S.T.E.A.M. : What’s it all about?

S.T.E.A.M. : What’s it all about?

S.T.E.A.M. learning focuses on science, technology, engineering,arts, and math. These disciplines and practices have become more prominent focal points for school  curriculum and learning activities in recent times. The Rio School District has been engaged in developing S.T.E.A.M. learning for the last six years. S.T.E.M. learning has long been valued due to its connection to our modern society’s emphasis on these content areas in the world economy. Rio makes sure to include the Arts in our learning activities for its various important connections to human development.

The Rio School District is charged with two basic aims; protecting the children in our supervision and educating them in preparation for their academic experiences and future life. In educating children we are tasked with guiding student literacy such that they can read, write, speak and do math at the levels that California standards based curriculum demands. In addition, we are charged with helping children develop as full human beings and citizens of the United States of America. The arts serve both literacy and human development in a multitude of ways. There are many fully developed reasons to support arts in schools. The following links provide some easy reading on the subject;

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-importance-of-art-in-child-development/

https://artinaction.org/resource/arts-education-important-21st-century-learning-5-reasons-go-stem-steam/

https://www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/arts-education

https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/nea_arts/neaARTS_2013_v1.pdf

https://www.giarts.org/article/elliot-w-eisner-role-arts-educating-whole-child

For many Rio students, S.T.E.A.M. learning helps to engage and motivate them to develop their basic literacy skills. Many Rio students depend on their schools to provide  opportunities that more affluent families can afford to support outside school. Rio children continue to have opportunities to experience and learn from a great variety of S.T.E.A.M. activities including visual arts, music, drama, dance, robotics, coding, drones, video production, animation, gardening, environmental science, maker activities, and the list goes on and expands each year. These opportunities support their learning and interest in reading, writing, speaking and math while developing their skills and practices in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and caring.

S.T.E.A.M. learning is also an attempt to un-silo student learning and break down the walls and divisions between school subject areas so they can be more authentic and real world. The Rio School District’s aims to provide each child the opportunity to develop their academic literacies and grow as a full and whole human being and citizen is also anchored in providing children a variety of experiences that they can personalize and pursue as their interests.