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We cannot talk about students’ futures without passionately making the case for STEAM and creativity

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Lauren Wallace, Physics teacher and STEAM Lead from Bishopbriggs Academy, shares why she sees cross-disciplinary collaboration between Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths as an integral part of her students’ development

As a sector, we’ve happily moved beyond the belief that Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts or Maths (STEAM) should sit isolated in a vacuum. It’s self-apparent that the most impressive, important and engaging developments in society are taking place at the convergence of these fields, with new initiatives in business, environmental conservation, healthcare and much else drawing on the knowledge (and talent) of people collaborating across these different areas. 

All the STEAM subjects can creatively complement one another, each offering different tools and perspectives to address an enormous range of challenges and opportunities. Science and Technology might combine to create new diagnostic tools for health issues, while Arts and Maths might enable people to better understand important numeral information through beautiful illustrations. In the real world, these opportunities for creative cross-disciplinary collaboration are truly unlimited (just think of the internet or the aeroplane) but are only possible when we can take step back and use creative thinking to conceive of how they might be successfully combined.

To thrive professionally in a future workforce, students must develop an appreciation of how all the STEAM subjects can interact to produce new innovations – and vitally, must also recognise the fundamental need for creativity in order to make this happen.

That’s why as a STEAM lead, I’m interested in UNBOXED. Creativity sits at the heart of the UNBOXED Learning Programme, which is designed to support schools in developing these skills within young people in their classroom.

This free programme, for young people aged 4 – 19, is an example of placing creativity centre stage in a STEAM-based learning environment. From a bio-diverse forest in a city centre to an epic scale model of the solar system, schools can experience first-hand these creative successes when engineering and art, scientific research and technological innovation come together.

What drew me to the UNBOXED Learning Programme was how its various projects, and the resources available, showcase what can happen when creativity and STEAM are combined. It is evident both inside and outside the classroom, from digital learning to in-person experiences. As an educator, you’re teaching the same curriculum. The variety of this programme gives teachers the chance to add excitement, real-world learning and innovation into our lessons to inspire students.

The barriers to teaching STEAM are that teachers don’t have the time or confidence to build and deliver a lesson. As a Physics teacher, my specialism is in the ‘S’ part of STEAM but the range of activities from UNBOXED gives teachers more confidence in broader STEAM teaching whilst not needing to be a specialist in any particular area. The quality of the resources from high profile artists and scientists is also to a very high standard which means that staff feel confident in presenting the material.

UNBOXED’s Dandelion project has been empowering students in Scotland to learn about growing, share in community harvests and work together for a more sustainable future. We are currently running the project with over 200 students in our school. To date, the feedback has been that it was their favourite part of the year for many students.

One of the questions I often get asked is how other teachers can build STEAM into lessons. My response? Let young people explore their creativity. With STEAM learning, you’re facilitating this. Using the ready-made activities from the UNBOXED Learning Programme can be used to support those conversations.

Created for young people aged 4 – 19, the UNBOXED Learning Programme is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that brings together digital and in-person learning experiences across STEAM from March to October 2022. Learn more here: https://unboxed2022.uk/learning-programme

 

 

UNBOXED PUTS CREATIVITY AT THE HEART OF UK-WIDE LEARNING PROGRAMME DESIGNED TO INSPIRE MILLIONS OF YOUNG PEOPLE

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Millions of young people across the UK are set to benefit from a unique schools’ programme that puts creativity and collaboration at the heart of learning, based on real-world examples. 

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is launching the programme designed to inspire young people, aged 4 to 19, with its creative projects showcasing collaborations across science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).

The UNBOXED projects involve hundreds of events and activities across the UK and online, and cover a range of ideas, including space and science, the environment, growing and sustainability, and history and community. From a bio-diverse forest in a city centre to a North Sea offshore platform transformed into a giant artwork, schools can experience first-hand these creative successes when engineering and design, scientific research and technological innovation, including AR and artistic work, come together. 

Designed by educators, teachers, technicians and artists with a wealth of experience in STEAM, this free learning programme from UNBOXED includes engaging and fun lesson plans, worksheets and presentations to stimulate young people’s creative thinking, encourage global citizenship and develop the skills they will need for the future of work. The resources are aligned to the curriculum across all home nations and suitable for enrichment and personal development. The programme is entirely flexible and offers a complete blend of class-based, online, real-world and location-based learning. 

Resources currently available are linked to About Us, an immersive journey through 13.8 billion years of our history from the Big Bang to the present day; Our Place in Space, designed by renowned artist and writer Oliver Jeffers, which recreates the solar system as a 10-kilometre trail here on earth and Dreamachine, an artwork you ‘see’ with your eyes closed, which explores the human mind, as part of a massive research project into human perception.

