You probably already know the meaning of STEM: science, technology, engineering and math. The four subjects are taught in unison to reinforce a student’s understanding of each skill. STEM is powerful for this reason:

“Instead of teaching math as separate from science, they can be taught together in a way that shows how the knowledge from those two fields complement and support each other” - Steam Powered Family

But move over STEM, there’s a new acronym in town: STEAM. STEAM includes the addition of ‘a’ for ‘art’. Here’s All Education Schools’ take on it:

“STEM is a building block for STEAM. STEAM education makes its focus the application of science, technology, engineering and math through art and design.”

The addition of art can make intimidating subjects like science and math fun, accessible and interesting for kids to learn. For instance, a child may become more interested in learning computer programming when a familiar component like art leads into a deeper understanding of how they work together.

STEAM + Computer Programming Prepares Children for the Future

STEM vs STEAM isn’t really a debate when it comes to computer programming for kids. By teaching art alongside STEM, kids are given the tools and methods to explore creative new approaches to problem-solving. It takes creativity and the foundations of art and design to succeed in an engineering career. Likewise, coming up with new tech innovations takes large amounts of creativity.

Learning to read and write code is inherently creative. For instance, you can build a video game, a social network or a banking app using the same coding language. Learning to read and write code is inherently creative. With one coding language, a student can make anything imaginable, from video games to banking apps. Creativity matters when it comes to learning to read and write code.

"Skills need to be taught in an applied way, as part of a greater whole, rather than the traditional approach of individual subject silos.”
-STEAM Powered Family