

${H}_{1}: \rho \ne 0$ (significant correlation)

We determined the level of significance as $\alpha= 0.05$ and searched for statistically significant and statistically non-significant indicators, taking into account the result of $Sig. \, < \alpha$ . The pairs of variables for which the inequality $Sig. \, < 0.05$ is true, showed statistical significance between them. The remaining indicators were considered statistically non-significant, as we had no basis to reject the null hypothesis ${H}_{0}$ . Therefore, they do not have a particularly strong influence in determining the dependencies. Out of all 12 significant variables, in 10 of them, the correlation, besides being significant, could be reduced to a 0.01 level ( ** ) or to a 1% error, as $Sig. < 0.01$ , based on testing the null and alternative hypotheses, regarding the value of the population coefficient $\rho$ .

First of all, after deriving the statistically significant results in descending order according to the degree of correlation, the results showed that variables ${X}_{3}$ and ${X}_{4}$ have the highest degree of correlation between them, as $\left|{R}\right| = 0.645$ , and they are statistically significant in their relationship. Therefore, the surveyed participants strongly agree with the stated opinion, regarding the answer to the questions—“In 3D modeling, I find the application of mathematical models in 3D art: primitives, curves, symmetry, etc.” and “According to me, 3D modeling can be applied in math classes to visualize simple and complex solid geometry objects.”. The respondents perceive the dependencies between mathematical models and the process of 3D modeling and find real integration of three-dimensional modeling in math classes as a key approach to explaining objects in solid geometry.

Second of all, we found that variables ${X}_{6}$ and ${X}_{7}$ are statistically significant, despite having a weak degree of correlation between them due to $\left|{R}\right| = 0.436$ . The given responses to the questions—“In my future work, I will be delighted to integrate 3D modeling tasks into the educational process.” and “In my opinion, education should focus now and in the future on the STEAM approach.”, showed that both opinions are related to each other. We can interpret that in the future education should not only focus on the STEAM approach, but also include the implementation of 3D modeling in the educational process. The same conclusion can be drawn from the relationship between variables ${X}_{4}$ and ${X}_{7}$ , concerning the answers to the questions—“According to me, 3D modeling can be applied in math classes to visualize simple and complex solid geometry objects.” and “In my opinion, education should focus now and in the future on the STEAM approach.”.

An interesting aspect for the purposes of the research was also considering the opinions of the participants based on age groups. In the case of Fig. 5 , a Clustered Bar diagram is shown with a selected question—“In 3D modeling, I find the application of mathematical models in 3D art: primitives, curves, symmetry, etc.”. The number of surveyed participants in each age group was as follows: 97 (16–21 years old), 6 (22–27 years old), and 12 (28+ years old). The results demonstrated a visibly positive opinion among the respondents, regarding the given question. In all age groups, the dominant responses were “Strongly agree” and “Agree”, indicating that the participants perceive the application of mathematical models in three-dimensional art.

Clustered bar diagram

The result is further confirmed by examining the correlation between variables ${X}_{1}$ and ${X}_{3}$ in Table 1 . We observed a relationship between age and the specific question, where the correlation, although with a coefficient value of $\left|{R}\right| = 0.245$ , showed statistical significance, based on the value of ${Sig.} = 0.008$ , satisfying the condition $Sig. < \alpha$ .

3.2 Cluster analysis

Cluster analysis is a concept in computer science and mathematical modeling that refers to the grouping of a diverse set of objects in such a way that objects within the same group (cluster) are more similar to each other (based on a given attribute) compared to objects in other clusters. For the purposes of the study, we conducted several types of cluster analysis on the data from the sample, using IBM SPSS Statistics:

Hierarchical cluster analysis;

K -means cluster analysis;

Two-step cluster analysis.

We decided to examine the presence of dependencies and perform data grouping, based on similarity, among the selected seven questions from the administered questionnaire.

3.2.1 Hierarchical cluster analysis

At the core of the hierarchical cluster analysis lies the process of constructing and analyzing a dendrogram. It is a tree-like structure that explains the relationship between all data points in the system. In the dendrogram, the horizontal axis represents the distance between clusters in a specific metric. With each successive descent further to the left along the branches of the dendrogram, clusters are divided into smaller and smaller units until the level of detail reaches the individual data points. Conversely, when moving to the right at each level, smaller clusters are merged into larger ones until the entire data system is formed. Figure 6 displays a dendrogram, created to determine the number of clusters in the sample using Ward’s Method for clustering to create more evenly distributed clusters. Then, the structure is vertically sliced, and all resulting daughter branches formed below the vertical cut represent distinct clusters at the highest level in the system, with the option to increase or decrease the level of detail [ 23 ].

