Science and art are often described as completely different things. That story can start early, with children encouraged to pursue a STEM education — short for science, technology, engineering and math — that may or may not include arts education.
As an acting professor, I had never thought much about the STEM fields until I received a grant to integrate the arts into STEM education models. I took the opportunity to write and direct a play for primary school students that showed how the arts can enhance and expand work in STEM fields when integrated properly – but that was not an easy process.
VOTE or STEAM?
Whether STEM should be expanded to include STEAM – science, technology, engineering, arts and math – with the addition of arts remains something of a debate.
The origins of STEM education can be traced back to the Morrill Act of 1862, which promoted agricultural sciences and later engineering at land-grant universities. In 2001, the National Science Foundation emphasized STEM education to make the US more globally competitive.
A Biden-Harris initiative launched in December 2022, called You Belong in STEM, provides support of more than $120 billion for K-12 STEM education through the year 2025. But as of 2012, the United States Research Council the idea of a STEAM education.
Researchers have found that the arts, when integrated into STEM education, make room for curiosity and innovation. So why the lack of agreement and consistency on whether it should be STEM or STEAM?
The tendency to emphasize STEM education could be driven by the higher future salaries of STEM majors or the significant funding tied more to STEM-based research and grants than to the arts. A STEAM education takes more time and is more complex than a traditional STEM education model.
Or it may simply be that many academics in STEM fields lack the incentive for interdisciplinary work that the arts entail, and vice versa. In fact, that was exactly the position I found myself in when, as an arts researcher, I was asked to create something about STEM disciplines that I knew very little about.
Performing the play
It took me several attempts and a lot of research to get the script of my STEAM-centered play into its current form.
At first I made fundamental discoveries. I learned that there is a debate about whether the arts should be included in STEM education. I have learned that “soft sciences” like psychology are not included in many STEM education models. I lacked a background in most disciplines of STEM. And I struggled to find a project that inspired me.
But eventually I started working on five one-act plays called “The STEAM Plays: Using the Arts to Talk about STEM.” Each focused on a category of STEAM education. I wrote the first draft of the show with a chip on my shoulder, trying to prove that art did indeed belong in STEM education.
The tone was defensive and provocative – and not entirely appropriate for the elementary age group I was focusing on.
The new, revised version, which toured Michigan elementary schools in fall 2023, features twenty bite-sized comedy scenes and songs that dramatize how the arts are integral to many STEM fields. These include how technical skills are needed when designing a celebrity’s evening gown, how bakers need to know some basic chemistry, and how TikTok’s mathematical algorithms find new videos for each user.
In each of the scenes, students can see how artistic imagination and creative thinking extend STEM education.
Beyond the stage
These themes emerge from a broader scientific understanding that STEM is not done in a creativity vacuum, and encouraging students’ artistic thinking will help them in the science classroom as well as the art studio.
One plot point of the show is about an evil genius who sees the arts as less important and tries to keep the arts out of STEM. He exchanges the bodies of a scientist and an actor, but also of an engineer and a creative writer. With each body swap, the STEM professional and the artist recognize how similar their work is. In the final scene, the evil genius tries to switch the bodies of Pythagoras and Taylor Swift, but realizes that music is all about math.
This article is part of Art & Science Collidea series that explores the intersections between art and science.
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Many teachers have given rave reviews. “The plays have done an excellent job of highlighting the importance and value of the arts in our education system,” one person commented. “Students walked away enjoying a better understanding of how all the different aspects of STEAM could work together.
A STEAM education in which students learn soft skills such as empathy, collaboration, emotional intelligence and creativity through the arts helps prepare students for the job market. And these discussions are not just limited to primary and secondary education; many research grants encourage interdisciplinary work.
My understanding of the STEM and STEAM debate and my experience writing, producing, and watching people respond to my show have helped me understand how the arts are necessary to every student’s education. I have learned that without artistic imagination, STEM students’ thinking skills can be stifled.
All I had to do was write a play for children before I got it myself.
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit organization providing facts and analysis to help you understand our complex world.
It was written by: Rob Roznowski, Michigan State University.
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Rob Roznowski received funding from Michigan State University from two places. As part of the STEAMpower Fellowship https://grad.msu.edu/news/steampower-facultystaff-fellows $10,000 and the Humanities And Arts Grant Proposal System. https://research.msu.edu/humanities-and-arts-research-program The first fellowship included writing and research. The HARP was awarded to tour and design the piece. $7000