STEAM: linking things together

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By Nicki Allman

Find out how to deliver a STEAM project in your classroom.

In an age where there is much talk about a ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum and ensuring progression mapping, it can be tempting to look at subjects and feel the need to teach them separately rather than within a topic/themed approach. However, the issue with discrete teaching is that there is little enough time in the school week for all the foundation subjects without trying to carve out time for all the subjects on an individual basis!

This article contains ideas for how to utilise an integrated approach that allows for progression and coverage across STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics), as well as looking at how literacy skills can be embedded.

Children working on a group project at school

The process when undertaking a STEAM project has the following stages to it. These stages can be applied in any situation, regardless of the focus.

Stage	Question prompts
What?	What is the problem/issue? What do I need to find out to solve this problem/issue?
How?	How might it be solved? How many ways are there to solve it?
When?	PLAN: What materials do I need to use to solve it? What is the step-by-step approach I need to take? What problems might I face when doing this task? DO: How am I going to create my idea? What happens when I test it? How am I recording my results? (Writing, drawings, photos)
Then?	What went well? What could be improved? What do others think of my design/solution?