In this context, the result of the dendrogram is interpreted to identify a reasonable number of clusters, and therefore, the number of clusters is three, as indicated by the position of the red vertical line that determines the distribution of clusters in the sample data.

3.2.2 K -means cluster analysis

In the K -means method, the distance of each data point to the centers of individual clusters is taken into account, and the closest distance determines the membership of the data point to the corresponding cluster. The method requires determining the number of clusters in advance. This information can be derived from the generated dendrogram in Fig. 6 , where the number three was chosen as the initial number of clusters. The centers of the clusters will be calculated after all the objects are assigned to a specific cluster, and additional information about the membership of each object to the corresponding cluster, as well as the distance to the cluster centers for each object, will be retained.

The ANOVA table was generated, showing the variance analysis, which is important for determining the extent to which the variables, included in the model, are significant for the differentiation process among the individual clusters. We concluded that all variables are statistically significant because the condition $Sig.< \alpha$ is satisfied. As a result, there is a difference among the individual clusters for the selected questions and all variables play a key role in the data differentiation, so that each cluster contains similar elements, but the groups themselves differ to a certain extent. Three clusters are formed with elements being distributed as follows—39, 61 and 15. There is also a difference in the mean value among the three clusters and all variables have an influence on the clusters’ formation.

3.2.3 Two-step cluster analysis

The advantages of the Two-Step Cluster Analysis over other cluster analyses are that it provides the option for automatic determination of the number of clusters within the data and the ability to choose between Continuous or Categorical variable types. It is important to determine the “quality” of the formed clusters, i.e., to determine the extent to which individual objects within the cluster are close to each other and how different each cluster is from the others. The average value of “quality” is interpreted as acceptable for well-formed clusters based on the specified formation criteria. The sizes of the generated clusters are as follows: 36, 58, and 21 for each specific cluster, and these values are at some extent similar to those generated by the K -means cluster analysis. Taking into account the information about the significance of individual questions from the conducted two-step cluster analysis, we could draw the conclusion that age has the greatest influence in the cluster formation, followed by the other questions, as shown in Table 2 .

The integration of 3D technologies in STEAM education, specifically 3D modeling and 3D printing, aligns well with the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework, emphasizing the interconnected nature of Technological Knowledge (TK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), and Content Knowledge (CK). Therefore, we have used TPACK theoretical framework to construct the study’s questionnaire, which encompassed 23 closed-ended questions categorized into seven sections. It covered various topics related to education, science, art, STEAM, and 3D modeling, with the aim of assessing the respondents’ knowledge and self-evaluation in the research. TPACK played an essential part in the creation of the questions, addressed to the partcipants, as it revealed the interconnectivity between technology, pedagogy and content knowledge with focus on key features as hardware and software, digital literacy, instructional strategies, assessment techniques, subject integration, curriculum alignment, effective integration, adaptability, digital content creation, content enhancement, content delivery, and problem-solving approaches.

4 Conclusion

The importance of this paper lies in its focus on the role of integrating three-dimensional technologies in STEAM education. By conducting a scientific research, we presented 3D modeling and 3D printing as an innovative approach in achieving an interdisciplinary learning model. The study included the following stages: preparation for designing a detailed 3D steam locomotive model; analysis of process difficulties; giving students and lecturers the opportunity to perform a specific modeling task, using basic primitives from solid geometry, and a questionnaire to analyze and assess the skills and knowledge of the participants in the 3D modeling field.

The article discusses step-by-step the entire process of a 3D steam locomotive model creation for educational purposes, using Autodesk 3ds Max, as professional computer graphics software, and presents FDM technology, as one of the most widely used 3D printing technologies nowadays. The aim of the research is to challenge participants to complete a non-complex object modeling design task, using unfamiliar software for 3D modeling Blender, within a limited time.

