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Sabrina Lin

Burr

English 2010

24 March 2018

The Relationship Between S.T.E.M. and the Arts

Art can describe any field of work, so long as people are passionate about their work.

Having designated art classes allow children to experience a new form of expression in a period

critical for their brain development. Despite this notion, a recent 2014 study by researchers

Hallam, Hewitt, and Buxton found evidence that when art is added to K-12 curriculum, the

positive impacts are immense. Yet, many states do not promote art in their education plan and

many children give up art between the ages of 10 and 12. There is an increasing decline in art

oriented programs for more technical studies involving science and mathematics, as they

advance specialized research (S.T.E.M. learning). Primary school years are crucial for

development. Students begin to build a foundation in core areas of language arts, mathematics,

science, and social studies, while forming social connections and constructing attitudes towards

others. By dedicating more time towards developing art programs rather than abandoning them

entirely for S.T.E.M. learning, we continue to engage children in another form of mindful

cognition crucial to healthy expression and self assurance.

Our first world prioritizes technology as number one. ​The New Yorker​ has pages of

articles describing new innovations in the realm of S.T.E.M. subjects (science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics). In the May 2016 issue, D.T. Max shed insight on a tool used by
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the students at Trail Ridge Middle School. Essentially a ball, these “milky white orbs about the

size of navel oranges” are able to play songs, synchronize with apps, and move in water. Called a

Sphero, their intention was to teach children the basics of coding:

Many teachers foresaw a crisis: only sixteen percent of high-school seniors

contemplate a career in stem fields, even though the number of stem jobs is

increasing rapidly. Sphero and similar toys… have come to be seen as stops on

the road to the well-salaried position of programmer… objections to this

framework. Putting young children in front of screens will likely make them

better coders, but … education is not merely job training. (Max)

The issue arises when children focus solely on a specific area. As stated, ‘education is not merely

job training.’ While Spheros are a whimsical tool, they have an intentional purpose and goal that

students try to achieve. Not only can it restrict children in thinking beyond functionality, tools

like Sphero place the burden of future job prospects that can damage a child’s self esteem and

disposition towards the world. Whereas art can still have the same effects as a

Sphero​—​encouraging problem solving, thinking outside-of-the-box, and working as a team​—i​ t

goes beyond that, where finding a solution isn’t necessarily more important than experiencing

something new and satisfying personal ambitions. As a society, we label art as more traditional,

associating it with outdatish. Thus, many schools digress from visual art programs for new

S.T.E.M. geared classrooms.

When we cut funding for the arts, we also stagnate another learning process applicable to

many young minds. A predisposition of art being inferior to technology can arise, and slowly as

a whole, we start to invest more time and energy in improving S.T.E.M. subjects. As a way to
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combat to this notion, researchers Charles Carney, et al. explored the effects that underprivileged

schools gained with “arts-enhanced curricula. Beyond arts integration, arts infusion

methodologies woven into teachers’ classroom instruction use art to help students who may be

struggling with learning access information in a more tangible way” (230). Unlike Sphero, it

focuses on schools that don’t receive massive funding. D.T. Max mentioned that “even in a time

of tight education budgets, stem funding is plentiful: the federal government currently

contributes three billion dollars a year to stem-related curricula.” Yet, with quite a few primary

public schools tottering along the poverty line, many cannot compete as they lack a general grasp

of basic concepts. The 3 billion dollars entering the education network is concentrated to schools

already ahead of the game, leaving those that lack essential learning tools in the dust. With

designated art programs in place we can offset this cost and cultivate a growth mindset. Carney

et al. experimented by exposing children to art infusion techniques and found that “these

elementary school students scored dramatically higher on standardized tests for language skills.

The outcome provides a strong argument for arts infusion as a classroom tool” (230). With an

experimental group receiving the art infused techniques that worked “toward academic and/or

psychosocial outcomes for the students involved… focusing on a process-oriented and reflective

experience and… drawing from a broad range of applied theatre strategies” (233), and a control

group without the treatment, they tested for quantitative results based off a test in, “ Picture

Naming— oral language, Rhyming—phonological awareness, Alliteration—phonological

awareness, Sound Identification— alphabet knowledge, Which One Doesn’t

Belong?—comprehension” (235). These capabilities help children in assessing and processing

their surroundings, which is crucial to their rapid development. As humans, we rely especially on
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our visual and hearing senses to intake information. If the art infusion can improve this, it

demonstrates how art can be a tool for everyone, notably those in less fortunate circumstances.

