Abstract:

STEAM Education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. STEAM education, as an integrated approach to learning, requires an intentional connection between standards, assessments, and lesson design/ implementation [1]. However, A recent report by the British Educational Research Association on STEAM education found inconsistencies and a lack of conceptual clarity in STEAM terminology, pedagogy, and research [1, 2]. At the same time, there is a discussion during the research and educational community of what educational practices can be characterized as good STEAM educational practices.
In this context, as part of the STEAMonEdu Erasmus+ project, which aimed to increase the adoption and impact of STEAM education [3], a guide for STEAM education practices was developed by nominating educators as the pillars of implementation of STEAM education policies and support their professional development either by blended training or by their participation in a community of stakeholders.
This guide includes a framework for evaluating STEAM education practices, which provides specific principles and criteria to guide the design of a practical STEAM experience, willing to contribute towards the EU target of inspiring more young people to specialize in STEM during their education in order to undertake scientific and technical careers, motivating a multi-disciplinary STEAM approach, addressing gender gaps and stereotypes in STEM programmes and supporting educator preparation for this educational reform movements. The guide lists 15 principles and 25 criteria for evaluating STEAM education good practices. Examples are: Integrated Content, Real-word integration, Inclusive STEAM education, Next Generation/21st Century Skills, Project-Based/Problem-Based Learning, Authentic Assessment, Teacher as Facilitator, Collaboration, Open-Ended Learning, etc. More than 70 STEAM education practices were evaluated using this framework, resulting in 11 best practices.
This paper provides the evaluation framework for STEAM educational practice, including the principles that characterize a good STEAM education practice and the 25 different evaluation criteria, as well as the main characteristics of the best of them.

References:
[1] Colucci-Gray, L., Trowsdale, J., Cooke, C. F., Davies, R., Burnard, P., & Gray, D. S. (2017). Reviewing the potential and challenges of developing STEAM education through creative pedagogies for 21st learning: how can school curricula be broadened towards a more responsive, dynamic, and inclusive form of education?. British Educational Research Association
[2] Aguilera, D., & Ortiz-Revilla, J. (2021). STEM vs. STEAM education and student creativity: A systematic literature review. Education Sciences, 11(7), 331.
[3] Kameas, A., & Spyropoulou, N. (2020). Professional Development of STE(A)M Educators with online tools and Communities. In ICERI2020 Proceedings (pp. 9005-9009). IATED.

Keywords:

STEAM education, educational practices, evaluation framework.