Questionnaire’s content is related to the concept of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge), covering topics in the field of education, science, art, STEAM, and 3D modeling, and focusing on the self-assessment by the involved participants. Data from the conducted research were analyzed, using the statistical software IBM SPSS Statistics, and the results showed that participants find a close connection between mathematical models and the process of 3D modeling with real integration of three-dimensional modeling in math classes as a key approach to explaining objects in solid geometry. Moreover, education should not only focus on the STEAM approach, but also include the integration of 3D modeling in the learning process.

In this way, in educational environments, learners will become acquainted with 3D modeling and 3D printing technologies and experiment with printing more complex and detailed models through the STEAM approach, with the aim to develop key knowledge and skills through an interdisciplinary learning model. Modeling and printing as 3D technologies offer possibilities for their integration into a real work environment, with prospects for applying the created object prototypes in various fields during model development . The specific technologies contribute to the implementation of new methods during the production process . Prospects for future development of the presented project include experimenting with model printing using different 3D printing technologies and materials, as well as conducting a comparative analysis of the obtained results.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable requests.

Berman B. 3-D printing: the new industrial revolution. Bus Horiz. 2012;55(2):155–62.

Article Google Scholar

Wohlers T, Caffrey T. Wohlers Report 2014. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing State of the Industry. Annual Worldwide Progress Report. Wohlers Associates; 2014.

Weller C, Kleer R, Piller F. Economic implications of 3D printing: market structure models in light of additive manufacturing revisited. Int J Prod Econ. 2015;164:43–56.

D’Aveni R. The 3-D printing revolution. Harv Bus Rev. 2015;93(5):40–8.

Google Scholar

Holzmann P, Breitenecker R, Soomro A, Schwarz E. User entrepreneur business models in 3D printing. J Manuf Technol Manag. 2017;28(1):75–94.

Buckley J, Seery N, Canty D. Heuristics and CAD modelling: an examination of student behaviour during problem solving episodes within CAD modelling activities. Int J Technol Des Educ. 2018;28:939–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-017-9423-2 .

Staribratov I. Project participation – quality instrument for movement of students and teachers. Vocat Educ. 2017;6(4):453–60.

Brink H, Kilbrink N, Gericke N. Teach to use CAD or through using CAD: an interview study with technology teachers. Int J Technol Des Educ. 2023;33:957–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-022-09770-1 .

Derakhshani R, Derakhshani D. Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 essentials. Hoboken: Wiley Publishing; 2011.

Stratasys. What is FDM Technology?. https://www.stratasys.com/fdm-technology . Accessed 5 Dec 2022.

Patel R, Desai C, Kushwah S, Mangrola MH. A review article on FDM process parameters in 3D printing for composite materials. Mater Today Proc. 2022;60(3):2162–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.385 .

Ultimaker. How to start your first print in Ultimaker Cura?. https://support.ultimaker.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012007119-How-to-start-your-first-print-in-Ultimaker-Cura . Accessed 15 Dec 2022.

Gharge P. The Best 3D Printer Firmware of 2022. All3DP. https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printer-firmware-which-to-choose-and-how-to-change-it . Accessed 21 Dec 2022.

Staribratov I. Mathematical competitions – part of the competence approach to learning. Conference papers from V National Conference “Pedagogy of Education of Mathematics and Informatics”. Plovdiv. 2020; 5: 176–182.

Staribratov I, Babakova L. Development and validation of a math-specific version of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS-Mathematics) among first-year university students in Bulgaria. TEM J. 2019;8:317–24.

Staribratov I. Gender stereotypes in Mathematics as a predictor of Motivational and Educational achievements among Bulgarian Students. In 3 rd International Scientifically and Methodical Conference “Development of students’ intellectual skills and creativity in the process of teaching natural sciences and mathematics curriculum’s disciplines”. ITM Plus; 2018.

Staribratov I, Manolova N. Application of mathematical models in graphic design. Math Inform. 2022;65(1):72–81.

Dúo-Terrón P, Hinojo-Lucena F-J, Moreno-Guerrero A-J, López-Belmonte J. Impact of the pandemic on STEAM disciplines in the sixth grade of primary education. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2022;12:989–1005.

Zhou, D. Research on 3D printed creations through course design for the democratization of production: Interdisciplinary opportunities for STEAM education [Paper presentation]. V International STEM in Education Conference “Integrated Education for the Real World”. Brisbane, Australia; 2018.

