IS STEM SUFFICIENT OR DO WE NEED A STEAM’D APPROACH TO EDUCATION?

With the launch of the Federal Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda, there’s a renewed focus on encouraging more students to follow career paths in the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).

At first glance, it’s a worthy plan. However, is it a strategy that actually aligns with our current and future social needs?  Instead, should we also acknowledge the roles that art and design have in our society and how they work in unison with the STEM disciplines?

Over the past decade or so, visual stimulation has become as important as utilitarian problem-solving in modern societies.  Technical innovations not only have to be practical but also need to fit into our emotional needs and physical environments. Household appliances are no longer just practical items. They also need to look good and appeal to our senses.  Similarly, buildings and other large constructions such as buildings call for aesthetic designs so they are a fit with liveable communities.

Of course, the concept of that technology and engineering can be artistic is not new.  The classical and renaissance eras were both built on creative design being a cornerstone of construction.  Since that time we somehow lost the ability to see science and engineering as a creative process.

We now, though, have a chance to reverse the trend.  Evolving technologies such as 3D printing, virtual reality and augmented reality are very much reliant on their visual appeal as they are on the science behind them.

3D printing enables new and exciting designs for what were formerly purely functional solutions.  For example, prosthetics can now be customised and designed to suit an individual’s interests and likes as well as their physical needs.At the same time, robots have moved beyond factory floor functionality and we now want them to look appealing.

Therefore, do we need to encourage more schools to teach children art and design as part of their science and technology subjects? Should art and design be melded with STEM subjects in the school and tertiary curricula rather than forcing students to choose one or the other?

Some universities have already begun this approach by enabling students to simultaneously complete Bachelors of Science and Arts degrees. There are even examples of combining science and arts in a single bachelor degree. 

Primary and secondary educators may need to mirror this approach so younger students are adequately prepared for their futures. Children are natural innovators and instinctively know creativity is part of the problem-solving process. Teaching them how to incorporate art and design in science and technology could allow for wider inventiveness and open new opportunities and ideas.

If we want to nurture future generations of innovators, we shouldn’t solely focus on STEM at the expense of art and design. True innovation comes from the ability to use creativity in parallel with our technical abilities.