Cognitive Reasoning for STEM to STEAM

This series of posts are taken from a paper I wrote born from the need for reasoning over belief. I have always believed arts has a place in STEM yet sought to connect the cognitive proof. These posts are a combination of two papers I wrote on the neuroscience and cognitive functions involved in creativity and arts integration. My intentions with these posts is to share the connections and research I have done with my STEAM colleagues so that you may have fact-based reasoning to strengthen your voice for integrating the arts into STEM. Here is the conversation...

A list of references

Part I: The Canvas

The recognition of the arts as being critical in the development of the whole child has been a challenging one amongst the test-centered timeline of the new millennium. With the passing of No Child Left Behind in 2001, American education turned its priority to improving school performance with an emphasis on math, reading and the language arts (better known as the tested subject areas). In 2006, scrutiny and concern about the state of American education and the future of American representation in science, technology engineering and math was established by a U.S. National Academies report and resulted in the Department of Education increasing its emphasis on K-12 STEM education as if Sputnik had just launched all over again. In 2009, the Common Core Standards were released and spotlighted the priority on tested subject areas and rigorous efforts to improve test scores spread across the country. Despite the grit of American schools to answer to these many calls of the DOE, a 2011 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) showed a dismal two point increase in the test scores of eighth graders in science. Additionally, and more importantly to this cause, the NAEP study revealed that students were having difficulty with problem solving and critical thinking skills.These pinpointed gaps in cognitive skills is where the arts has a place to move from a sidelined priority on a cart to its reasoning for being imperative in the integration of K-12 American education. In the following posts we will look at the brain-based power of creativity, the neuroscience of the arts and a general view of arts integration to present the reasoning for STEM to STEAM.