STEAM Education

STE(A)M education (combining science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) has globally become a growing concern, being recognized as having the potential to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century. However, the levels of integration of the involved disciplines, as well as their relevance, tend to vary. Engineering design (ED) is being used in educational contexts as an ideal STEAM content integrator to solve ill-structured real-world problems, using the practices of engineering as a problem-solving model. The present study aimed to understand how future elementary school teachers can solve an authentic problem that demands the construction of an artifact, using the ED process in the context of 3D printing, focusing on their performance, the perception of the role of the STEAM disciplines, and the potentials and challenges of computer-assisted design (CAD) and 3D printing. We conducted a qualitative exploratory study with 72 pre-service teachers of elementary education. The implementation was based on a didactical experience focused on solving an authentic problem through the ED process using Tinkercad and 3D printing. The research findings revealed that some of the participants did not follow the ED model exactly as it was presented, skipping or merging steps, but all were able to find a solution and reflect about how to improve it. The majority identified concepts associated with all of the STEAM subjects, although they found it easier to refer to mathematics and science topics. They valued the use of Tinkercad and 3D printing, which allowed them to easily build a virtual model and make it tangible, while also recognizing some challenges in the use of these technological resources. This study can contribute to the scarce literature about the interdisciplinary integration of 3D printing technology in STEAM education, promoting awareness of the overlaps in these disciplines and a more equitable disciplinary attention.

Educational interest in sustainable development (SD) and sustainability has increased over the last fifteen years, promoted by international guidelines and agencies such as the UN or UNESCO, or the Incheon Declaration. While the current state-of-art discloses plenty of student-centered proposals in these fields, there is scarce evidence on how these are being addressed in pre- and in-service teacher education programs combining science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). Searching to tackle this gap, we performed a systematic literature review based on 207 studies retrieved from the databases Scopus, WoS, and ERIC through PRISMA guidelines. The outcomes foremost reveal the following: (1) Pre-service programs lack courses or subjects that allow integrating sustainability and STEAM areas in an interdisciplinary approach. (2) Interventions for STEAM teacher education are focused on mathematics and statistics typically for the pre-service stage only with a proposal for rural teachers. (3) In-service teachers manifest difficulties in linking theoretical concepts with real-world experiences in classrooms. And (4) educational strategies employ problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, escape rooms, robotics, or flipped classrooms. The implications of this study can help researchers, teachers, or stakeholders in the co-design of initiatives or methodologies that improve pre- and in-service teacher education programs to cope with STEAM education, sustainability, and SD, highlighting the importance of the teachers’ role.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Physical Teaching Aids (PTAs) and VR-Enhanced Teaching Aids (VETAs) on students’ learning performance, attitudes, and classroom interactions in a STEAM course. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a total of 85 fifth-grade students, 42 in the treatment group and 43 in the control group. The students in the treatment group reported a high level of acceptance of the VETAs in the post-course interview. The Lag Sequential Analysis results indicated that the use of VETAs improved students' learning performance and made the classroom more learner-centered than those who were facilitated with PTAs. In the treatment group, students were able to investigate problems more actively, practice and innovate more interactively, and achieve deeper learning. The current study further elaborates on the reasons and summarizes the mechanism of VETAs supporting the perceptual field in STEAM education.

Self-regulated learning refers to the learner’s ability to regulate his or her behaviour, focusing on the acquisition of academic content, skill, or task. This concept includes aspects related to cognitive and emotional self-regulation. According to research studies, the aspect of STEAM education is a crucial determinant of academic success. Thus, in this type of education, attitudes towards science are also important, considering different aspects such as enjoyment, interest, usefulness, and self-efficacy and factors like age, educational stage, gender, family context, and self-concept. This study aims to analyse how Primary School students, who participated in a STEAM project, perceive their own learning process in aspects related to metacognition and self-efficacy, as well as their interest and enjoyment during the activities; furthermore, how the connections between these aspects are. In this project, 109 students between 9 and 11 years old from two different schools participated, using a questionnaire validated by experts. The results show that students show a high appreciation for STEAM work through this type of project as it enables problem-solving and critical thinking associated with the development of satisfaction and positive self-concept in doing it. These distinct aspects show significant correlations between them favoured by the designed STEAM project.

This study seeks to evaluate the impact of integrating elements of arts and humanities education into the topic of STEAM on the formation and development of students’ competence. The paper suggests a procedure for teaching STEAM subjects using design thinking approaches. Then, technology-related lessons were covered in practical pedagogical activities for grade 3 pupils at three primary schools in Hai Phong, Vietnam. The findings demonstrate that the suggested STEAM subject teaching methodology is workable and helps students develop eight distinctive behavioural markers of technical competence. As a result, this study offers primary school instructors a strategy for implementing STEAM instruction.

There is a consensus that students should be involved in interdisciplinary activities that promote a solid education in STEAM subjects from an early age. The outdoor settings of schools present an advantageous context for STEAM education, allowing for a myriad of learning experiences. To understand how teachers perceive the pedagogical use of the school’s outdoor space, a study was carried out in a cluster of schools in a Portuguese city, including one middle school and 10 kindergarten and elementary schools. A mixed methods approach was used, combining a questionnaire for teachers (N = 49) with interviews (N = 8). The results indicate that teachers’ perceptions of the characteristics of their school’s outdoor spaces either facilitate or hinder the implementation of outdoor pedagogical activities. Most teachers concur that the outdoors provides contact with nature and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative activities. However, the teachers surveyed admit to using the school’s outdoor spaces only occasionally, and this use decreases as the educational level at which they teach increases. The most common use of outdoor spaces is for physical and motor activities, promoting the well-being of children and youth. Although interdisciplinary activities in outdoor spaces are recognised, their implementation is limited and hampered by factors such as the length of curricula and the lack of training for teachers in these approaches. In this sense, there is an urgent need to train teachers in the interdisciplinary use of outdoor spaces to promote a solid education in STEAM subjects