What is STEM and steam?
STEM has become a common acronym for the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The acronym STEAM adds an “A” to the mix to represent the Arts, thus addressing what many educators find to be an essential and sometimes missing component of strong STEM programs: the use of the Arts and Humanities as a background against which the STEM fields come alive.
Linden STEAM Academy recognizes that STEAM is not a subject in itself, but rather a “meta-discipline” that focuses as much on the connections between disciplines as the specific content within each. Strong STEAM programs strive to engage students in cross-dsicpline and project-based explorations that instill within them a life-long curiosity about science, and that challenge them to learn how to solve problems and seek solutions to issues facing their own communities and the world. The Linden STEAM Academy envisions itself as a laboratory that invites its students to discover their own potential as they develop interests in the STEM subjects. Through STEM- focused and project-based learning, students will become young scientists and mathematicians, learning to think critically, to ask questions and to be persistent and curious.
Within the past 10 years, a great deal of national attention has been focused on the creation of STEM initiatives, councils, schools, and networks. The National and state policy makers, corporate leaders and school systems all agree that the low numbers of U.S. college graduates (16%) majoring in STEM fields, as compared to countries such as China (47%), South Korea (38%), and Germany (25%) present a crisis of epidemic proportions. STEM fields are essential to a thriving U.S. economy that has traditionally been seen as unique in the world for its highly innovative high-tech industry. In order to support this essential high-tech focus, the scientific literacy of our workforce needs to improve significantly. The Massachusetts Innovation Schools Initiative, of which Linden STEAM Academy is a proud member, is excited to support STEM-focused schools as part of its network.
Linden STEAM Academy recognizes that STEAM is not a subject in itself, but rather a “meta-discipline” that focuses as much on the connections between disciplines as the specific content within each. Strong STEAM programs strive to engage students in cross-dsicpline and project-based explorations that instill within them a life-long curiosity about science, and that challenge them to learn how to solve problems and seek solutions to issues facing their own communities and the world. The Linden STEAM Academy envisions itself as a laboratory that invites its students to discover their own potential as they develop interests in the STEM subjects. Through STEM- focused and project-based learning, students will become young scientists and mathematicians, learning to think critically, to ask questions and to be persistent and curious.
Within the past 10 years, a great deal of national attention has been focused on the creation of STEM initiatives, councils, schools, and networks. The National and state policy makers, corporate leaders and school systems all agree that the low numbers of U.S. college graduates (16%) majoring in STEM fields, as compared to countries such as China (47%), South Korea (38%), and Germany (25%) present a crisis of epidemic proportions. STEM fields are essential to a thriving U.S. economy that has traditionally been seen as unique in the world for its highly innovative high-tech industry. In order to support this essential high-tech focus, the scientific literacy of our workforce needs to improve significantly. The Massachusetts Innovation Schools Initiative, of which Linden STEAM Academy is a proud member, is excited to support STEM-focused schools as part of its network.