STEAM education is a collaborative experience

In schools across the country, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) is the exciting new approach to classroom learning. Replacing STEM, STEAM acknowledges the importance of art (and design) in fostering creative problem solving and risk-taking. The introduction of STEAM opened exciting new instructional possibilities, good news for educators who favor creative, hands-on approaches to learning in place of textbook based lessons. Educators like Daniel Island School’s Jason McDermott. Although he’s technically the sixth grade social studies teacher, by most accounts, he’s an experienced time-travel guide who leads his students on fascinating journeys through world history.

During the 2015-2016 school year, Mr. McDermott introduced just a few STEAM activities to gauge the effectiveness of the approach as a learning tool in his classroom. STEAM proved to be a big hit! Mr. McDermott now incorporates 13 STEAM projects into his curriculum each year.

“The goal of STEAM is to engage students at higher levels of learning and increase the likelihood that they will absorb and retain the content. STEAM gives them a hands-on approach to solving some of the most monumental problems in history,” points out Mr. McDermott. “They develop a deeper understanding of ancient civilizations when they have to construct solutions to the very same problems those civilizations faced. Nothing can replace the experience of figuring out how to design a real working aqueduct that can transport water to your people in Rome. How do you move thousands of giant stones across the desert sands of Egypt to make those pyramids? Or build a semi-spherical shaped structure in Byzantium that gives you a direct view to heaven? I can talk all day to my students ‘till I’m blue in the face yet only some of them will get it. But when they all can put their hands on the problem and work together as a team and figure out a solution - that is where the real learning happens. And it’s a lot of fun!”

Sixth grader Riley Beard concurs, “What I like best about the STEAM projects is that we can take a break from our [day to day class] work and work together to build the things and structures we are learning about.”

This year, Mr. McDermott’s class will be working on multiple STEAM projects. “I decide what STEAM projects to work on based on sixth grade social study units that I think would be the easiest for the students to do,” he says, “such as Egypt, China and Rome. I also look at units focusing on civilizations that kids often struggle to conceptualize, like India and Mesopotamia, so that I can give them another way of learning and understanding the content.”

To create the activities, Mr. McDermott uses a product from a company called Mind Missions based in Texas. Although the company’s products and activities are designed for Texas school standards, Mr. McDermott modifies them to meet South Carolina standards - and the specific objectives he’s set for his own classes. Each STEAM activity requires the purchase of a specific list of supplies. With five classes, supplies can become a significant out-of-pocket expense since South Carolina only provides $275 per year. The results appear to be worth the expense.

There are set guidelines for each activity. First, Mr. McDermott divides the class into approximately six groups of five students. Then, each group has five minutes to brainstorm ideas; they have to figure out how they plan to solve the problem at hand using only a piece of paper and pencil to sketch out their ideas. After that, the groups have 15 minutes to complete their projects.

“We then test each group’s results,” he says, “and discuss as a class the positives and negatives of each activity. Which parts were the easiest to do, which were the most frustrating? Collaboration is an important part of STEAM activity. The sixth grade has invited other classes at DIS, students of different ages and levels of learning to problem solve with them. At first, I just worked with my wife’s (Kristen McDermott) class since I already had a connection with her students. Then I started inviting other classes to participate in the STEAM activities. My students love having them come and it is one of the beauties of being a K-8 school.”

Sixth grader Makayla Brunetti agrees, “What I like best about the STEAM projects is when the first graders come in and build things with us.”

First grade teacher Elizabeth Myers, whose class collaborated with the sixth grade on building Byzantine domes (see sidebar for details) was thrilled to watch her students engage so readily. “Collaborating with the sixth graders opened my first graders’ minds to what is possible,” observes Mrs. Myers. “The collaboration inspired my students and offered them an opportunity to practice their thinking, reasoning, and creative thinking skills in an environment much different than their own.”

Her students couldn’t agree more. “It was fun,” enthuses Gavin Young of the dome building activity. “It was a challenge and I love doing challenges.”

Classmate Nidhi Damojipurapu is already looking forward to the next STEAM project. “When I’m in sixth grade, I hope that we will do that, too.”

As for Mr. McDermott’s favorite experience: “The greatest days are when Mrs. Rath’s Special Education students come. Initially they’re a little tentative about sharing ideas and working with the materials, but with the support and encouragement of my kids, a literal transformation takes place in the classroom. Being able to do work with the younger grades is priceless and one of the greatest joys I have teaching here at DIS.”

Byzantine-style Dome Building
Mr. McDermott’s sixth grade Social Studies classes recently tried their hand at building a scaled down version of those awe-inspiring Byzantine-style Domes as part of the on-going STEAM initiative. Mr. McDermott reviewed that the new Roman capital of Byzantium (aka Constantinople), as a Christian capital of Rome, favored these semi-spherical roofs to create a feeling of more room and inspire citizens to gaze heaven-ward. Mr. McDermott invited first grade and Special Education classes to visit and collaborate. In these photos, Mrs. Myers’ 1st grade students bring their critical thinking skills to the table(s).
Materials for Dome Building Activity:
8 mailing labels, 4 paperclips, 7 sheets of paper, 10 straws. Total time for brainstorming: 5 minutes. Total time for building domes: 15 minutes.
What the students say:
Sixth grader Max Selby: “The project really helps us understand how hard it was to build these structures! They didn’t have any cranes - it was all human labor!”
Sixth grader Elliot Fryman: “It’s all about active, cooperative learning.”