
STEAM is an integrative and transversal approach that encourages students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. All these disciplines are very relevant in education and also in the application they will have, in the short term, in the world of work.
Today’s children will find a labor market that demands specialized profiles. For this reason, the STEAM approach is aligned with the needs of a society in continuous change.
Makerspace is physical creation or construction space where students share their resources and knowledge to create different projects using the STEAM approach.
These spaces are beneficial for them because they apply an active and practical methodology. Here they put into practice more than ever the concept of Learning by doing.
“Art challenges technology and technology inspires art”.
In Makerspace students were encouraged to gather recycled materials and found objects as a community. Parents, students and teachers collaboratively gather materials such as plastic bottles, cans, cups, cartons, batteries, old mechanical toys and scrap papers for the subject. This is an example that at Casvi International American School, family collaboration is fundamental in many of the activities we carry out.
At the beginning, students study basic ancient mechanical devices to understand the function in toys and objects around them. Makerspace gives students an opportunity to give a new life and new purpose to old items and explore their creativity.
For example, students were encouraged to create model robots with a basic mechanic using the design cycle. The design cycle provides a process to help guide students’ work. In this process the students work in teams to research their ideas using technology, sketch their plan, implement their concepts with engineering, measure using maths, reflect, repeat, and polish as they go. This process is created to demonstrate that repeating the steps is part of the process, not an error.
In Makerspace students are introduced to interdisciplinary projects using STEAM challenges.
The application of STEAM in Makerspace at Casvi International American School has a multitude of benefits and advantages such as:
-It is a new way of teaching in a cross-curricular way.
-It promotes Learning by doing.
–Technology is integrated as a medium and can be applied from the early stages through a global approach.
-Encourages teamwork.
-It contributes to the creation of specialized profiles that are so necessary in today’s labor market.
-It is closely linked to digital transformation.
In short, the benefits of this type of education are fundamental for the future of children. It prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century where, increasingly, there is a demand for skills that the STEAM approach can provide them with.