STEAM Designed and Enacted: Understanding the Process of Design and Implementation of STEAM Curriculum in an Elementary School

Abstract

Educators are now moving classroom instructional objectives away from what content do we need to know towards how can we support learners in the process of inquiry. Consequently, an increasing number of schools have revamped their curricula to support students. One such example of modified curricula is the rising trend of STEAM Education. However, limited research exists on STEAM teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to understand the ways in which elementary teachers can both design and enact STEAM teaching practices in order to define specific curricular supports for STEAM education. Our key findings were (1) teachers who designed relevant problems provided instructional pathways aligned to the STEAM conceptual model and (2) teacher facilitation promoted both inquiry and authentic tasks—two strategies often difficult for teachers. This research demonstrates the importance of teachers designing STEAM curriculum using problem-based units in ways that promote student inquiry. The data demonstrates this as critical to enact discipline integration, teacher facilitation, and authentic tasks.

Appendix

Problem-based delivery

This dimension captures the ways in which teacher present material in a problem-based way that is relevant to students’ lives

Behavioral indicators	Low (1,2)	Mid (3,4,5)	High (6,7)	Comments
Relevant problems
Presents students with a problem to solve   Explicitly designs tasks which are culturally, geographically, globally, or locally relevant   Encourages tasks which are relevant to students’ lives	The teacher does not provide problem-based learning	The teacher provides problem-based learning; however the problem is not relevant to students’ lives.	The teacher consistently provides problem-based learning that is relevant.
Connected ideas
Connections between STEAM content and problem-solving scenarios are explicitly communicated   STEAM content is integrated throughout the real-world learning activity.	The teacher approaches problem solving-through inauthentic (unconnected to the problem or not real-world).	The teacher approaches the scenarios by offering students authentic (connected to the problem the students are solving and real world) ideas to consider when problem-solving. At times, content is approaches as an “add on.”	The teacher regularly approaches the scenarios by offering students, real-world (content-related) ideas to consider when problem-solving. Content is not approached as an “add-on.”
Acknowledgement of multiple disciplines
Includes multiple resources   Includes methods from different disciplines.   Includes multiple concepts from different disciplines	The teacher does not consider knowledge or resources from other disciplines. Resources come from one content area.	The teacher makes some attempt to connect with resources or experts outside of their own discipline, however multiple disciplines are not explicitly considered.	Often, the teacher incorporates multiple disciplines in explicit ways

Discipline integration

This dimension captures the ways the selection of material across disciplines including concepts, methods and approaches as well as how they are synthesized to support deeper learning

Behavioral indicators	Low (1,2)	Mid (3,4,5)	High (6,7)	Comments
Multiple content areas
Provides examples in other content areas to make the content meaningful   Draws on more than one content area through examples, mentors, resources.   References other content areas when teaching another content area.	The teacher focus on a single content area.	Sometimes, the teacher involves more than one discipline to integrate problem-solving through more than one way, however multiple disciplines are not involved.	The teacher consistently involves multiple disciplines through an approach, which integrates context and content. The disciplines are nearly transparent within the problem.
Multiple methods
Includes a variety of high quality instructional strategies that encourage/allow students to use	The teacher primarily uses one instructional approach.	Sometimes, the teacher offers one instructional strategy or method is used to meet instructional needs.	Often, the teacher consistently uses a variety of instructional strategies and methods to meet instructional need or various disciplines.
Synthesis across the disciplines
Provides curricula, which blends multiple content areas.	No effort is made to integrate content from multiple disciplines.	The teacher offers curricula, which integrates content from multiple disciplines, however curricula clearly delineate the separation of discipline content.	The teacher offers curricula which seamlessly integrates content from multiple disciplines.

