PHILOSOPHY OF ENGINEERING
STREAM Pyramid Analysis : Is Art
Context Necessary ?
By Abel Sangeeth
RA231106010451
INTRODUCTION
STREAM is an educational approach that combines the traditional academic
subjects of science. It is an educational movement that has been growing rapidly in the 21st
century. “STREAM” stands for Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, the Arts and
Mathematics. This movement aims to bring a new spirit of learning to children by combining
the traditional arts and sciences with high-performance technologies, thereby making a new
kind of modern person.
In the 21st century, the world is progressing massively in every field, be it robotics,
medicine, arts, or simply education! Education is a single word, but it comes with lots of
areas of growth and development. The term ‘Progress’ is incomplete without education
because if we don’t excel in education, we would be good for nothing. The education world
needs to be successful innovators if they wish to explore strategies to link students with the
skills and knowledge they need.
In this century, there’s a growing stress on STEAM! Steam in education engages
students around the subjects of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Educational
experts have declared steam as a vital component of the 21st-century education system.
Why is steam education important? As the world is ever-changing and becoming
increasingly complex, it’s important now that we prepare our youth to make use of
knowledge and skills to solve problems, they should know how to collect and assess data to
make decisions. As we all know that modern problems require modern solutions, so, we’ll
enhance the skills of our youth through steam education and let their minds do the work!
Now, the question arises, ‘What is steam learning?’ It is basically an educational
tactic that makes use of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and maths for supervising
student evaluation, competence, and analytical thinking. This is what the importance of steam
education is, it provides students with tools and methods to discover new and inventive ways
of solving problems, data demonstrating, and connecting multiple fields together. Thus, these
steam benefits should be provided to everyone.
The changing world demands a change in education, steam teaches students to think
critically, solve problems, and prepares them to work in fields composed for growth. Do we
have a special name for schools promoting steam education? Well, yes there are steam
schools. But now you must be thinking, what is a steam school? It is a cybernetic academy
for future inventors and entrepreneurs. A platform for those who are highly motivated to
discover and invent. The steam programs in schools help students gain the skills which they
can use in almost any STEM career they choose for themselves.
BENEFITS OF STEAM EDUCATION
An interesting feature of this learning is the educational games on steam! Yes, you
heard it right. By combining blended learning and steam education, we can inspire kids
through tentative learning, where they will be free to create, fail, try and invent. Through this
process, we can empower and promote the development of critical and creative thinking and
enhance problem-solving skills. The educational games steam offers are – lightbot, blokify,
Minecraft edu, planeteers, and scrap mechanic.
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education is growing
in awareness throughout the academic community results in students take thoughtful risks,
engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work
through the creative process. STEAM has brought education at a point where it is not only
possible, but imperative that students are facilitated with learning environments that are fluid,
dynamic, and relevant. Students are finding a passion for careers in crucial fields that they
would not have discovered if it weren’t for STEAM programs.
There are a whole lot of possibilities out there to learn about the world’s intricate
tapestry. Agency for STEAM field trips, Fantastic Tours & Travel, shares five powerful
benefits of being involved in disruptive STEAM programs.
What is Arts?
The arts is a collective term, which is used to describe a range of different subject areas that
are broadly considered to be artistic or otherwise creative in their nature. When the STEAM
concept was originally created, the arts were divided into a number of sub-categories by
Georgette Yakman, and these can be briefly summarized as follows:
• Fine Arts – The areas that are commonly covered by traditional art classes and based
primarily on aesthetics, with examples including drawing, painting, sculpting, and
photography.
• Language Arts – Arts that revolve around the use of language and which are
concerned with communication, with some key examples including English, foreign
languages, sign language, and creative writing.
• Physical Arts – Subjects and topics focused on physical activity, such as dance and
sport.
• Manual Arts – Art-based subjects that are centered around physical skills and the
manipulation of objects, with some of the main examples including architecture and
landscape design.
• Liberal Arts – The broadest of the five sub-categories, covering some of the more
typically academic subjects, with examples like philosophy, ethics, sociology, history,
politics, civics, and theology.
STEAM is a progression of the original STEM acronym, plus one
additional element: art. Why the change? The integration of the arts into STEM
learning has allowed educators to expand the benefits of hands-on education and
collaboration in a variety of was, promoting creativity and curiosity at the core.
But before we get to that, let’s first look at the evolution of STEM to STEAM.
The original push for the implementation of STEM curriculum stemmed
(pun not intended) from a rise in related job opportunities in the American
economy. In fact, according to the U. S. Department of Commerce, STEM
occupations began growing at double the rate of all other occupations.
Furthermore, people with STEM-related degrees were making higher incomes,
even in non-STEM related careers. And as the economy continued to evolve,
STEM workers have played a critical role in the sustained growth and stability
of the U.S. economy — and have become a key component to helping a variety
of industries win the future.
But in 2020, when it comes to arming our youth with effective creativity
critical thinking skills, STEM is not enough. By adding in a focus on helping
kids develop a creative mindset, and other related skills, educators can give our
youth even more opportunities to be successful in real-world, professional
settings and problem-solving situations.
Why add Art to the STEM framework?
A growing number of schools are now incorporating teaching methods
that are more in line with STEAM education, as it has become clear that arts
education makes learning more fun and keeps children more engaged.
“Incorporating the A in STEAM—art—brings in personal expression,
empathy, meaning-making and the purpose of what you’re learning,” explains
Dr. Kristin Cook, associate dean of Bellarmine’s Annsley Frazier Thornton
School of Education and longtime science educator. “It’s the humanizing piece
of transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary instruction.”
In a report titled “ How the ARTS Benefit Student Achievement ,” the
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies points to data that shows the benefits
of incorporating arts into a student’s school day. Researchers found that
students scored better on standardized tests when they were more active in the
arts -- compared to those who were less active in the arts. Those same students
reportedly also watched less TV, felt less bored in school and participated in
more hours of community service.
The STEAM movement is not an attempt to take away from STEM or
its subject areas, but instead, the idea is to enhance the framework by invoking a
greater sense of creativity. In addition, one of the objectives behind this
movement is to entice students who might not otherwise consider a STEM job to
do just that -- by adding a focus on the arts and integrating all five disciplines in
a creative way. It makes kids more well-rounded and opens them up to a vast
number of new opportunities.
The idea is to teach kids that they don’t have to be only analytical or
only creative -- they can be both. To be successful both now and down the road,
one must be both an analytical thinker and a creative thinker. STEAM shows
kids they don’t have to pick one side of their brain over the other, but they can
use both to solve almost any problem they face.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Steam Pyramid Analysis is a powerful tool for in-depth investigation of
complex data. The method provides a structured approach to data analysis, allowing for a
comprehensive understanding of the data. The benefits of the method include improved
decision-making and the ability to identify patterns and trends. While the method has
limitations, it has wide-ranging applications and potential for future research.
