Full STEAM Ahead: Blending Photography and Biomedical Science to Facilitate Systems Thinking

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Learning Environments for STEM Education (Table 1)

Abstract

The present investigation seeks to understand how arts integration into STEM curriculum could support systems thinking around socio-scientific topics. Working primarily with 3rd-5th graders in a rural town in the Pacific Northwest, we engaged learners with photographic arts to explore the nature of COVID, the experiences of persons who get sick, and ways that we can protect ourselves, communities, and global populations from the spread of disease. Integrated with the science of protective measures against COVID, the curriculum focused heavily on photographic composition principles, visual thinking strategies, and the use of photography to tell scientific stories. Our results illustrate the potential for arts integration to promote increased learning and systems thinking while making connections to their lives and communities.

Authors

• Robert William Danielson, Washington State University - Spokane
  Presenting Author

• Elizabeth Grace, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Kristin Saba Fisher, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Molly L. Kelton, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Alison White, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Emma Stacey, Georgia State University
  Presenting Author

• Braelyn Young, West Virginia University
  Presenting Author

• Jeb P. Owen, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• AnaMaria Diaz Martinez, Washington State University
  Presenting Author