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Ayse Tugba Oner
Texas A&M University
Sandra Bonorden Nite
Texas A&M University
Robert M. Capraro
Texas A&M University
Mary Margaret Capraro
Texas A&M University
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From STEM to STEAM: Students’ beliefs about the use of their creativity
Ayse Tugba Oner, Sandra Bonorden Nite, Robert M. Capraro, & Mary Margaret Capraro
Introduction
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) knowledge and skills are critical for
students to become part of the 21st century workforce. The desired skills for today’s workforce
include the use of an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving, technology, innovation, and
communication with multiple media tools (Young, House, Wang, Singleton & Klopfenstein,
2011). Because there is a high demand for workers who have these skills in addition to STEM
content knowledge, policymakers and other stakeholders focused on STEM education in an
effort to increase the number of students pursuing STEM degrees and careers (National
Academies of Science, 2007; Presidents’ Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,
2010). While these actions continue, researchers have pointed out the importance of artistic skills
in the STEM workforce (Madden, Baxter, Beauchamp, Bouchard, Habermas, Huff, Ladd,
Pearon, & Plague, 2013; Keefe & Laidlaw, 2013; Kim, Kim, Nam, & Lee, 2012). For instance,
one technology entrepreneur and former media/entertainment executive indicated the importance
of the integration of STEM and art from the viewpoint of creativity by stating:
“As an executive and entrepreneur sitting on both sides of the creative/technology fence,
I need to hire technologists who know how to collaborate in teams, express themselves
coherently, engagingly and persuasively, understand how to take and apply constructive
criticism, and how to tell a good story. I don’t find these kids sitting alone at a lab table
or buried in an algorithm. I find them taking art classes to understand how color and
light really work…” (Tarnoff, 2010, para. 8)
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
Therefore, the involvement of the arts with STEM is essential to overcome 21st century problems
with a complete set of knowledge and skills that work in concert to provide the most effective
solutions possible.
The integration of the arts into STEM education resulted in a new acronym STEAM, derived
from STEM + Arts. The art aspect of STEAM was commonly referred as creativity in education
(e.g., Land, 2013; Kang, Jang, & Kim, 2013; Kim et al., 2012; Madden et al., 2013; Sousa &
Pilecki, 2013). Projects requiring creativity with the knowledge of STEM disciplines have gained
popularity in recent years. For example, 3D printer use in project-based learning (PBL) activities
showed the need for STEM knowledge and creativity to design more sophisticated products.
PBL instructional strategies require students to produce an item (e.g., a prototype of a bridge or
robot, a report or presentation for a professional community). When these types of projects are
considered, more STEM PBL activities supported by the arts gain value and importance in
formal and informal learning environments. The current study sheds light on the growing interest
in STEAM. The purpose of this study is to examine middle and high school students’ perceptions
about the use of their creativity in STEM projects that were generated in a STEM summer camp.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM)
While STEAM education has been developing, it is essential to understand why STEM needs to
change to STEAM. STEM and the arts were long seen as opposite sides by the public (Sousa &
Pilecki, 2013). However, the combination of these seemingly opposite sides brings the variety
and diversity that are necessary for innovative product design. For instance, the characteristics of
STEM are objective, logical, analytical, reproducible, and useful whereas the characteristics of
the arts are subjective, intuitive, sensual, unique, and sometimes considered frivolous (Sousa &
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Pilecki, 2013). Science and the arts complement each other because “science provides a
methodological tool in the art and art provides creative model in the development of science”
(Kim et al., 2012, p.2). In the real world, people possess and employ the characteristics of both
sides; thus, the opportunity to utilize both characteristics should be included in education as well.
For instance, when an architect designs a building, she needs to use creativity to make the
building appear interesting and pleasant to those who work there or do business there as well as
ensuring structural soundness. Musical instrument makers need to be precise with the
mathematics and science required for pitch accuracy, but they also use their aural abilities to
create tone qualities that are pleasing to the ears of the audience. STEAM education provides
many opportunities for students to improve themselves in several areas, due to the advantages of
the arts. These advantages are: a) development of cognitive growth, b) improvement of long-
term memory, c) enhancement of social growth, d) reduction of stress, e) increasing the appeal of
subject areas, and f) promotion of creativity (Sousa & Pilecki, 2013). When these advantages are
taken into consideration and embedded in STEM education, it prepares students for todays’
challenges. Research findings demonstrated that if the arts were included in science fields,
students could be more interested in STEM fields (Kang et al., 2013), activities with experts
could affect their career decisions (Keefe & Laidlaw, 2013) and STEM fields could be more
appealing to students (Land, 2013).
