Chances are, if you have worked in education, you have heard the rising buzz around STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and STEAM learning. STEM and STEAM are terms that are often used interchangeably to refer to subjects and work involving hard skills in technical areas. There is, however, a significant difference between the two.

STEAM projects provide a unique opportunity to evaluate student understanding and hone your teaching practice. Students’ learning and level of engagement can be impacted by assessment strategies you use before, during, and after project construction. Determining what your students learned, how effectively they worked together, and how they are progressing in your STEAM program are essential steps to master.

Ensuring the lifelong success of students requires schools to invest in building and maintaining a strong STEAM program. To truly reap the rewards of investing in STEAM education, schools must first prioritize and invest in their teachers! A great way to do this is by honoring STEAM educators during Teacher Appreciation Week 2023.

An effective STEAM classroom and the implementation of Project-based Learning depends, among other things, on cognitive and metacognitive skills. Specifically, they are dependent on cognitive and metacognitive abilities for selecting, reading, monitoring, critiquing, and iterating. It is also true that educational researchers argue that metacognition is a central feature in life-long learning in general and the heart of STEAM, and that metacognitive engagement is key for developing deeper conceptual understanding of scientific ideas.

Students today have much more awareness of the environment and their impact on it than previous generations. Many of them learned what recycling was by kindergarten, if not before, and developed a curiosity around sustainability starting at a young age.

Mindfulness is almost always mentioned as a method of reducing anxiety and stress. And it’s true – studies show that when we are stressed, certain portions of the brain are inactivated and the part of the brain associated with emotions (including both positive and negative emotions) takes over.

Educators know that springtime is invigorating to students. With the promise of summer on the horizon, warmer weather to enjoy outside, and more daylight to take advantage of, students are often full of energy and excitement in the springtime.