From STEM to STEAM in Education:
A New Learning Approach Makerspaces in Education
A course that I signed up for with great expectations, after a period of more than 7 years, in which, in various forms, I read, exchanged ideas, experienced, within different specialized groups in Romania, the idea of STEM, of teaching - learning centered on the student, of interdisciplinary approach.
Therefore, my expectations were directed towards exchanges of good practice between teachers from different countries. And the meeting with the group from Barcelona was an answer that lived up to my expectations, but it also surprised me.
I met my colleagues - primary, secondary and high school teachers. Of different specialties, from Chemistry to Music, from Business English to Mathematics. It was interesting to notice that they acknowledged the same problem/difficulties when working with students - lack of interest and motivation, non-involvement in solving homework, too many time-consuming administrative papers. Some of them knew what STEM/STEAM meant and even had previous experiences, others confessed that they heard of STEM solely in the title of the course, therefore their curiosity led them to enroll. But everyone was waiting for an exchange of ideas regarding the methods that would make students more committed and help them make significant progress. And, of course, everyone was waiting for the magic formula from the trainer.
The magic formula, however, took shape during the activities. The idea of STEAM and that of makerspace came together. I discovered that previous experiences and methodical approaches fit into the STEAM space and, above all, I realized what the impact on the students was. In the explanations of my colleagues I identified suggestions that could be exploited.
Based on the trainer's explanations and presentations and as an echo of the challenges launched by him, the discussions continued during the breaks, at lunch, during the day trips or at the evening ice cream. The practical activities sparked enthusiasm, curiosity, new questions and new possible answers. We were all in a new space - that of the STEAM course.
In this space we outlined our future activities, how we were going to tackle things when we got back to school, among the students - we would build new learning spaces.