The SoundScapes approach to STEAM education: Difference between revisions

From Soundscapes
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Created page with "Have you ever wondered what it would sound like to hear stars shining or someone's thoughts? While these phenomena don't produce sound waves, they can be translated into sound through sonification, which we’ll explore as a means for inclusive education. This approach is vital in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) project-based learning, shifting focus from memorization to skill development. Many students feel unmotivated due to a lack of pr...")
 
No edit summary
Line 2: Line 2:


== STEAM education ==
== STEAM education ==
STEM teaching is an interdisciplinary approach in education which fosters the development of skills and competencies in multiple interrelated fields through project based learning to solve real problems and challenges of our society in a responsible way. However broad, it is still not the most complete ground for the development of many other important life transversal skills and competences such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity, as it can miss to integrate many of students’ interests, passions and talents, such as those covered by arts, social sciences and humanities. A more comprehensive approach is embodied in the STEAM methodology, which intertwines STEM fields with the arts to cultivate a more integrated and interactive learning experience that nurtures a diverse range of cognitive, social, and emotional skills.
Artistic expression offers a great potential for developing fundamental academic, emotional, and social skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, self-esteem, confidence, tolerance, empathy, etc<ref>Dincç, N. D., & Karahn, Ç. . (2021). Art integration applications in middle school
5th class science lesson. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 7(2), 141-150</ref>. For this reason, STEAM education is becoming widespread, and schools worldwide are adopting new, creative and more inclusive ways to implement it in the classroom. Nevertheless, the incorporation of arts into STEAM often remains symbolic or superficial<ref>Liu, C. Y., Wu, C. J., Chien, Y. H., Tzeng, S. Y., & Kuo, H. C. (2021). Examining the quality of art in STEAM learning activities. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts</ref>, primarily focusing on aesthetics<ref>Perignat, E., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). STEAM in practice and research: An integrative literature review. Thinking skills and creativity, 31, 31-43</ref>, thus offering a wide opportunity to delve deeper into the full educational potential of the arts. Concurrently, although the STEAM approach is increasingly popular, many teachers find it challenging to merge multiple disciplines into a cohesive project, leading to feelings of discouragement and confusion. While it is not mandatory to focus on all STEAM disciplines in one single project, it is still possible to do it and SoundScapes is meant to facilitate that. But how to implement STEAM? One meaningful and effective way to implement STEAM is through the Design Thinking method<ref>Henriksen, D. (2017). Creating STEAM with design thinking: Beyond STEM and arts integration. The STEAM Journal, 3(1), 11.</ref>.


== The Design Thinking methodology ==
== The Design Thinking methodology ==
<HTML>
<br>
</html>
[[File:FICS.png|centre|800 px|alt=SoundScapes logo]]
The SoundScapes project's approach to STEAM education follows the four steps of Design Thinking (inspired by the Design for Change initiative): Feel – Imagine – Create and Share<ref>Gudipati, M., & Sethi, K. B. (2016). Adapting the User-Centered Design Framework for K-12 Education: The Riverside School Case Study. In Taking Design Thinking to School (pp. 112-120). Routledge.</ref><ref>Doran, P., Tsourlidaki, E., Mentxaka, I., Vicênte, T., Gomes, M. & Doran, R. (2021). Design Thinking in STEAM education: A legacy from the Islands Diversity for Science Education project. Ellinogermaniki Agogi. ISBN: 978-960-636-172-2</ref><ref>Robberstad, J., Doran, P., Ben-Horin, O., Sotiriou, M., (2021). O2 The GSO4SCHOOL Teachers’ Guidelines. The Global Science Opera Leverage students participation and engagement in science through art practices (GSO4SCHOOL). Co-funded by the European Union, Grant Agreement no 2019-1-NO01-KA201-060170. https://gso4school.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/O2_D2_1/D2_1_GSO4SCHOOL_Teachers_Guidelines_Final.pdf</ref><ref>Design for Change (2009). https://dfcworld.org/.</ref> Whether you engage in a brief or extensive project ranging from a couple of hours to a full year, these steps stay constant. It's important to acknowledge that, similar to many artistic processes, this isn't always a strictly linear journey; occasionally, you may move back and forth between the Feel – Imagine – Create and Share stages.
Design Thinking can be applied across various levels within the educational institution. For instance, the school administration can use it to address organizational issues. Teachers can employ it in lesson planning to develop more meaningful approaches to teaching. And students can use it to create impactful projects within their school or wider community in a creative and engaging way. Regardless of the viewpoint, the methodology typically remains consistent.
== References ==
‎<references />

Revision as of 10:16, 19 August 2024

Have you ever wondered what it would sound like to hear stars shining or someone's thoughts? While these phenomena don't produce sound waves, they can be translated into sound through sonification, which we’ll explore as a means for inclusive education. This approach is vital in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) project-based learning, shifting focus from memorization to skill development. Many students feel unmotivated due to a lack of practical applications, and the SoundScapes project addresses this by engaging students in STEM through sound and music. By teaching sonification techniques, SoundScapes enhances interest and fosters cognitive, social, and emotional skills, providing a fun, holistic learning experience that promotes creativity, collaboration, and self-esteem in a sustainable way.

