STEAM IMPLEMENTATION
Defining and Developing a School
STEAM Program While Determining
Its Quality
BY R. SCOT HOCKMAN
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is a course of
study that is sometimes misunderstood in terms of the criteria by which we
define the program. Simply said, schools may claim to offer a STEAM program
simply because they offer the five STEAM courses. To best define and develop
KEY IDEAS FOR
SUCCESS
the STEAM program, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has
1. Be intentional in grounding a STEAM
initiative through a quality, sequential
arts program.
Raleigh, North Carolina, from which of the North Carolina High School STEM
2. Provide a rubric for implementation
that allows opportunity for growth to
emerge.
written a STEAM Implementation Continuum. The continuum is based on the
Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University in
Implementation Rubric (2013) was developed. This work served as the starting
point for discussions within South Carolina when the SCDE brought together
educators from across the state. These educators, invested in creating both a
STEM and a STEAM rubric for districts and schools, worked toward developing
an instrument to define a quality, comprehensive, sequential and collaborative
STEM/STEAM program.
3. Take time to think through your
program development.
VIEW THE CONTINUUM HERE: http://ed.sc.gov/agency/se/InstructionalPractices-and-Evaluations/VisualandPerformingArts.cfm.
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