Creativity
The “A” in the STEAM mostly referred to creativity in the education field (e.g., Kang et al.,
2013; Kim et al., 2012; Madden et al., 2013; Sousa & Pilecki, 2013). Creativity includes
divergent thinking (Madden et al., 2013; Sousa & Pilecki, 2013), and divergent thinking leads to
more than one solution to a problem, which is a very important skill. Creativity also results in a
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
product, and it is not only thinking but also “producing something novel” (Sousa & Pilecki,
2013, p. 50). Therefore, in the educational environment, students should improve their creative
thinking skills because this is an essential skill for their future careers. Fostering creativity with
activities in the learning environment is crucial. Research results demonstrated that activities
requiring creative thinking resulted in positive outcomes. They enhanced students’ self-reflection
(Autry & Walker, 2011), increased advanced thinking skills (Hargrove, 2011), and strengthened
collaboration with others (Crow, 2008). Thus, it is vital to provide activities such as PBL for
students to improve their creativity in formal and/or informal learning environments.
Informal Learning Environments
Informal learning environments provide opportunities for supportive teaching and learning in
addition to learning that takes place in formal school settings. There are different types of
informal learning environments, and one of them is summer camp (Fenichel & Schweingruber,
2010). A myriad of summer camps have been provided in the United States (U.S.) in different
fields such as leadership, sports, or academics. One type of camp is related to STEM learning.
By attending STEM camps, students had an opportunity to understand and learn STEM fields in
a more attractive and interesting way (Dave, Blasko, Holliday-Darr, Kremer, Edwards, Ford,
Lenhardt, & Hido, 2010; Davis & Hardin, 2013). With a need for a greater number of STEM
graduates, increasing the numbers of STEM camps in the U.S. was a logical approach. Offering
STEM camps is a very effective way to increase the number of students who would like to
pursue a STEM career. In this way, students could attend courses and participate in projects
about STEM fields, and their interest in STEM could be enhanced.
In STEM camps, students are asked to participate in projects. These projects heavily focus on
STEM subjects (Authors, 2013). However, projects in STEM camps require not only prior or
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existing knowledge but also creativity that requires an artistic perspective (Authors, 2014).
Therefore, STEM projects actually include art in them. Art helps students to develop a subjective
perspective while science created an objective one, and students need both to make informed
decisions (Sousa & Pilecki, 2013). There are many advantages to integrating the arts into STEM
subjects and creating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics), such as
developing cognitive growth, increasing long-term memory, and encouraging creativity (Sousa
& Pilecki, 2013). Studies showed that if the arts were included in science fields, students could
be more interested in STEM fields (Kang et al., 2013), activities with experts could affect their
career decisions (Keefe & Laidlaw, 2013) and STEM fields could be more appealing to students
(Land, 2013).
Purpose of the study
Even though inclusion of Arts disciplines into STEM disciplines has remained on the agenda for
seven years, the studies focused on STEAM are sparse. The present study was conducted to shed
light on STEAM education in an informal learning environment. In the current study, students’
perceptions about how they used their creativity in their STEM projects were examined. They
participated in several STEM PBL projects in the two-week long STEM summer camp. They
had opportunities to use their creativity in their products in many courses. Their belief about the
opportunity of the use of creativity in a STEM summer camp was surveyed before the courses
were given. At the end of the camp their opinions about whether they had used their creativity on
their projects were solicited.
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
Method
Participants
Participants (N=104) were 7th through 12th grade students who attended a two-week summer
camp that included a variety of mini-courses, most of which resulted in products that students
designed and created. There were 61 male and 43 female students. The number of students
according to their ethnicity was: African American (N=12), Asian (N=10), Hispanic (N=29),
Indian (N=3), and White (N=5.0)
Intervention
Participants participated in a two-week long STEM-focused summer camp. During the camp,
university faculty from different departments (e.g., civil engineering, physics, and education)
taught the content with engaging PBL activities. The PBL activities provided in the camp for
students to involve were: building bridges with popsicle sticks and glue, making lip gloss with
organic materials, preparing a video that explained their (i.e., students) products they created
during the PBL activities, planning a brochure about their other PBL outcomes, and designing an
object with 3D modeling software (i.e., computer aided design), creating an application design
for cell-phone, and using Legos to build robots. Students were able to print their 3D designs with
a 3D printer. The projects were all subject to criteria for a well-defined outcome and constraints
on the ill-defined task (Authors, 2013). Students were able to test their bridges and after testing,
they calculated the efficiency rate, which was the weight that the bridge could carry divided by
the bridge’s mass. The efficiency rate of the bridge, creative design, and realistic bridge design
were judged, and awards were presented to the winners.
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Data Analysis
To understand students’ perceptions about the creativity usage in activities, questions on a Likert
scale and an open-ended question were asked. The frequency of the answers was reported and
students’ answers were classified according to the courses they identified that required creativity
and the ways they used creativity in designing their products.
Results
Students’ perceptions about usage of their creativity in STEM projects were explored in the
survey. Sixty-four students replied to the open-ended question, “If you had an opportunity to use
your creativity, explain how you used creativity in your project(s)”. Students’ answers were
classified under the eight mini-courses identified as providing opportunities for using creativity.
These classes were: 1) 3D design, 2) bridge building, 3) designing a brochure, 4) making a video,
5) creating a robot, 6) designing a phone application, 7) formulating lip gloss, and 8) creating a
cipher message.
