What started as a joke is now an earnest proposal to expand STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) to STEAMPUNK (+play, uncertainty, nature, kindness).
Video created for my Policy, Advocacy, and Leadership in Education course in August 2021.
Transcript:
STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math first appeared in the 1990s and was meant to allow the National Science Foundation to label items that involved one of any STEM fields. The acronym is now huge in the education field, with the idea that skills learned in STEM disciplines will prepare learners for future jobs and cultural understandings.
Eventually, an A for arts was added to make STEAM. The intention here was to both increase engagement with STEM and emphasize the need for creative thinking in STEM disciplines.
The two acronyms are used with such frequency that one day I jokingly thought, what if we were to add more letters and if we had STEAMPUNK? If you’re not familiar, steampunk is also a popular, retro-futuristic subgenre of science fiction.
Then the more I thought about this and gave meaning to the expanded acronym with play, uncertainty, nature and kindness, I realized that these concepts are vital to
education and what started as a joke is now an earnest proposal. To expand STEAM to STEAMPUNK.
It’s well known that play is an important part of mental, physical, emotional and social development. There’s also evidence that giving children periods of free play increases their engagement and achievement in the classroom.
We live in an era with a great many supercomplex systems and challenges. Teaching learners to be comfortable with not knowing or understanding all the details of an issue will help alleviate academic stress. Additionally, in order to find solutions to the day’s supercomplex problems, learners will need to be comfortable with the uncertainty of what the world will look like if we succeed.
There’s a wealth of research showing the benefits of time spent in nature for children and adults alike. In addition to increased feelings of well-being and improved engagement with learning, time in nature can also promote pro-environmental attitudes.
Many studies have shown a link between performing acts of kindness and feelings of well-being and happiness. Being kind to others helps our own well-being and also those to whom we are kind. Teaching learners to be kind to others and themselves can only have positive results.
Whichever acronym you like, STEM, STEAM, STEAMPUNK, an important factor for success is not to teach each concept in a vacuum. They are not independent outside of the classroom, and they shouldn’t be taught independently inside of the classroom. We need all of these disciplines to understand the world, each other and ourselves.
Margaret Janz - Hermit Warbler 