Steam curriculum: Arts Education As An Integral Part Of Interdisciplinary Learning

 
Definition of Terms 
The following terms are operationally defined for the study: 
STEM:
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math 

---

RUNNING HEAD: STEAM CURRICULUM PLAN 
12
STEAM:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math 
PBL:
Project-based learning, “PBL is the ongoing act of learning about different subjects 
simultaneously.” (Wolpert-Gawron, 2015) 
Interdisciplinary:
Integrating several disciplines in curriculum (Quiggley & Herro, 2016) 
Transdisciplinary:
Curriculum that starts with a problem to be solved using different 
solutions, viewpoints, or perspectives (Quiggley & Herro, 2016) 

---

RUNNING HEAD: STEAM CURRICULUM PLAN 
13
Chapter 2 
Literature Review 
In the world of education today, accountability is becoming unavoidable; 
educators are to ensure their students’ success and provide preparation for their students’ 
futures. The public school curriculum is a large part of the accountability that educators 
must face. In recent years, there has been a growth in demand for a STEM (Science, 
Technology, Engineering, and Math) program in schools to develop students in these 
content areas in order to best prepare them for careers in these growing fields. However, 
a STEM program does not incorporate the Arts, which may be an integral piece to 
interdisciplinary education and an essential element for STEM careers that demand 
innovative thinking (Grinnell and Angal, 2016, p. 54). According to Tillman (2015), “In 
education, mathematics and science are often taught in a manner that lacks opportunities 
for students to engage in creativity and the arts are allotted less time…” (p. 301). Clapp 
and Jimenez (2016) assert that, “In an economic and political landscape that strongly 
favors education in the STEM subjects, the STEAM agenda certainly appears to be a 
viable means of reprioritizing the arts into the educational lives of young people” (p. 
482). This twofold problem may have a solution in a STEAM curriculum framework that 
integrates the arts with STEM disciplines.