Buckley J, Seery N, Gumaelius L, Canty D, Doyle A, Pears A. Framing the constructive alignment of design within technology subjects in general education. Int J Technol Des Educ. 2020;31:867–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-020-09585-y .

Wisdom S, Novak E. Using 3D printing to enhance STEM teaching and learning: recommendations for designing 3D Printing Projects. In: Integrating 3D printing into teaching and learning: practitioners’ perspective. Koninklijke Brill; 2019. pp. 187–205.

George D, Mallery P. IBM SPSS statistics 26 step by step: a simple guide and reference. Milton Park: Routledge; 2019.

Book Google Scholar

Pai P. Hierarchical clustering explained. Towards Data Science, Medium . https://towardsdatascience.com/hierarchical-clustering-explained-e59b13846da8 . Accessed 20 Apr 2023.

Download references

No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv, 4000, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Ivaylo Staribratov & Nikol Manolova

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization, I.S. and N.M.; methodology, I.S. and N.M.; software, I.S. and N.M.; validation, I.S. and N.M.; formal analysis, I.S. and N.M.; investigation, I.S. and N.M.; resources, I.S. and N.M.; data curation, I.S. and N.M.; writing—original draft preparation, I.S. and N.M.; writing—review and editing, I.S. and N.M.; visualization, I.S. and N.M.; supervision, I.S. and N.M.; project administration, I.S. and N.M.; funding acquisition, I.S. and N.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ivaylo Staribratov .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and content to participate.

The data that was used for this article was part of the regular teaching process for the purpose of improving the course content and teaching methodology. According to the IRB both at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at the Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv and at the Academician Kiril Popov High School of Mathematics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, such practices do not require special approval as long as researchers obtain written consent from the participants according to the ethical principles and norms as outlined in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.

Research involving human participants and/or animals

All participants explicitly agreed to participate in the study and to have their data analyzed and published in a journal article in the context of the study purposes.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Staribratov, I., Manolova, N. 3D technologies in STEAM education. Discov Educ 3 , 92 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00181-z

Download citation

Received : 10 August 2023

Accepted : 24 June 2024

Published : 08 July 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00181-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

3D modeling
3D printing

Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research

IMAGES

STEAM Education
(PDF) STEAM Education Professional Development Practicum & Research
(PDF) The Search for Method in STEAM Education
Inspiring Your Child Through STEAM Education
Emerging Technologoes For STEAM Education
About STEAM

VIDEO

How to get steam on school mac
STEAM Education
STEAM Education Study Tour to Seoul 2024
How do I create a PDF on I phone? pdf create assamese sr education
What is STEAM and why STEAM education is important in schools
STEAM Education Activities and Workshops SRISTAC, Sri Lanka