And the results do show that there was a “135% in vocabulary, an increase of 271% in

alliteration, and a 466% increase in rhyming” (239). Although this data was collected from one

sample, it provides an optimistic view in the hope that art can bring.

To elaborate on Hallam, Hewitt, and Buxton’s research, they wanted to collect children’s

experience with art and the effects art had on them. Together, the children and researchers

wanted to see how creatively inclined schools were. Through interviews, “all the students . . .

spoke positively about their experiences of art in the classroom” (203). However, the researchers

found discrepancies among the classroom designations:

Art is presented as a topic which has a sporadic place in the curriculum due to

pressure from the SATs and topics related to this examination such as maths and

English. This presents art as a dispensable subject that can be squeezed out of the

curriculum in order to make way for more important topics which are formally

assessed. (203)

Here, we see a juxtaposition between mindsets. Although the researchers obtain first accounts

about how much the children loved having art lessons, we immediately contrast that with the

mindset of school boards and the people heading over the school district. Art is hard to gauge on

a standardized scale, but that does not mean we should entirely ignore it, or focus more on other

core/S.T.E.M. subjects. The results collected only emphasize the children’s enjoyment in the art

curriculum with comments from them such as, “Yeah, it’s just like really relaxed in art so you

can go round and see what other people are doing and help each other it’s quite fun, I’d like that
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more in other lessons to be honest” (200). The environment art creates is collaborative, allowing

other students to build social skills while maintaining an atmosphere of ‘fun.’ These creative

environments do not need many supplies, just ample imagination, but with them, it fosters

children to think well beyond societal boundaries.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Tamara Beck, a third grade teacher at

Blackridge Elementary whose students participate in the S.T.E.M. program and Great Artist

Program at the school. Ms. Beck has been teaching for 17 years, saying teaching is more,

“playing, but fun for me and the kids because everyday is different!” She notes that third grade is

her favorite since the children are beginning to become more, “independent, since they don’t

need help putting on shoes and they get to dabble in new subjects like multiplication.” In the

classroom, S.T.E.M. is implemented everyday, requiring kids to participate in the activities since

they’re weaved into core curriculums. Ms. Beck elaborates that, “We incorporate S.T.E.M. with

reading, problem solving… recently we had the kids build leprechaun traps for St.Patrick’s day

as a way to locate a problem, experiment, and find a solution.” There is a greater emphasis on the

S.T.E.M. program than the Great Artist Program, a once a month art lesson given by volunteers

rather than teachers. Classrooms that can get a volunteer for this program are able to study

master artists such as Van Gogh, and learn the variety of techniques and mediums that can be

used to find their own personal creativity. However, Ms. Beck, being an artist herself, worriedly

says, “If there wasn’t an allotted time for Great Artist, it would definitely take a bench to

S.T.E.M. We are a S.T.E.M. school. Yet, the Great Artist has special qualities that STEM isn’t

able to provide. Great Artist gives kids a chance to go out of bounds with their imagination,

stimulating their brain to do whatever they want.” Whereas S.T.E.M., when given a prompt, such
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as ‘how is the shark going to cross the bridge in order to get to the ocean?’ many students try to

go beyond the given solution, such as commenting that they could build a machine that could

carry the shark over or simply utilizing the land around the bridge. Such comments are controlled

by the teachers and maneuvered so the students reach the more plausible solution, like changing

the bridge so it opens and closes. There is a defined answer, whereas Great Artist encourages

out-of-box exploration. These specific circumstances given by the school board and curriculum

plan places teachers in a difficult position, wanting to be able to give children limitless

boundaries, but having to control it. This can lead to reserved thinking, restricting how a child

can think and perceive. Although S.T.E.M. does provide another way of thinking, one important

cognitive quality​—​the ability to find new ideas and create new perspectives​—​is stunted when we

take out another creative outlet from children’s learning.

This leads us to consider a newer way of curriculum teaching, S.T.E.A.M. vs. S.T.E.M.

(S.T.E.A.M. being science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics - see Figure 1. for

more statistics and comparison). “Art can serve a practical function. Students might apply design

and decoration to products that were created during the course of a design challenge” (Jolly).

S.T.E.A.M. implements art in a way that serves as a tool for these future engineers and scientists

in developing key communication skills, with others and themselves. The program provides a

way for students to be aware of global issues, and how their actions affect others. A way for

them to have smart design and new perspectives when approaching a subject, creating another

tool for students to make their creations personal and special. In an article by Andrew Dane for

USA Today:

Stem to Steam is an organization that advocates for adding art and design to the
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equation... They argue that in a rapidly changing world, the tools and methods of

design help people effectively communicate complex data and scientific

information, while also promoting creative problem solving.