Problem-solving skills

This dimension captures the ways in which teachers foster developing the underlying skills, which are needed for effective problem-solving

Behavioral indicators	Low (1,2)	Mid (3,4,5)	High (6,7)	Comments
Cognitive skills
Supports honing cognitive skills   Abstracting   Analyzing   Applying   Formulating   Interpreting   Modeling	The teacher does not facilitate building cognitive skills, nor do they provide a platform to apply the skills across settings.	The teacher facilitates cognitive skills but does not consistently provide a platform to apply the skills.	The teacher consistently facilitates skills while providing a platform to apply the skills in a variety of settings.
Interactional skills
Student and teacher collaboration opportunities observed   Communication (student-to-student or teacher-to-student) encouraged   Communication technology employed	The teacher does not provide students with opportunities to collaborate or practice communication skills.	The teachers provide some problem-solving activities in which students can practice communication and collaboration skills. However, the skills are not always practiced relevant to solving the problem.	The teacher provides a variety of relevant problem-solving activities in which students can practice communication and collaboration skills. This may be accomplished in digital and non-digital contexts.
Creative skills
Uses multiple tools and methods to allow students creative and varied ways to demonstrate understanding.   Behavioral markers might include:     student choice     multiple approaches encouraged     different solutions valued	No effort is made to offer students opportunities to be creative.	The teacher provides instruction uses a variety of tools and methods, however students’ choices are limited when constructing creative solutions to problems.	The teacher provides instruction and models a variety of tools and methods for students to consider when creatively constructing solutions.

Classroom environment

This dimension captures the ways in which teachers structure the classroom environment, tasks, and resources to facilitate deep learning

Behavioral indicators	Low (1,2)	Mid (3,4,5)	High (6,7)	Comments
Problem-based
Presents students with a problem to solve   Presents students with a problem scenario	The teacher does not provide problem-based learning.	The teacher provides problem-based learning; however, the problem does not involve multiple ways to solve the problem.	The teacher consistently provides problem-based learning through ill-structured that encourages students to consider multiple ways to solve the problem.
Authentic tasks
Encourages tasks that is relevant to students’ lives.   Explicitly designs tasks, which are culturally, geographically, globally or locally relevant.	The teacher does not make an effort to make the problem relevant to students’ lives.	The construction of the problem includes some tasks connected to student’s interests, however the problem is not directly relevant to their lives.	The teachers select tasks connected to students’ interest and lives. Tasks within problems are relevant to students’ lives.
Inquiry-rich
Encourages student-driven approaches to problem-solving.   Supports student choice in methods and materials when problem-solving.   Allows students to consider multiple questions of study within the overarching problem.	Teachers direct the learning sequentially throughout student’s problem-solving.	The teachers construct problems, which offer students guided inquiry in which the question is provided, but student-driven methods or materials are used.	Often, teachers construct problems, which offer student opportunities for open inquiry through students’ choice of materials and methods.
Student choice (method of inquiry, products, group members, process)
Provide opportunities for student choice in assessment, method of study, partners, etc.	The teacher does not offer students choices in approaching learning content.	The teacher offer students a choice in approaching learning content.	Often, teachers regularly offer students choice in approaching learning content in a variety of ways.
Technology integration
Effectively supports learning by engaging students in appropriate technology to problem solve.   Technology is used in products, projects or dissemination	The teacher does not choose or integrate appropriate technology for problem-solving.	The teacher chooses appropriate technology; however it is used more as an instructional tool versus a tool to mediate problem-solving.	Often, the teacher chooses appropriate technology and integrate it to mediate problem-solving.
Teacher facilitated
Designs tasks to promote student-guided learning.   Teachers are assisting with clarifying tasks but not in control of the learning process   Students are checking in with one another (collaboration) before seeking help from the teachers.   Students are referring to rubrics, problem scenario or other resources when they need assistance.	The problem or tasks are not designed to support student-guided learning.	Sometimes, the teacher designs the problem to support student-guided learning, however the tasks and classroom environment do not always support peer reliance.	Often, the teacher designs the problem, tasks and classroom to support student-guided learning relying on peer support.