STEAM education

STEM teaching is an interdisciplinary approach in education which fosters the development of skills and competencies in multiple interrelated fields through project based learning to solve real problems and challenges of our society in a responsible way. However broad, it is still not the most complete ground for the development of many other important life transversal skills and competences such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity, as it can miss to integrate many of students’ interests, passions and talents, such as those covered by arts, social sciences and humanities. A more comprehensive approach is embodied in the STEAM methodology, which intertwines STEM fields with the arts to cultivate a more integrated and interactive learning experience that nurtures a diverse range of cognitive, social, and emotional skills.

Artistic expression offers a great potential for developing fundamental academic, emotional, and social skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, self-esteem, confidence, tolerance, empathy, etc[1]. For this reason, STEAM education is becoming widespread, and schools worldwide are adopting new, creative and more inclusive ways to implement it in the classroom. Nevertheless, the incorporation of arts into STEAM often remains symbolic or superficial[2], primarily focusing on aesthetics[3], thus offering a wide opportunity to delve deeper into the full educational potential of the arts. Concurrently, although the STEAM approach is increasingly popular, many teachers find it challenging to merge multiple disciplines into a cohesive project, leading to feelings of discouragement and confusion. While it is not mandatory to focus on all STEAM disciplines in one single project, it is still possible to do it and SoundScapes is meant to facilitate that. But how to implement STEAM? One meaningful and effective way to implement STEAM is through the Design Thinking method[4].

The Design Thinking methodology


SoundScapes logo


The SoundScapes project's approach to STEAM education follows the four steps of Design Thinking (inspired by the Design for Change initiative): Feel – Imagine – Create and Share[5][6][7][8] Whether you engage in a brief or extensive project ranging from a couple of hours to a full year, these steps stay constant. It's important to acknowledge that, similar to many artistic processes, this isn't always a strictly linear journey; occasionally, you may move back and forth between the Feel – Imagine – Create and Share stages.

Design Thinking can be applied across various levels within the educational institution. For instance, the school administration can use it to address organizational issues. Teachers can employ it in lesson planning to develop more meaningful approaches to teaching. And students can use it to create impactful projects within their school or wider community in a creative and engaging way. Regardless of the viewpoint, the methodology typically remains consistent.

References

  1. Dincç, N. D., & Karahn, Ç. . (2021). Art integration applications in middle school 5th class science lesson. International Journal of Social Sciences and Education Research, 7(2), 141-150
  2. Liu, C. Y., Wu, C. J., Chien, Y. H., Tzeng, S. Y., & Kuo, H. C. (2021). Examining the quality of art in STEAM learning activities. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
  3. Perignat, E., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). STEAM in practice and research: An integrative literature review. Thinking skills and creativity, 31, 31-43
  4. Henriksen, D. (2017). Creating STEAM with design thinking: Beyond STEM and arts integration. The STEAM Journal, 3(1), 11.
  5. Gudipati, M., & Sethi, K. B. (2016). Adapting the User-Centered Design Framework for K-12 Education: The Riverside School Case Study. In Taking Design Thinking to School (pp. 112-120). Routledge.
  6. Doran, P., Tsourlidaki, E., Mentxaka, I., Vicênte, T., Gomes, M. & Doran, R. (2021). Design Thinking in STEAM education: A legacy from the Islands Diversity for Science Education project. Ellinogermaniki Agogi. ISBN: 978-960-636-172-2
  7. Robberstad, J., Doran, P., Ben-Horin, O., Sotiriou, M., (2021). O2 The GSO4SCHOOL Teachers’ Guidelines. The Global Science Opera Leverage students participation and engagement in science through art practices (GSO4SCHOOL). Co-funded by the European Union, Grant Agreement no 2019-1-NO01-KA201-060170. https://gso4school.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/O2_D2_1/D2_1_GSO4SCHOOL_Teachers_Guidelines_Final.pdf
  8. Design for Change (2009). https://dfcworld.org/.