integration of arts and science an excellent starting point for
educators interested in adopting or demonstrating the value of
STEAM in the classroom.
• How can video increase observation skills in students with
special needs?
See www.capeweb.org/curriculum-units for examples
Create + Experiment
Inquire + Observe and Hypothesize
In a CAPE arts-integrated project, a teacher and an artist work
together with their students to craft inquiry questions that
address learning standards, social-emotional goals, and the
students’ personal interests. High quality inquiry questions
include words or phrases like, “How…” and “What happens
when…” If an inquiry question can be answered with a yes, a
no, or a Google search, it will not generate innovative or
engaging work by anyone in the classroom. Similarly, when
students in a science class observe phenomena that they don’t
understand, a generative hypothesis will not be a yes or no
question. Questions developed by students should lay clear
foundations for the experimentation ahead in both artistic and
scientific investigations.
Examples of inquiry questions from CAPE STEAM classrooms
include:
• How do insects produce sounds and for what purpose?
• How does art relate to the periodic table of elements?
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