Who among us has never doubted something that we’ve been told? As children, we needed to TOUCH
the stove to truly know that it was hot. We let our tongues stick to frozen metal so we could see for
ourselves.
Likewise, for learning to stick, it needs something to stick to. The experiences afforded by genuine
engagement, whether that be from real life OR the arts, provide us with the glue necessary for deep
learning.
As STEM educators, we can use any of the arts, including fiction, to teach beyond pure science and
math. In addition to biographies and creative non-fiction, fictional texts that relate to our subject matter
can be an asset in our classrooms.
“Fiction?” you ask. “For STEM?”
Fiction is often used to enrich student understanding of cultures and of historic events. But what about
for math and science? Good fiction has a place in our STEM classrooms, even if limited to the
supplementary bookshelves and recommended movies.
Ruminate on these ways fiction can boost STEM learning in our classrooms:
1. Fiction can show the process of discovery and model scientific and mathematical thinking for our
students. After witnessing, thought by thought, how a mathematician may have developed a theory,
our students can set their own path of exploration.
2. Fiction can bring readers inside a scientific experience, feeding imaginations as it shares the
sights, sounds, smells, tastes and physical experiences of a character.
3. Emotions, a vital part of fiction, can broaden perspective and foster deeper learning. Emotions
are central to the learning process. In her book, Emotions, Learning and the Brain, neuroscientist Dr.
Immordino-Yang states, “Even in academic subjects that are traditionally considered unemotional,
such as physics, engineering and math, deep understanding depends on making emotional
connections between concepts.” Furthermore, she says “When students are emotionally engaged,
we see activations all around the cortex, in regions involved in cognition, memory, and meaningmaking…”
4. “STEM” historical fiction can place a scientist’s or mathematician’s experiences in the cultural
context in when they lived. The reader considers the challenges of the characters and the views of
their contemporaries.
STEAMed Magazine
42
July 2016 Edition