T
he recent push for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics) education introduces (through the emphasis on engineering)
a design process to science classrooms; some educators have also pushed for
the artistic or creative process becoming a part of STEM education. In certain
cases, this might be an opportunity for greater prominence for art education, better
art and STEM learning, and heightened student engagement; in others it might
weaken each discipline and confuse the boundaries between different approaches.
In what follows we describe the possibilities and pitfalls of an approach that infuses
both the creative process and design thinking into a new iteration of STEM education
that adds arts (with a capital "A") to the acronym to make STEAM.