While writing my graduate thesis on expanding STEM into STEAM , I have spent a lot of time thinking about how students can learn academic concepts through creative methods . The STEAM initiative demonstrates that learning through artistic processes can develop both academic and non-academic skills necessary for students ’ future success . My action research consisted of a collaborative unit with my school ’ s science and technology teachers that would enable our 7th graders to master the concepts of mitosis and meiosis through the process of stop-motion animation .
Stop-motion animation is itself a STEAM activity , as students use technology skills and design principles to film their videos in a clear and aesthetically-pleasing presentation . They also use basic math skills to determine how many frames per second a video needs to have in order to run smoothly .
In addition to the science , art , and technology standards we aimed to meet , we also hoped to promote the 4 C ’ s : collaboration , communication , creativity , and critical thinking . I wanted my students to realize that an artistic process requires many of the same skills that a science experiment would , and therefore deserves the same attention and effort .
Objectives :
• Be able to differentiate between the stages of mitosis and meiosis .
• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate and communicate with peers , and to think critically and creatively about their work .
• Use the Stop Motion Studio app to create an animated video that clearly shows the processes of cell division .
• Use iMovie to edit and publish their videos .
To emphasize the importance of the 4 C ’ s , the students were randomly assigned to groups of 3 or 4 . Each group had to submit a proposal that outlined what materials they wanted to use , how they planned to use them , and how they could prevent common animation problems like camera shake and continuity issues . They also created a storyboard prior to filming so that they had a clear plan of each part of the mitosis and meiosis processes . Students were given a brief introduction to the science
“ I wanted my students to realize that an artistic process requires many of the same skills that a science experiment would , and therefore deserves the same attention and effort .”
STEAMed Magazine
7
January 2016 Edition