COMMENTS

PDF Preparing Students for Learning, Work and Life Through STEAM Education
Defining STEAM Education For this report, STEAM education is defined as an approach to teaching in which students demonstrate critical thinking and creative problem-solving at the intersection of science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Participants noted that enhancing the experience of the learner is central to a definition of STEAM ...
(PDF) STEAM Education: an overview of creating a model of integrative
PDF | Original Research Paper (Thesis) on STEAM. ... STEAM is based on STEM education, which can be defined in two ways: 1. the more traditional way, I like to write as S-T-E-M education, as it ...
PDF Resources for STEM Education (PDF)
Resources for STEM Education. Ensuring that all students have access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)1education is fundamental to the U.S. Department of Education's (Department) goal of providing equitable educational opportunities so that all students are prepared to succeed in college, careers, and life.
PDF STEM
ity. While the future of work, the economy, and society is uncertain, one thing is not: To maintain the nation's leadership in science and technology discovery, we must create an approach to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education that prepares and advances the U.S. for this fu. ure.Experts agree that science, technology ...
PDF STEM vs. STEAM Education and Student Creativity: A Systematic
However, STEAM education presented the same problem as its predecessor STEM: multiple meanings (some very different between each other) for the same signiﬁer, in this case STEAM education. The following deﬁnitions reveal some signs of this problem: Educ. Sci. 2021, 11, 331 3 of 13 Yakman and Lee [18] deﬁned STEAM education as the ...
(PDF) Conceptualising and framing STEAM education: what is (and what is
PDF | STEAM is a recent educational approach intending the interdisciplinary teaching of science, technology, engineering, arts/humanities, and... | Find, read and cite all the research you need ...
(PDF) What is STEM education and why is it important?
STEM Education was originally called Science, Mathematics, Engineering and. Technology (SMET) (Sanders, 2009), and was an initiative created by the National Science. Foundation (NSF). This ...
(PDF) STEAM Education: an overview of creating a model of integrative
Download Free PDF. Download Free PDF. STEAM Education: an overview of creating a model of integrative education. ... STEM to STEAM Education While studying the common factors of teaching and learning across the disciplines of S-T-E-M, the influences of the arts disciplines became more apparent, especially those already strongly promoted in the ...
Advancing STEAM education: a comprehensive assessment of ...
STEAM, an acronym for a pedagogical paradigm emphasizing simultaneous consideration of the learning process and results, along with attention to the learning experience and students' demands, distinguishes itself from traditional instruction based on standardized tests (Brown-Berry & Riggio, 2017).Evolving from STEM education, STEAM integrates arts, humanities, and social sciences, fostering ...
PDF Defining STEAM Approaches for Higher Education
EMBEDDING STEAM IN HE. To date STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) approaches and projects have gained traction for pre-school, primary and secondary education (e.g., Bertrand and Namukasa, 2020; Burnard et al., 2020; Timotheou and Ioannou, 2021). Surprisingly little specific focus has been given to Higher Education.
STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills
[email protected]. Immaculate K. Namukasa is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of education and distinguished teaching fellow with the Center for Teaching and Learning from 2017 to 2020 at Western University in Ontario, Canada. She joined the Faculty of Education at Western from the University of Alberta, where she completed her Doctoral work ...
PDF Best Practice Guide of Steam Methodology in Etwinning Projects for
core of practical advice for future teachers resulti. g from the analysed projects.STEAM education is a response to changing realities. Integrating traditional life d. mains in an accessible way makes students more versatile and creative (Hong 2016). STEAM goes beyond the template of categorising subj. cts; consequently, the collaboration ...
Full article: The STEAM approach: Implementation and educational
What is STEAM? Recently, the academic community has begun to show interest in encouraging and closely articulating the humanities with the sciences and technologies, as one of the keys to human development (e.g., Katz-Buonincontro, Citation 2018).This search for integration responds to the need to offer new generations a well-rounded education, along with the social and economic uncertainty in ...
PDF Implementing STEAM in the Early Childhood Classroom
STEAM education, teachers need to question their young students and encourage critical thinking about their designs and ways in which to improve them (Ingram, 2014). This instructional strategy will easily turn play into learning. There are many benefits for young children from early exposure to STEAM. Integrated and exciting learning
PDF STEAM and the Role of the Arts in STEM
STEAM education empowers and immerses students and educators in inquiry, dialogue, problem-solving, and experiential learning that deepens understanding of all fields in their educational experience. Neuroscience shows that practices used effectively in STEAM education can improve
PDF Research and Policy Implications of STEAM Education for Young Students
STEAM education, but that several barriers to implementation exist. Professional development can be a first step. • In a study of professional development for pre-K teachers, research demonstrated an improvement in teachers' self-efficacy and confidence in planning and implementing STEAM content, although ongoing support was
A pedagogical model for STEAM education
Department of Curriculum Studies, Faculty of Education, Western University, London, Canada. Abstract. Purpose Certain researchers have expressed concerns about inequitable discipline representations in an integrated STEM/STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) unit that may limit what students gain in terms of depth of ...
(PDF) Emerging Technologies for STEAM Education
This book includes the abstracts of all the papers presented at the 3rd Annual International Symposium on Future of STEAM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Education (22-25 July 2019), organized by the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER). Download Free PDF. View PDF.
(PDF) A systematic literature review of STEAM education ...
A systematic literature review of STEAM education in the last decade. January 2024. DOI: 10.1063/5.0182945. Conference: Science and Mathematics International Conference 2022. At: Jakarta ...
(PDF) What is the Point of STEAM? A Brief Overview of STEAM Education
The second part presents the six articles included in the special issue. The first article analyzes the theoretical bases of STEAM Education. It is followed by five empirical studies: two are contextualized within Primary Education, two within Secondary Education, and one final study on STEAM teacher education.
STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills
STEM and STEAM education scholars agree that STEAM initiatives enable students to transfer their knowledge across disciplines and thus to creatively solve problems in a different context, both in the classroom and out-of-school ( Gess, 2017; Liao, 2016 ). According to Hughes (2017), students need these character-building or transferable skills ...
3D technologies in STEAM education
The article presents the application of 3D technologies in STEAM education through a conducted scientific research, highlighting the role of 3D modeling and 3D printing as an innovative approach in achieving an interdisciplinary learning model. The research included the following stages: preparation for designing a detailed 3D steam locomotive model; analysis of process difficulties; giving ...
Here's the Privacy Policy. :: Once Human General Discussions
- Information from surveys (age, education background, occupation, interests) 7. **Marketing Data**: - Newsletter, survey, and other marketing/advertising preferences - Preferred methods of promotional communication 8. **Communication History**: - Details of communications with NetEase - Details of claims, complaints, and queries 9.
PDF Appearance Enhancement Licensees
Treatment that exposes body to subzero temperatures using liquid nitrogen. Non-surgical body contouring procedure that freezes and kills targeted fat cells, causing the body to naturally
PDF Public Library Technology Survey
recreational video gaming consoles, and smart objects for STEAM has increased by more than 10%. ... but education and digital literacy skills. Public libraries are well-positioned to help their community members learn to use ... (a PDF form) to review the questions and collect responses before entering them in the online form. This
PDF STEAM Education Using Design Thinking Process Through Virtual
of Practice, and 1.3) the various disciplines in STEAM education. 2) The experts agree that STEAM-DT-VCoPs is the highest level of appropriateness. Keywords: STEAM education, Design Thinking, Virtual Communities of Practice, Virtual teams, STEAM-DTVCoPs 1. Introduction STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) curriculum ...
PDF Afterschool and Summer Learning Advisory Draft Minutes: June 24, 2024
arts enrichment and STEAM programs, and focusing on outcomes. Interim Secretary Saunders said there was a diversity of programs funded geographically and that was by design and intentional to identify the AS deserts in the state. She asked Haensch to speak to reinforce the priority areas of the review process and recount the number of
PDF Interior Nvironment and Related Gencies Appropriations Act 2025
million for Education Construction, which is 15% above the FY24 enacted level. 2 o Providing $8.56 billion for the Indian Health Service (+23%) along with $5.98 billion ... regarding ozone emissions and steam electric power plants. • Protects access to our public lands by: o Blocking restrictions on hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting ...
(PDF) The STEAM approach: Implementation and educational, social and
ARTS EDUCATION POLICY REVIEW. The STEAM approach: Implementation and educational, social and. economic consequences. F. Javier Perales and José Luis Ar óstegui. a Department of Didáctics of ...
PDF TESTIMONY OF Michael Robbins BEFORE U.S. House of Representatives
Fourth, investing in Science, Technology, Engineering, Aerospace, and Math (STEAM) education is crucial for our country's future. We need more affordable higher education options in the U.S., as the current system is unsustainable for most American students. Integrating a curriculum from

