Our Society's Obsession with STEM/STEAM: Crazy or Critical?

You ask someone to draw a picture of what a scientist looks like and you will most likely get something like this.

A few weeks ago The Washington Post published an article regarding the STEM obsession in America as being dangerous.  Every time we turn a corner, we see the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) /STEAM  (insert Arts) bandwagon making it's way down the educational highway.  But, on the shoulder of the road, are those who may not be motivated by those acronyms. The article reminds us that we need Psychology, Communication, Art History, English, and Music majors (just to name a few). We need also need those who may forgo college,  Manufacturers, Entrepreneurs, Builders, Farmers, Ranchers and others.

What we need more than anything? Kids who know how to think for themselves and problem solve.

There are several important areas I have learned when creating, developing and sustaining STEM/STEAM initiatives to support thinkers; not just consumers or doers, not just scientists, techies or artists, but makers of meaning.

(listed alphabetically, not by priority)

1. Double Entry Reflections:   It's not enough to just experience a new activity, we need to reflect on what is going on. Double entry journals do just that. By simply folding a piece of paper in half you now have created a front and back way to express learning. The left side can be used to write down facts (from the  research or reading), what they are learning as they go through the activity, the right side is meant for reflection. For example, on the left side, the student can answer the question, " What did you find challenging?", then on the right side, "Explain why you found it challenging or different." No need for multiple choice tests or scary assessments, have them keep this working document to share their understanding and thirst for more.


2. Expertise and Involvement: There is not one person out there that could possibly know everything about science, or technology, or math, or art or engineering, especially how to integrate these pieces together. Network, email, and text people who are educated and experienced in different content areas. Invite them in to volunteer their time to share and teach what they know (even if it is just an hour). No presentations...participation! Students are exposed to presentations and power points way too often.  At the STEAM Studio, we have called on high school students (like our own Krishon), college pre-service teachers, and other talented volunteers (the amazing artist John Bukaty) to share what they know in a platform that allows to work with the kids, not tell them, show them and learn from them.

3. Keep Em Interested:  Despite grant money, initial interest and the whole STEM excitement, reports show that many students are not finishing STEM education programs. One of the main reasons is that they lose interest. Learning is no different than other areas of your life; relationships, hobbies, travel...you enjoy being involved with someone or something because there is something different, exciting, memorable and worth learning more about.  They key to getting kids to start what they finish, in regards to STEM/STEAM programs, find what really interests them and build a project or activity around that.

4. Multiple Opportunities: Teachers and parents cannot do it all. There is mandated curriculum which must be taught, a social and family life which is essential to growing, and opportunities needed to inspire life long learning.  After school clubs are a great way to extend enrichment activities while integrating fun and individualized attention beyond the bell. Research shows there are significant benefits, beyond academics, for participants in after school programs. However, many programs only offer one topic, one project or one way to be involved.  STEM/STEAM programming should offer multiple ways to learn and multiple ways to participate through multiple topics.

5. No Recipes:  I'm not saying that anything goes, but we need to get away from structured lesson planning, standardization and assessing our students to death.  Design Thinking allows learners to be explorers. We want them to think for themselves, to be risk takers, to fail then try again, to succeed and evolve their project, to seek improvement in what they are doing.  This is the essence of Design Thinking which is the core of what we do at the STEAM Studio.

Are STEM/STEAM programs crazy or critical? It depends on the vision and mission of the initiative or program. If it is to follow the masses, deliver content through rote memory, standardized testing and push out incredibly boring material, then it is crazy. Facilitating the mad scientist image ingrained in many of our youth will deter them from such a program.  However, if you build, develop and evolve a program which focuses on individual talents, interests, interdisciplinary learning to raise confidence in the areas of STEM/STEAM, then you have a critical calling for the next generation.


I remember one of the first movies that made science look fun: Weird Science. You don't need to be blinded by science, or STEM/STEAM, it can open your eyes to all different types of ways to have fun and learn.



Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science from Mad Hatter on Vimeo.

Where's MacGyver? How Scarcity Can Encourage Creativity

Who remembers MacGyver? This guy was a true hero, he could make and solve anything with household items in a matter of minutes. He had a great lid too.

In a day and age where many of our children are given 1:1 devices, their own room, their own toys, even their own box of crayons and bag of supplies, why is it surprising to us that there is a loss of creativity and gratefulness?

A few weeks ago at STEAM Studio, one of our after school clubs, STEAM Club for Girls (grades 1-4), was engaged in an activity where they brainstormed, designed, then built their dream room. Being that this is our first session in our new space and we are supported by our non profit organization, STEAM Engine, supplies are limited. Some might even think they are scarce.  BUT...

