Jeff sits down with Kevin Jarret, Diana Potts and Meredith Martin to discuss the first ever edcampSTEAM.
About
Edcamps are “unconferences,” FREE, participant-driven professional development events where the attendees set the schedule and lead the sessions, which are conversations – NOT presentations. S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math (a variant of “STEM”). Edcamp S.T.E.A.M. is an unconference for K-12 educators exploring the intersection of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math. We are planning an incredible event full of rich discussions, cool demonstrations, plenty of hands-on learning and more. Join us on Wednesday, July 31 at Linwood Middle School in North Brunswick, New Jersey!
Featured Topics
- Edcamp Foundation Update
- Edcamp Lip-dub
- EdcampSteam
- What is STEAM
- Planning an Unconference around a subject
- How to organize and find sponsorship
Links of Interest
Featured Guests
Meredith Martin is a K-6 Computer Teacher / Technology Integrator in Mantua, NJ. She is a Google Certified Teacher, and has been on the planning teams for St. Hacktrick’s Day and EdCamp STEAM.
Diana Potts is currently a teacher at a K-6 school in central New Jersey. Her education includes a BA in history, MA in Elementary Education and a MS in Instructional Technology. In addition to teaching Science and Social Studies, Diana plays an active role in her school’s technology integration. Her professional interests include teacher centered professional development, arts integration, problem based learning and STE(A)M support in schools. You can find Diana atpottsedtech@gmail.com
Kevin Jarret: I’m a K-4 Computer Lab Teacher / Technology Facilitator at Northfield Community School in Northfield, NJ, where I have been teaching since 2003. Prior to teaching I worked in the corporate world for almost 20 years. I left the private sector in the aftermath of 9/11 because I wanted to do something more important with my life, to follow my lifelong dream of one day becoming a teacher.
Why STEAM?
I switched schools this year to take a new position both for me and for the school. Initially, the position was to be a STEM Integrator, but one walk though our vibrant lower school made it apparent that the arts held a prominent place. Within minutes, I had redefined my role to be a STEAM Integrator, then made the case to administrators, who readily agreed.
Why STEAM? Think about this: Meaningful patterns. Artists create them; Scientists discover them.
That was my tweet after doing some research into the “why” behind including the arts in a STEM initiative. The arts help us to communicate and share ideas; we use the arts to explain and reflect our culture. How can it be possible to push forward with science, technology, engineering and math without the inclusion of the arts to made sense of it all. Consider all the data that is generated from myriad sources. Art helps to make sense of that data in what is known as data visualization. Jer Thorp is an expert at taking data and turning it into something more useful. He aims to use “art as an axis to bring those two things [Science and design] together.“
The goal of the country’s focus on STEM is to bring more young people into the STEM fields in order to help us remain economically competitive in the global community. A large dose of innovation is a necessary component to remaining competitive. Innovation needs creativity, regardless of the field. Federal and state representatives in Oregon have stated “we should be gathering steam for arts education“.
Creativity drives success in today’s technology market. Design has become as important to high-tech achievement as fundamental engineering. [Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Chris Harker]
Indeed, it is “artists and designers [who] bring STEM to life“, as noted by Jon Kamen and John Maeda in their article STEM to STEAM: Art Is Key to Building a Strong Economy. They go on to state that“creativity will always be America’s secret sauce“.
When the arts and sciences mesh, our society is the richer for the blend. Steven Ross Pomeroy, in his Scientific American guest post From STEM to STEAM: Science and Art Go Hand-in-Hand, notes these innovations – camouflage, the pacemaker, medical stents, airbag technology – that were developed or spurred by artists. Pomeroy paraphrased psychologist Jerome Kagan:
…the arts contribute amazingly well to learning because they regularly combine the three major tools that the mind uses to acquire, store, and communicate knowledge: motor skills, perceptual representation, and language.
The Washington Post recently shared Lisa Phillips’s blog post the Top 10 skills children learn from the arts. The very first skill she notes is creativity.
Why STEAM? The arts feed creativity. Creativity spurs innovation. Innovation fuels science, engineering, technology and applications of math.
The post #EdcampSTEAM: An Unconference for All Teachers! | TeacherCast Podcast #93 appeared first on TeacherCast Podcast.