What is the Point of STEAM? A Brief Overview of STEAM Education

Related Papers

RELATED PAPERS

RELATED TOPICS

STEAM education: student learning and transferable skills

Design/methodology/approach

Originality/value

Introduction

Curriculum models and the transdisciplinary approach to STEAM

Theoretical framework

Research design

Student learning and transferable skills

Oral communication

Written communication

Perseverance and adaptability

Collaboration

Critical thinking

Summary of student learning and transferable skills

Classroom teachers' views on student learning and transferable skills

Perseverance, adaptability, failure and iteration

Transferable skills

Acknowledgements

Corresponding author

Related articles

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

3D technologies in STEAM education

Cite this article

Similar content being viewed by others

3D Printing for STEAM Education

Modelling and 3D-Printing Architectural Models—a Way to Develop STEAM Projects for Mathematics Classrooms

1 Introduction

2 Materials and methods

2.2 Research “3D technologies in STEAM education”

3.1 Correlation analysis

3.2 Cluster analysis

3.2.1 Hierarchical cluster analysis

3.2.2 K -means cluster analysis

3.2.3 Two-step cluster analysis

4 Conclusion

Data availability

Author information

Contributions

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Research involving human participants and/or animals

Competing interests

Additional information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Share this article

IMAGES

VIDEO

COMMENTS