The creation of a STEAM Education Curriculum is the most challenging step in the process of STEAM education. The challenge lies in two of the principal aspects of creation. First, the endless number of possibilities we can come up with using our vision, imagination, and knowledge. Second, the reaching of an agreement, by all involved, on which curriculum is the best, and most suitable, to implement. Three areas to keep in mind when creating a STEAM Education Curriculum are subject, grade, and age.
Each strand of STEAM can be broken down into many pieces which we can use to design a framework that will support the curriculum being created. Care must be taken to ensure that, as the framework is design and the curriculum created, the appropriate subject matter to be presented to students is appropriate to the grade level in attendance and their age. From the most basic concepts, like counting and the ABC's, to the most complex ideas, like calculating the amount of water needed to support a civilization, a series of logical sequential steps need to be develop in order to create a curriculum that allows the student to proceed on an educational path that takes them from the basic, to the complex, and back again.
As stated, it is not only about creating a curriculum that is filled with knowledge, is imaginative, and presents a clear vision, but it must also be agreed upon to be the best and most suitable to implement. The creation of a STEAM Education Curriculum is an endeavor that should be carefully planned, prepared, and researched, for it is expected to have an immediate and long-lasting effect in the education of our students. When creative individuals come together to collaborate toward an innovative goal, the two principal aspects of creation can truly be achieved.
Each strand of STEAM can be broken down into many pieces which we can use to design a framework that will support the curriculum being created. Care must be taken to ensure that, as the framework is design and the curriculum created, the appropriate subject matter to be presented to students is appropriate to the grade level in attendance and their age. From the most basic concepts, like counting and the ABC's, to the most complex ideas, like calculating the amount of water needed to support a civilization, a series of logical sequential steps need to be develop in order to create a curriculum that allows the student to proceed on an educational path that takes them from the basic, to the complex, and back again.
As stated, it is not only about creating a curriculum that is filled with knowledge, is imaginative, and presents a clear vision, but it must also be agreed upon to be the best and most suitable to implement. The creation of a STEAM Education Curriculum is an endeavor that should be carefully planned, prepared, and researched, for it is expected to have an immediate and long-lasting effect in the education of our students. When creative individuals come together to collaborate toward an innovative goal, the two principal aspects of creation can truly be achieved.
Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas - Educator
