This book illustrates that real-life learning in which students conduct scientific investigations and make new innovations to solve real-world problems is an integral part of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) education. It provides examples of student and teacher work from projects of the Rutgers University Center of Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education. The book examines how new K to 12 education standards and innovative teacher professional development programs – which emphasize transdisciplinary approaches to STEM and STEAM – lead to the emergence of real-life education in schools. In addition, the book references related research to identify key advances in STEM and STEAM education. Special topics include the uses of makerspaces, educational video games, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to fuel project-based, real-life learning. Key areas of coverage include: Online learning and student engagement (or disengagement) in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of new K-12 standards in science, design thinking, computer science, and climate change in stimulating integrative STEM/STEAM education. Obstacles and supports for teaching integrative STEM and STEAM programs. Multiple types of teacher and student collaboration in STEM, STEAM, and maker-based education. The need for teacher professional development and student supports to integrate sophisticated, new technologies into classrooms. Integrative STEM and STEAM Education for Real-Life Learning is an essential resource for researchers, professors, graduate students, and advanced undergraduate students as well as professionals and policy makers across all interrelated disciplines, including educational, school, child, developmental, and cognitive psychology, teaching and teacher education, learning and instruction, library science, multimedia, and all professionals with interests in science, mathematics, engineering, technology, and arts education.

Award-winning artist and educator Tim Needles brings a fresh approach to STEAM topics, focusing on creativity, innovation and collaboration. There are numerous books on STEAM, but most are either arts and crafts project books designed for children or high-level books that can be weighty and inaccessible for new teachers. This accessible and engaging book offers creative ideas for blending arts and STEM learning (STEAM). It covers the fundamentals of STEAM, with project ideas and best practices, while providing insight from educators in the field. Technologies covered include: coding, robotics, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, photography, video, animation and digital drawing. In addition, the book addresses several different approaches to bringing STEAM learning to the next level, such as collaboration, global learning, project-based learning, makerspaces and social-emotional learning. The book: • Features a breadth of technology and project possibilities, with project ideas organized by technology type. • Explores long-standing concepts that are relevant regardless of specific advances in technology, providing the pedagogy behind the projects rather than technology for technology’s sake. • Offers a highly visual approach, incorporating photographs and hand-drawn sketchnotes. • Illustrates concepts through author examples as well as a series of interviews featuring STEAM professionals and expert teachers. • Presents topics in a clear, concise manner that's useful for repeated reading and as a practical resource. With its friendly style and visual design, the book is a practical guide for new and emerging educators, and for educators looking for fun and creative ways to invigorate their STEAM curriculum.

STEM Integration in K-12 Education examines current efforts to connect the STEM disciplines in K-12 education. This report identifies and characterizes existing approaches to integrated STEM education, both in formal and after- and out-of-school settings. The report reviews the evidence for the impact of integrated approaches on various student outcomes, and it proposes a set of priority research questions to advance the understanding of integrated STEM education. STEM Integration in K-12 Education proposes a framework to provide a common perspective and vocabulary for researchers, practitioners, and others to identify, discuss, and investigate specific integrated STEM initiatives within the K-12 education system of the United States. STEM Integration in K-12 Education makes recommendations for designers of integrated STEM experiences, assessment developers, and researchers to design and document effective integrated STEM education. This report will help to further their work and improve the chances that some forms of integrated STEM education will make a positive difference in student learning and interest and other valued outcomes.

In the face of complex local and global problems, there is a critical need to prepare PK-12 students to be innovative, resilient problem-solvers and well-equipped STEM-literate citizens. With focus upon integrated content, college and career readiness, authentic problems, and action-oriented pedagogies, integrative STEM education provides a promising approach to address this challenge. Integrative STEM programming with its fusion of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology content and practices may manifest in a variety of ways: Teachers co-plan an engineering design experience within a social studies class. A community business partner offers a job-shadowing experience. Students engage in an after-school program at a makerspace. Educators collaboratively re-envision and interweave STEM across the curriculum. And more... Current and future educational leaders striving to improve STEM programming will find this book to be a useful resource. Its introduction offers an orientation to the fundamental goals, principles, and practices of integrative STEM education. While later chapters delve into the facets of STEM programming and the competencies of STEM leadership which form the foundation of a coherent program. These evidence-based strategies, examples, and resources may provide inspiration to leaders as they initiate and enhance an equitable integrative STEM culture within their school.

This book looks at the value of integrating the arts and sciences in the school curriculum. It argues that this will help students further their understanding of analytical concepts through the use of creativity. The authors illustrate how schools can work towards presenting common practices, concepts, and content. Coverage features case studies and lessons learned from classrooms across the United States. The notion of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is an emerging discipline unique in its desire to provide a well-rounded approach to education. The chapters of this volume examine STEAM in a variety of settings, from kindergarten to higher education. Readers will learn about the practical considerations involved when introducing the arts and creativity into traditionally left brain processes. This includes best practices for creating and sustaining successful STEAM initiatives in any school, college, or university. For instance, one chapter discusses novel approaches to teach writing with the scientific method in order to help students better present their ideas. The authors also detail how the arts can engage more diverse learners, including students who are not traditionally interested in STEM subjects. They provide three concrete examples of classroom-tested inquiries: designing a prosthetic arm for a child, making a paleontology investigation, and taking a closer look at the arts within roller coaster engineering. This book is an invaluable resource for teachers and teacher trainers, university faculty, researchers, and school administrators. It will also be of interest to science, mathematics, engineering, computer science, information technology, arts and design and technology teachers.

This book provides a platform for international scholars to share evidence for effective practices in integrated STEM education and contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge gained from the diversity of approaches. Many publications on STEM education focus on one or two of the separate STEM disciplines without considering the potential for delivering STEM curriculum as an integrated approach.This publication analyzes the efficacy of an integrated STEM curriculum and instruction, providing evidence to examine and support various integrations. The volume focuses on the problems seen by academics working in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and provides valuable, high quality research outcomes and a set of valued practices which have demonstrated their use and viability to improve the quality of integrated STEM education.