Learning, Equity, and STEAM

• In Event: 26.049 - Gathering STEAM: The Integration of Arts-Based Educational Projects Into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Curricula

Abstract

Objectives
This presentation focuses on issues of inclusion and equity as they relate to STEAM and its potential outcomes.

Theoretical Overview
Computational tools have been shown to support young people’s creative expression and identity formation. In particular, constructionist theories of learning (Papert, 1980) resonate strongly with STEAM ideas of engaging learners in drawing upon multiple disciplines to create personally meaningful artifacts. Similarly, sociocultural approaches to learning and development focus can contribute to deeper understandings of learning as a social process that contributes to the development of practices within and across disciplines.

Methods
Ethnographic studies of after-school programs designed for students to engage in “tinkering” were conducted (Vossoughi, Escudé, Kong, & Hooper, 2013). Specifically, social interactional analyses of educational discourse in these settings were conducted to understand the pedagogical practices and forms of learning taking place in the environment.

Results
The result of the case studies has been a focus on defining situated understandings of equity in relation to tinkering, making, and STEAM activities. Additionally, dimensions of equity-oriented practice around tinkering were identified.

Scholarly Significance
Designers of tinkering, making, and STEAM activities share a desire to "broaden access" to STEM learning, yet there is often a lack of clarity about what this means for participants and social equity. This presentation discusses the importance of inclusion and equity and suggests strategies to make these explicit components in STEAM initiatives.

Author

• Paula K. Hooper