Empowering All Learners Through STEAM

If you think about when you go through life, you aren’t given one little subject, one little thing to do at a time. Every task you have requires you to think and solve using multiple skills at once.

Our world is diverse, evolving, and ever-changing, so we need to be able to think on our toes and provide solutions — even though the solution each person comes up with is not the only solution. STEAM gives students the ability to learn that there isn’t always a right and wrong. As kids grow, they start out very creative, as problem solvers. Students need to understand that there is not one answer to everything.

At St. B’s, we need to make sure we provide opportunities for students that aren’t just one right or one wrong answer. We provide opportunities for kids to thrive and solve in multiple ways. Through the implementation of STEAM in our classrooms, we are able to help students who may have a weakness or a subject area that is not their favorite.

For example, when I was a kid, reading was my least favorite thing. It was hard. It took me a really long time to even like reading; however, I remember in third grade, my teacher had a puppet-show activity that we were able to do. I read that story so many times because I needed to make sure my puppet matched the description in the story. Little did I know it was a clever trick to help me read more. As teachers, STEAM helps our classrooms run smoother because STEAM adds in a little bit of fun. When a classroom is more fun, each thing gets a little easier. When I did my puppet project, I had no idea I was actually doing the work — I just wanted to build a nice puppet.

At St. B’s, we partner with teachers and implement resources in classrooms that involve STEAM topics. We eliminate student frustration, or at least reduce it significantly, and make classes that were previously not favorites become new favorites. By having open-ended solutions and multiple ways to get an answer, we help students understand that trying isn’t failing.

The future of our world has students going into careers that do not exist today. They need to be willing to try new things, to create their own jobs, and to see what is needed. Through the implementation of our STEAM program, we are meeting multiple learning needs in addition to helping kids learn not just for school, but for life. It’s not very often that I am told to do one thing and how to do it. I’m asked to fulfill a need — and in that need, I have to come up with the solution myself.

We work hard to teach students to think about what a need is and to take it to the next level. As we see students exposed to STEAM topics at a younger grade, we find that they are more resilient. They operate with more diligence and determination to solve a problem. They don’t give up as easily, and they know that something can be done, even if in the moment it feels impossible.

At St. B’s, belonging fuels the confidence to explore, create, and try again. Through our monthly STEAM series, our Integrative STEAM Specialist shares how creativity, curiosity, and collaboration are shaping the classroom experience at St. Benedict’s. Together, we continue to explore how students bring learning to life through design thinking and hands-on problem-solving every day at St. B’s.