STEAM is the abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. It is an integrated approach to learning that encourages learners to apply creative thinking and problem-solving skills to real-world problems.

It allows learners to:

• Ask questions
• Think creatively
• Solve problems
• Be innovative
• Connect the dots

The conventional approach to education has been to ensure our learners gets a “good job”, however education has not kept up with new technology advances brought about by the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its disruptive nature, this causes certain jobs to be displaced due to automation.

We are therefore preparing our learners for jobs that wouldn’t even exists in future.

The learning environments needs to be fluid, dynamic and relevant, ie: we need to go outside and say: ” it’s cold today, what is the temperature outside”, that’s science or “the sky is blue” so that is art.

Learners need to step out of the classroom and interact with the world around them.

The A stands for Art, which implies creative thinking skills, the benefits of incorporating the arts into science and engineering have some concrete benefits:

• It helps to remove idea inhibition (there’s no wrong answer in art)
• It focuses on the process and helps drive innovation
• It teaches the power of observation, of people and your surroundings
• It helps to improve spatial awareness and mathematical concepts like geometry