STEM to STREAM : Vanguard's Approach to Learning Across Academic Domains. What is STEM? Why is it important and what does it look like at Vanguard?
“While STEM learning models include hands-on applications of science, technology, engineering and math, Vanguard takes the STEM model further by including research and the arts — making the acronym STREAM.”
Welcome to Vanguard Gifted Academy’s educational blog. This is the first installment of our new series STEM to STREAM: Vanguard’s Approach to Learning Across Academic Domains. I’m Elizabeth Blaetz, Founder and Head of School at Vanguard Gifted Academy. In this series, we will explore the subjects and activities that incorporate Vanguard’s use of the elevated STEM approach that we call STREAM. In this article, we will share about STREAM — what it is, why it’s important, and what it looks like at Vanguard.
What is STREAM?
STEM, or Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, offers students authentic learning opportunities through hands-on problem solving. This kind of learning is at the heart of a Vanguard education. While STEM learning models include hands-on applications of science, technology, engineering and math, Vanguard takes the STEM model further by including research and the arts — making the acronym STREAM. At Vanguard, STREAM is not a single period class that happens perhaps once or twice a week. Our students are engaged in STREAM every afternoon — throughout the afternoon.
STREAM learning is powered by knowledge of the domain-specific skills and conceptual understandings that Vanguard students learn in the morning. This knowledge is then applied throughout the afternoon while students are engaged in authentic problem-solving. The problems vary depending on the curricula being explored. From current issues in Africa, like not having clean water to drink, to Vanguard-specific issues, such as not having soft projectiles to throw at each other for a community game, to the dilemma colonists face, trying to survive in a new world, whether that new world be Jamestown or Mars. If students are only learning the skills and concepts of each domain, they are not prepared to solve these or other problems. Students have been asking teachers for far too many years, when will I ever use this skill? The answer becomes evident during STREAM.
How to Problem-Solve with STREAM
During STREAM students learn how to approach a problem and how to work as a group to find the solution. Many people tell me “My child hates group work”; this is because they never learned how to methodically work in a group — how to use each person’s strengths to reach a solution. At Vanguard, we teach our students the design process — identify the problem, brainstorm solutions, make a plan, create, build and test, improve (at Vanguard we usually say tweak), and then present the solution. As they go through this process, they also are learning to ask questions about working in a group, such as, “Who should take the lead in this part? Who’s the best person to do this? What is my strength and how can I use that to best help the group?”
Using the design process and group skills allows students to delve deeper into understanding their own strengths, both socially as part of a group and in the different domains. Throughout the process, the students naturally make connections across the domains. These connections create multiple links to the information as it’s stored in the brain while the child is learning, improving the child’s ability to recall and reuse the information as they face new problems.
STREAM in Action at Vanguard
Let me share what the STREAM model looks like at Vanguard. As Band 1 was researching the Plains Native Americans — these are the people who follow the buffalo herds across the countryside — they learned about teepees and asked if they could build a teepee. I said, sure! What is the problem? How to build a teepee home big enough for our group. The students brainstormed possible ways to engineer a teepee. Once they began to plan, their discussions were so interesting. They were talking about geometry, 3D structures and area. They were also talking about physics. How were they going to get these poles to stand up? How would they balance them? What would they do to get the poles covered with the sheets (because I would not let them use a ladder)?
The students decided on a plan and determined the need for supplies. Eight-foot PVC pipes would be the tree trunks. Sheets would be the buffalo hides. A heavy rubber band would be the cord that the Native Americans had used from the buffalos’ tendons. I brought the supplies to school and they went to work. Right away many of their ideas failed. They often had disagreements. At the end of each work session, we talked about the relevant topics, such as leadership, effective communication and willingness to move on to a new idea or plan. At the end of one work period, a frustrated student said, “Just give us the directions and then we can do it.” I replied, “Then you could do what?” “Build a teepee!” he responded. I said, “No, then you can follow directions.”
The students persisted, and after testing and improving many plans, they built a teepee. They were so proud as they stood inside because this was their work. Each had contributed and together they had solved the problem of how to build a teepee. Then I said, “Okay, the tribe is moving on, take it down. We'll build it again at our next stop.” I was met with a resounding, “Noooooooo!”
Then I asked, was a teepee a permanent structure? Again, they said, “Nooo.” They continued to develop better teamwork and to find more efficient ways to rebuild the teepee. They painted the sheets with art the Plains Native Americans had drawn on their walls, telling their stories of hunting the buffalo. The teepee was then displayed for our showcase night. Every child involved could discuss all of the aspects, both negative and positive, of making a teepee, as well as their knowledge about the Plains Native Americans, their need for buffalo, and how they use every single part, not wasting a thing.
Success in Group Project Settings with STREAM
This is authentic learning. The key to the success of any group project is that each person in the group has a strength to offer and the flexibility to realize how their strengths can be applied to a variety of situations. Engineers, mathematicians, researchers, graphic artists and scientists all work together, not in isolation. When combining their skills and abilities, they are able to solve problems, create innovative new products and expand their level of knowledge. STREAM is teaching children the skills they need for their future.
I hope you enjoyed learning the difference between STEM and STREAM. You can read more about how we prepare students for the future by combining the 6 C’s (think critically, communicate clearly, work collaboratively, develop creativity, build good character, and appreciate community) with our STREAM model. Please join us in our future installments as students from Vanguard Gifted Academy share their experiences learning in STREAM. Our next blog will feature volcanoes.
Thank you for listening to our series STEM to STREAM. We hope that Vanguard Gifted Academy’s educational blog will continue to be a resource for you. If you have any comments or questions about this article, please visit our website or call us at (224) 213-0087.