The Crucible: A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces.
The National Academy Press, USA published A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core ideas (National Research Council, NRC 2012) in response to the low uptake of Science, Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) within higher education. Not particular to America, this is becoming an international concern with various agencies e.g. the UK business lobbying organisation, the CBI’s recent skills survey (2011) both calling for new polices for STEM teaching and Discover Science and Engineering, Ireland acknowledging the role and importance of STEM in Ireland’s continued growth and development.
Furthermore, the National Security Strategy (NSA) stated that America’s long-term leadership must invest in STEM education following an assessment of the current uptake of STEM subjects at university level. The Obama administration stressed innovation should be the ‘foundation of American power’ through peaceful international collaborations not military power (NSA, 2010).
Inspiringly, the NRC’s framework is not only a national approach to address low uptake of STEM but hopes to raise the standards of the general public’s understanding of science, technology and engineering. The NRC’s ethos is to ‘facilitate citizens to make meaningful decisions whether for everyday concerns of food, clothes and shelter or to contribute to national citizenship and public policy matters’ (NRC 2012).
But is this framework enough to engage the nation in scientific understanding?
Internationally the need for a more engaging science education has been recognised to create more effective solutions for the energy, utility, construction and technology industries. The need for more effective solutions is not only relevant for the global marketplace, but has international diplomatic relations implications and healthcare.
Pluralism, chaos, complexity and ambiguity—the trademarks of postmodern society, are creating a climate of constant flux, which affects the way we learn, perceive, and construct the world around us. Our ability to adapt and learn what is needed at any given moment in time becomes evermore crucial to meet the challenges of our times. Whether we are graduates, high school students or on a career path, we are now all lifelong learners and we need to respond creatively to challenges and participate in society’s evolution through innovation (Chavez, McKeown 2012)
This is the new world of the 21st century student.
Are we ready?
The NRC recognises the role of ‘ hundred of years of creative human endeavour’ ( NRC, 2012, p1) as a key factor in our current scientific understanding. Influential centres e.g. Asia, Russia are engaging artists / educators from Europe to encourage innovation and creativity to maximise their problem solving solutions. Four hundred years of divergence between the science and the arts has ingrained specialized learning in our educational systems, by design and practice. The arts and sciences combined create a unique portal of exploration through which we discover the nature of reality and express what it is to be human (Chavez, Chiarella, McKeown 2012).
Art and design have importance not only for creative expression but research increasingly shows (RSA 2011, UNESCO 2006) that art and design encourages a practical competence, critical thinking and resourcefulness; the ability to develop concepts into production, all core skills required for the STEM agenda. Creative Partnerships (UK Art / Sci education project) evidenced how every £1 invested in the programme generated £15.30 worth of benefits, an equivalent of £4bn p.a.
However, it is important not to consider the potential purely in economic terms as increasingly an assessment of profit includes ecological and social capital. Our current use of resources is unsustainable and we need to develop new technologies that address our potential future. Co-operation and collaboration on key global challenges must also address ethical and ecological concerns. The current global economic crisis highlights the importance of developing resilience on a local level seeing our threats as opportunities and engaging with solution-focussed creative approaches.
The wiki in essence a crucible, a repository for contributions from a range of disciplines and perspectives including research reports on ART/SCI education and integrated approaches to learning. Sometimes theoretical, sometimes philosophical, the wiki will also including practical activities,interesting projects and links to other resources.
Anita McKeown FRSA, BA, MA.
CATALYST Manager
SMARTlab
School of Education / School of Engineering
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4
Further reading
CBIs 2011 Survey http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/news/employers-still-struggling-to-recruit-stem-skilled-staff-reports-latest-cbi-survey
Creative Partnerships – www.creative-partnerships.com/
Discover Science and Engineering http://www.discover-science.ie/
NRC 2012 http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13165
National Security Strategy 2010 www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/…/national_security_strategy.pdf
RSA Annual Report 2011RSA, Annual Report 2011
Irwin Rl, Gouzouasis P, Grauer K, and Leggo C. Investigating Curriculum Integration, the Arts and Diverse Learning Environments UNESCO 2006