Art provides a vehicle for students to properly explain and express what their insights are.

Without art, we also disregard humanities, communication, music, theatre, and infinite outlets for

people to stimulate their brain. Why ignore a subject that gives kids another chance to be happy

while allowing them to develop key skills?

Dr. Makola Abdullah, an internationally renowned researcher dedicated to increasing the

number of African Americans and other minorities in S.T.E.M. fields, gave a TED Talk on

S.T.E.M. and the arts. He focuses that “it’s all the same, it’s one mind, it’s not a left brain or a

right brain . . . it’s the whole mind . . . There is an artificial line between S.T.E.M. and the arts

but its not old it's new, our ancestors knew better.” Using examples such as Leonardo Da Vinci,

Dr. Abdullah brings key accounts how our ancestors were not just one focus people, they

combined all areas of thought. Da Vinci created beautiful paintings such as ​The Last Supper​, but

he also had journals full of prototypes, including early designs for helicopters that involved

knowledge on aerodynamics. Dr. Abdullah brings up the faculty he leads, commenting on how

many of them teach chemistry or biology, yet have another talent to them involving art, like

African drumming. An experienced mentor, Dr. Abdullah closes his TED Talk with, “It was not

uncommon in past times for those who were great of thought to have both, to what we would call

the left and what we would call the right . . . there is an artificial line between stem and art, and

that line is dangerous, it is absolutely dangerous. The idea that we try to separate things into a

left brain and right brain, means that we cease to see the diversity in each other.” Yes, S.T.E.M.
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was created with the intention of separating the arts and more, mathematically inclined, subjects.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s the best way to teach future generations. When we close off the arts,

we close off another perspective. Another chance for interest, a chance to delve into meaningful

expression. As Dr. Abdullah explained, separation of these thought processes stagnates

development of the mind. S.T.E.M. may develop convenient, tangible goods that progresses our

future, but without the arts, we lose a chance to see the other aspects of our world. We lose the

perspective to certain demographics, like the LGBTQ+ community, and we certainly don’t grasp

how our actions can affect others.

S.T.E.M. and the arts can coexist, and developed together, continues to engage children

in mindful cognition crucial to healthy expression and mindfulness. Together, they provide a

powerful tool for any generation to progress positively for our future. To end on, I’d like to share

a favorite art piece of mine by Faith Ringgold, called ​Dancing at the Louvre. ​Story quilting

allows Ms. Ringgold to piece together her adventure of becoming a female African artist, despite

the hurdles set in front of her in the 1980s-90s. She had a fascination for the arts when she was

young because it allowed her to express her emotions and love for those around her. All children

should be able to have that opportunity as well and experience any subject, especially art,

because who knows where it could lead them? Their futures are not predetermined, and if we

wish to raise a well rounded generation that is self aware, retrospective, and creatively inclined,

every single child needs to have art related thinking skills, not solely S.T.E.M. learning.
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Works Cited

Abdullah, Makola. YouTube, YouTube, 26 May 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmboiJh6qJ

Black, T. (2018, April 13). Speaking to Temara Beck on S.T.E.M. and Arts at Blackridge

Elementary [Personal interview].

Carney, Charles L., et al. “Arts Infusion and Literacy Achievement within Underserved

Communities: A Matter of Equity.” Arts Education Policy Review, vol. 117, no. 4, 2016,

pp. 230–243., doi:10.1080/10632913.2016.1213123.

Dane, Andrew. “STEM vs. STEAM: How Art Enhances the STEM Field.” Post-Crescent Media,

Post Crescent, 17 Mar. 2018, ​www.postcrescent.com/story/life/2018/03/17/stem-vs-steam

-how-art-enhances-stem-field/423899002/.

Hallam, Jenny Louise, et al. “An Exploration of Children's Experiences of Art in the

Classroom.” International Journal of Art & Design Education, vol. 33, no. 2, 2014, pp.

195–207., doi:10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.12022.x.

Jolly, Anne. “STEM vs. STEAM: Do the Arts Belong?” Teacher Teacher, Editorial Projects in

Education, 28 Feb. 2018, ​www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/11/18/ctq-jolly-stem-vs-stea

m.html.

Max, D. T. “A Whole New Ball Game.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017,

www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/05/16/sphero-teaches-kids-to-code​.

Spivey, V. B., Dr. (n.d.). Ringgold, Dancing at the Louvre. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary/a/ringgold

-dancing-at-the-louvre