Forty-three students asserted that they used creativity in the computer aided design course. In
this project, instructors taught students how to use 3D modeling software, and students designed
and printed their own products (see Figure 1). There were some limitations in the course in terms
of 3D printer capability such as the product that students designed had to meet the criteria of
fitting on the build plate of the 3D printer. Students enjoyed making their own designs and were
interested in building an object that included their creativity. Examples of students’ answers
about computer aided design and use of their creativity is represented in Table 1.
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
Figure 1. Representative images of
students’ object design in a 3D modeling
software
The second most frequent answer was
about the construction engineering course.
Students built bridges according to
constraints given in the PBL handout.
They were allowed to use only a limited
number of popsicle sticks and glue (see Figure 2). The bridge had to meet requirements that
included specific distances from abutments of the bridge and the width of the bridge. Students
used their creativity in this activity, and they were keen to create a bridge that was different from
other groups; therefore, they used their
creativity both in designing a bridge that
they believed would bear the most
weight and was unique. Some examples
of students’ answers are represented in
Table 1.
Figure 2. Students work on building
bridge with given materials
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Students were assigned to one of two marketing classes. One class was multimedia marketing,
and the other was print marketing. In these classes, students were expected to market their
products that were created in other PBL courses. In the multimedia marketing class, they filmed
and edited a movie by using iMovie software. In the print marketing class, students learned how
to design a tri fold brochure. In both classes, they used their creativity to propose the best and
most eye-catching presentation to sell their PBL products. Table 1 includes examples of
students’ opinions about using their creativity in these classes.
Robotics, lip-gloss production, application design, and cryptography were other courses through
which students affirmed that they used their creativity. Examples of students’ perceptions about
creativity in these courses are presented in Table 1.
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
Table 1
Students’ Answers about Use of Their Creativity in Classes
Classes
(Frequency)
Examples from students’ answers to the open-ended question
3D design (43)
I made a tank in sketch up that was unique because the way I made it.
I was in the Computer Aid Design class, so I was able to make whatever
I wanted on Sketch up. I was able to use my creativity then.
When I created a 3-D object in my Computer Aided Design class, I used
my artistic ability.
bridge building
(18)
I used my creativity in bridge building and computer aided design. In
bridge, I wanted the creativity award so I was being creative. In
computer aided design I was being creative because I was designing an
abstract sculpture.
Bridge designs allowed for a creative project that would be tested to see
how your idea performs. 3D printing allowed you to bring your dreams
to life and express yourself through artistic means
I used it when I built the bridge by using shapes and also coloring it.
designing
brochure (10)
Created a brochure for biology
Mostly in my bridge or my 3-D project or even my brochure. I created a
solar cannon in my brochure from the future and even created a
futuristic car with 3-D software.
I used my creativity in activities such as making my own business in
print marketing.
making video
(9)
I used my creativity to make a 3d object and to make a video in iMovie.
I used in both the multimedia project class and the 3D software and
printing class
Drawing pictures, choosing my own music, making things colorful (in
multimedia marketing class)
creating a robot
(5)
We had to make robots from scratch that utilized our use of creativity.
I built a robot with 2 NXTs instead of one like everyone else.
making lip gloss
(2)
We used it (creativity) in multimedia with the videos, cosmetic science
with creating lip gloss
designing phone
application (1)
I used my creativity when I made an (phone) application about lip gloss
and shaving cream. I also made a brochure and planted seeds such as
chia & sprouts.
creating cipher
message (1)
Used to create hard codes for the coding scavenger hunt. I had to
improvise on the bridge project and my team was constantly in search of
a creative, more efficient solution.
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Conclusion and Discussion
Although STEM is important for progress in today’s society and global competition, the
omission of the arts from the educational system would clearly be a colossal mistake. Well over
half the students in the study indicated in the survey that they would be more interested in STEM
careers if they were able to use creativity in the job itself. Most of the students indicated a belief
that STEM careers required creativity, but the number of those who believed problem solving
required artistic solutions increased after the STEM camp experience. The individual comments
showed that the students were well aware of their use of creative and artistic solutions in a
variety of ways. One might expect students who chose to attend a STEM camp to have a more
realistic idea of STEM careers than the general population. However, often parents elected to
send students to the camp; students did not necessarily choose a STEM camp. The experiences at
the STEM camp gave students opportunities to design products and solve problems using STEM
content knowledge and creativity combined, experiences not often gained in formal school
settings. The implications for education are twofold: 1) the arts should preserve or regain their
prominence in the educational system, and 2) opportunities should be provided in formal school
settings for students to use both creativity and logical thought processes in solving problems.
Engagement in the arts has been shown to have benefits emotionally, giving the arts an
importance on their own, outside STEM. However, opportunities to participate in the arts also
supply students with creative outlets that will support and enhance their problem solving skills.
By giving students the tools they need to solve 21st century problems from a variety of
perspectives and using a variety of approaches by integrating skills from the arts and STEM,
future scientists and engineers will fully understand the benefits and importance of STEAM for
our world.
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Oner et al.: From STEM to STEAM: Students’ Beliefs About the Use of Their Creativity
Acknowledgments
Authors would like to thank Aggie STEM Center for conducting and providing data.
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