Future resources will be based on StoryTrails, one of the biggest people’s history projects ever undertaken; Dandelion, a Scotland-wide growing project that reimagines the harvest festival for the 21st century; Green Space Dark Skies, which considers the environment and the UK’s beautiful landscapes; PoliNations, which is inspired by the fact that almost 80 per cent of the UK’s plant life originates from overseas; GALWAD: A story from our future, which projects the population into 2052, and SEE MONSTER, a feat of engineering and design that transforms a decommissioned off-shore North Sea platform into space to playfully explore reflect the great British weather, reuse and sustainability. 

According to a recent report from the Policy & Evidence Centre ”The promotion of creativity in educational settings can help young people build entrepreneurial skills and improve their future employability”. The UNBOXED Learning Programme recognises the importance for teachers to provide future skills-based and real-world learning to the classroom and seeks to reinvigorate creativity in every classroom in the UK. It believes creativity – our creativity – has the power to change the world.

Bhav Patel, Year 5 Teacher at West Hill Primary School, Staffordshire, said: “The resources we had from About Us were brilliant. They give children the ability to combine their creativity and science knowledge, through writing a poem based on space. It was so popular we had children asking to stay in rather than go out and play. The free resources are perfect for any teacher to just pick up and build into their lesson planning to increase engagement in the classroom and provide an exciting learning experience.”

Priya Lakhani OBE, Board Member of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK and Founder of CENTURY Tech, an artificial intelligence education company that develops tools for schools, said: “UNBOXED is exploring creativity and collaboration across STEAM subjects, which is becoming increasingly important for people entering the world of work. As we emerge from the lockdown, the UNBOXED Learning Programme immerses young people in real-world examples of creativity, showcasing STEAM in action through an exciting programme of experiential projects across the four nations. As well as stimulating young minds, teachers will find it a useful addition to their curriculum activity.”

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is the biggest and most ambitious creative programme ever presented on these shores. It is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK, and is co-commissioned with Belfast City Council, EventScotland and Creative Wales.

Explore the free resources and join the UNBOXED Learning Programme today: https://unboxed2022.uk/learning-programme 

 

OKdo partners with LEGO® Education to retail enhanced STEAM education products

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OKdo, trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE: ECM), a global omni-channel provider of product and service solutions, has announced partnered with LEGO® Education as an authorised reseller of LEGO® Education products in the UK.

The partnership will see OKdo offer six LEGO® Education sets initially, all of which promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) learning through play to students of all ages. Some of the initial products in the range include:

  • The LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set, an easy-to-use STEAM learning tool to help introduce creative robotics to Year 7 to Year 9 students.
  • The LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Expansion Set, which makes it easy to bring students’ creative robotics ideas to life using intelligent hardware. This set combines with the SPIKE™ Prime Set and free SPIKE App to give over 10 hours of targeted STEAM learning.
  • The LEGO® Education BricQ Motion Essential Set, which introduces children aged 6+ to STEAM learning, with students able to build a robot using over 500 LEGO easy-build elements, mini-figures, gears and more.

The partnership further enhances OKdo’s STEAM education offering, following their recent research into all the benefits of bringing coding and computer science into the classroom. Their Broader Benefits of Learning to Code report found that nearly all (96%) UK primary and secondary school teachers surveyed reported seeing first-hand evidence that computer science lessons help children to develop other hard and soft skills in addition to IT abilities.

Demand for computer science talent is also skyrocketing in the UK’s booming tech sector, and OKdo’s ‘Computer Science in the Classroom’ report highlighted the importance of engaging more children in computer science while at school.

They analysed the numbers of students sitting computer science and computing courses at GCSE and undergraduate levels, and found that, while progress is being made – 79,964 students sat the GCSE Computing in 2021 compared to just 16,773 in 2014 – more work still needs to be done to engage more students in these areas at any early age, to ensure the industry can continue to grow.

Richard Curtin, SVP of Technology at OKdo, said: “Educating the next generation is at the heart of the OKdo mission. Our research has shown the importance of STEAM skills in the classroom, and we are excited and proud to have partnered with LEGO® Education as their sets will encourage more children to discover coding and help them develop confidence in STEAM learning, while also building valuable creative and critical thinking, and problem solving skills.”

For further information about the LEGO® Education products and resources available from OKdo, please visit: https://www.okdo.com/lego-education/

Information about the complete STEM offering from OKdo is available at: https://www.okdo.com/c/coding-for-kids/