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This video describes a program of the Da Vinci Science Center that is supported by a Professional Development for Arts Educators grant from the US Department of Education (through Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit #21 which serves schools in the Lehigh Valley area). The 40 participating K-12 arts teachers work with students from families with low income.
The goal of the project is to prepare students for jobs in a tech-rich world by increasing the skills and knowledge of their arts teachers in digital design, coding, and fabrication tools. We increase teachers’ comfort with technology and build up their identities as "STEM people." This allows them to help their art students use technology to make personally meaningful artwork. Increased enjoyment and engagement with STEM in this context will hopefully lead to persistence in STEM subjects, particularly by students who have traditionally not embraced STEM because it didn’t feel relevant to them, and to the well-paying STEM jobs that could break the cycle of poverty.
We also focus this PD on the transdisciplinary, inquiry-based teaching methods from Maker education, Next Generation science teaching, and project-based learning that uses Design Thinking. We emphasize the overlap in the practices and habits of mind used by artists with those that are used by scientists and engineers.
Teachers receive summer training, school year workshops, online assignments/discussions, demonstration programs from the Da Vinci Science Center for their students, and indefinite access to a lending library of equipment that includes 3D printers, laser cutter/engravers, and classroom sets of various microcontroller and robotics kits.
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Thank you for viewing our project video! We would be very happy to answer your questions, and we would appreciate your comments and recommendations. Please share your experiences with K-12 Maker education, technology, computer science, STEAM, arts integration, Design Thinking, and the use of inquiry in arts classes.
Cynthia Callard
Executive Director and Faculty
Thank you for sharing your work! I really appreciate the Arts/STEM connection (STEAM), and have not seen it approached or supported in this way. I love how the Arts' teachers were integrating STEM concepts and tools in their teaching and experiences for students. I am also wondering if you supported any connections of the STEM teachers to the work in the Arts? I think there is so much that math, science, technology teachers could benefit from in terms of thinking about how their fields are connected to the Arts (clearly music and drawing at the very least!). One often thinks of them as "two sides of the brain," but we can help support the integration! Looking forward to hearing more.
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Thanks for the encouragement. We need integration to dispel the "two sides of the brain" myth that people are EITHER artistic/creative OR scientific/analytical. At the Da Vinci Science Center, Leonardo is our STEAM hero! We have had resistance from some arts people who are worried their content will be diluted, or that integration will give administrators an excuse to reduce arts-dedicated class time, but most artists are aware that many of the skills overlap those of scientists and engineers (observation, experimentation, communication, argument from evidence, asking questions). On the STEM side, arts-integration can seem like an unnecessary add-on to some teachers, but many have interests in the arts/humanities themselves and see it as a natural way to broaden engagement, provide meaningful context, and deepen learning. We're working to increase the arts connections in our own programs, and we encourage the STEAM approach in our professional development classes.
Zenon Borys
This is a great project! And, it connects to our similar project, but geared towards adults (so far). We found the arts can be a great motivator to develop technical skills and know-how. As you mentioned, the mindsets needs in the artists and STEM fields complement each other. One detail I wondered if you saw more of was about the collaborative aspects. We saw that teams were needed (especially as the field got more technical) and able to create more than the sum of their parts. I saw students working collaboratively in the video and wondered if they noticed a similar dynamic - groups led to better creations.
Eric Lech
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Yes - our projects ARE very complementary. We like to introduce the teachers in our PD program to some of the artists listed on your website (many from MIT Media Lab), and others like AI portrait artist, Nettrice Gaskins (whose new book I recommend), and many others who use light and motors in their work. The "art-technology" intersection in K-12 education could be enhanced by more collaboration between tech ed, art, computer science, science, and math teachers, but it's very difficult for these teachers to find time to co-plan, and there is an unfortunate separation of the "core subject" teachers from the "specials" teachers. Our PD program has encouraged the teachers to have students work on projects in groups, and we have emphasized the need to teach teamwork through fun interactive exercises followed up by reflection and discussion so that students learn this valuable skill AND have more success making their creations.
Wendy Smith
Research Professor
Thanks for sharing your engaging project using the arts to connect with and integrate STEM and design thinking. Were the teachers in your project all volunteers, or did some initially question why they should learn skills like coding in scratch as art/music teachers? Did any of the teachers have trouble integrating STEM projects within prescribed arts curricula required by their districts?
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Thanks for the question. With a 3-minute video, it's hard to describe the project, its impact, AND the challenges we faced! Recruitment of volunteers was restricted to schools with at least 50% free/reduced meals, and at first we included only visual arts teachers. Later (because we had trouble finding enough participants), we expanded to include teachers of music, STEAM classes, tech ed, and librarians who facilitate Maker projects. And, as you suspected, a few did drop out because they decided that they didn't want to use the equipment in their art classes. Some art teachers see their students for only 25 class periods in an entire academic year, so introducing a new multi-day project is a very big change to their plans. The most enthusiastic adopters are the ones who enjoy jumping into something new and learning along with the students (who pick up this digital stuff easily). Our teachers all have a lot of freedom within their districts. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "I can make ANY project fit the art standards and district curriculum."
David Lockett
Data Science Outreach and Grants Development
What an amazing and collaborative project! Students with a positive STEAM mindset continue to develop and change during academic experiences. Self image produces positive achievement and motivation. What across the curriculum STEAM disciplines were connected? There are so many opportunities for students to explore and learn through STEAM-based activities.
Melissa Higgins
Coming from a museum with a STEAM focus, I was very excited to watch your video. I noted right away how very fun and playful many of the projects in the video felt. I can only imagine how much fun the students had. Can you share a bit more detail on the teacher PD experience (duration and number of sessions)? If you can comment on teacher confidence in integrating technology at the start of their involvement and then afterwards, I'd be very interested to learn more about that as well!
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Three cohorts, each with ~15 teachers, had staggered starts, beginning in summer 2018. Each cohort was in the program for 2 years. Each year, they received ~28 hours of PD in the summer, followed by ~16 hours of workshops during the school year, and ~16 hours of online discussion/assignments...I think it's a good model, but COVID definitely affected our participation. Teachers also received free demonstration/outreach classes from the Da Vinci Science Center for their classes, so they had opportunities to see the recommended approaches being used with their own students. These classes were definitely FUN (the scribbling machines in the video, and paper circuits, for example). Teachers reported that the students were very engaged by the projects that used Makey Makeys and Hummingbird Bit kits, and they were very excited to design for the 3D printer and laser cutter. We're working on a set of lesson plans to upload to OERCommons.
Victor Minces
Looooooove iiiiiiiit
Eric Lech
Heather Leary
What a wonderful project! I love that you are helping teachers and students see themselves as scientists and artists; something dear to my heart that I believe is so important. I am wondering how you help the teachers who do not feel confident with the art forms to still be able to effectively implement in their classrooms? Thanks!
Ann Bebout
STEAM Education Program Manager
Different individuals definitely need different amounts of training (and encouragement) before they feel ready to implement. For 3D modeling and coding, the students honestly pick it up faster than most adults, so the trepidation by the teachers has more to do with workflow (keeping track of student files and materials) and troubleshooting problems with the equipment.