From STEM to STEAM: The Connections and Fostering of Creativity in STEAM

Abstract

Aiming to understand the connections between STEM and STEAM education, and why using STEAM can be more creative for students, this review analyzes literature on STEM and STEAM especially as applied to mathematics and music education. The research questions are (a) why creativity in STEM is important; (b) How to relate STEM with arts (STEAM); and (c) Why STEAM is important in foresting students creativity. STEM - Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology - was launched as an initiative by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Hasanah, 2020). STEM education has attracted much attention in recent years, but how to teach STEM in a way which fosters creativity is unclear. However, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) education provides a potential way to foster students creativity and innovation during teaching and learning STEM (Liao, 2016). This study explores the literature on limitations of teaching creativity in STEM and why it is important to relate arts (STEAM) in STEM education. The findings of this study show that STEM can be more effective when related with arts, but the practical strategies as articulated in the extant literature are still limited.