...there is a bigger reason for that and here's why:

1. The sky is not always the limit:  When a child dreams big, we all are excited. Really there is no crazy idea when you are in the brainstorming stage. It's when you start thinking about planning and developing that idea, reality sets in. During our activity, we showed the students the cubbies where all the materials where. Ten cubbies with a variety of materials ranging from craft sticks, rulers, glue, marshmellows and toothpicks, scissors, tape, markers, paper, fabric, textiles, and so on.  We discussed that they needed to sketch out their room, make a list of what materials they were thinking they would need, then we would move on from there.  Sure, some of them wanted materials we did not have, pipe cleaners, stickers, or small wooden furniture. However, what happened from there was exciting to see and incredibly encouraging to hear...
2. Soft skills develop when you share: Twelve scissors for twenty - eight girls. Yep. Purposeful and planned to show them the importance of waiting your turn, sharing of resources and kindly asking someone for something you need. We role played and then gave gentle reminders. You know what? No one got stabbed out of frustration and every one of the girls got to cut what they wanted.  They learned how to move on to something else while they waited and the importance of working as a team to get through what they needed.
3. Real world application comes alive: What happens when you want to make a waterbed for your dream room and you only have some craft supplies to do it?  You brainstorm and share. One girl saw some sandwich baggies and said, "what if we put some water in a sandwich baggie,closed it, measure, cut and tape some fabric over it? we can make a waterbed!" Other girls decided to make a fish tank out of water in a baggie, then add blue food coloring. We even had a hot tub made! In the real world, there is a budget when you are building something and you may only have a limited amount of resources/materials to use. Kids need to be reminded we can't just run to the store every time we need something. You don't have to throw money at a problem to solve it.
4. Ideas ignite and brains spark solutions:  As the sharing continued, more ideas came out of the discussion. Cotton ball pillows, marshmellow and toothpicks made furniture, craft sticks  stairs, it went on and on. It literally was like watching a domino effect go around the studio. One girl would share an idea and the others would add their twist or another idea would spark. Sure, there were challenging times for them when they had to go back and figure out another way to develop their design.  Through some encouragement and thinking, they built their room from their dream.
5. A better tomorrow: We encourage our families and friends to recycle, we are trying to prepare our next generation of learners for jobs which do not even exist and for jobs we are losing to other countries. If we want to keep our country growing in a positive way, our kids need to not only think outside the box, but under it, on it, over it and all around it.

Perhaps MacGyver was on to something when he said: 

Maybe it's about time I expanded the realm of possibilities around here." (Season 1)

What realm of possibilities will you expand today?

Check out this initiative about how scarcity and creativity is being researched: http://scarcity.is/
(You can click on a word and it will show you how others are solving problems and not letting scarcity of materials or the mere definition of it hold them back from moving forward.)


Take 7 minutes and watch this video! It will open your mind about how scarcity can encourage creativity, and Gautam is pretty funny.

Westport Bound: Bringing Education to the Original Entertainment District

Read about another reason Westport rocks!

For those who live in Kansas City, Westport brings us entertainment, hotels, restaurants, services, shopping and some of our favorite bars. What many do not know is that this area is a great place to learn. Learn about culture, engage in interesting conversations, walk around and observe people from all different walks of life and enjoy a thriving setting that is over 150 years old.

This past week two groups of students (K-8) from Visitation Catholic School were bused down to Westport to the Gould Evans Architectural Firm for two different after school clubs provided by a non-profit STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Engine. STEAM Engine has been a passion of mine for quite awhile. After much planning and paperwork, we just got the green light a few weeks ago. My partners, Matt Gunter and Hank Stratemeier and I are thrilled to have started a non-profit organization that will focus on encouraging learners of all ages to grow through STEAM initiatives and activities.


Why Westport?  Last fall, I started collaborating with David Reid and Emily Harrold from  Gould Evans Architectural Firm to create a STEAM Studio in the available loft space in their building. Gould Evans has partnered with our non-profit, STEAM Engine to provide a unique, "anti-classroom" collaborative space for kids to feel comfortable being in. You can read more about how we designed the space to pilot some programs this summer. It was a huge success! Westport has been especially popular and continually growing over the last few years. I am beyond excited to support this growth in a different way.


Why Buses?  Our Catholic School K-8 kids don't take buses to or from school.They typically are housed in the same building for all nine years of their K-8 schooling. Last week they all boarded buses and were excited to collectively take this trip together. No technology allowed, so they talked and visited about their day, some did their homework, while others actually looked out the window and made comments about what they saw on their way. Not to mention, how many parents have the time or means to drive their kids to Westport after school? This bus transportation is also good for the environment as it promotes cleaner air (buses 80% emit less carbon monoxide than cars). Bus trips encourage conversations, observations and exposing them to a ride they won't get elsewhere.


Why After School?  Learning doesn't have to feel like "school" and should extend outside of the school day. Allowing kids to experience a different setting and explore by making choices on what they want to do and how they want to approach it, is key. Parents and teachers cannot do it all. STEAM Engine activities encourage design thinking and the time it takes for kids to feel like they can be creative and express themselves as they want to. Many people have the creativity knocked out of them at an early age. Design thinking, in a nutshell, promotes learners to solve their own problems by designing their own solutions. This builds confidence, risk taking. It also teachers them how to plan out their projects. instead of just jumping in and answering a question or starting an activity.  STEAM Engine activities promote brainstorming, planning, testing and the development of what they want to manufacture: collaborating, inventing, testing, designing and redesigning before the final product. Less consuming, more producing...their way.


Why Should You Care? Because kids are our future. Education is evolving. We are suppose to be preparing them for jobs which require them to think for themselves and solve problems. Our school systems need work and it all can't be done during the school day. Read about some benefits of after school programming which range from boosting academic success, to reducing use of drugs and teenage sex while providing stronger self-esteem and confidence.  Getting kids out of their school bubbles and offering them ways to be creative, enjoy working, and exploring keeps them growing and loving learning.


Please support our cause, STEAM Engine by reading my future blogs about what we will be doing and who we are. We are starting small but will be growing big involving more schools and adding more exciting programs. And, most of all, we are going to have fun doing it!


Watch how Dublin's got it going on. We can all learn from each other, and we should.