why steam?
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) related jobs are the fastest growing sector in our economy. To prepare our students for success in the 21st century workforce, we believe a robust curriculum emphasizing these fields and developing the skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking is essential. STEAM helps to make learning more fun and engaging, not to mention provide students opportunities to use content knowledge and skills in ways that are practical and applicable to the real world just like they would if they were working on science or engineering projects in the field.
We also know that the value of STEAM is great when considering the kinds of jobs our future workforce will have the greatest need to fill. Georgetown University conducted a study on job growth and education requirements across the workforce through the year 2020. The study found that almost 5 million jobs will go unfilled because of skills gaps, particularly in the growing fields of healthcare and STEM (Soule, Helen).
If most jobs are in STEM field, then why include the Arts? The answer is creativity. The most influential innovators of the 20th and 21st century (Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Marissa Mayer, for example) have been highly skilled in their fields but also highly creative people. Educating one side of the brain is simply not enough. Furthermore, studies show that students who study the arts for four years in high school, average 98 points highers on their SAT's compared with those who studied for half a year or less. Here are some other concrete benefits to incorporating the arts into science and engineering:
- It helps to remove idea inhibition (there's no wrong answer in Art!)
- It focuses on the process which helps drive innovation.
- It teaches the power of observation, of people, and your surroundings.
- It helps hone spatial awareness and mathematical concepts like geometry.
- It helps teach how to experiment with new ideas and how to channel creativity into something productive.
DREAMS Academy will build on Duluth's pre-existing strengths in all of these disciplines and create a more integrated, hands-on experience for students.
Sources:
Soule, Helen. “Why STEAM Is Great Policy for the Future of Education.” P21. 31 Mar. 2016, www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1900-why-steam-is-great-policy-for-the-future-of-education