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A14 LOCAL
Thursday 29 augusT 2019
Taking STEM to the Next Level
MAASTRICHT — Continuing the dialogue on the synergy between
the Aruban creative industry and knowledge economy, it is impor-
tant to share some possible conceptual frameworks that might help
people understand how these two economies could work together
in fostering creativity, knowledge and innovation. Over these past
months I have discussed how the development of creativity, knowl-
edge, and innovation should start when one is young, and should
have a firm bases in Aruba’s education system. With the implemen-
tation of Aruba’s first STEM faculty at the UA, should we not think
about how we can maximize the participation of students by laying
a foundation for them in elementary and middle school? Well, there
is one way this can be achieved: the STEAM model.
STEAM - what and why? STEAM education originated from problems such as 1. Severe popu-
For those who are not familiar with STEAM, it is an educational ap- Science, Technology, Engineering, lation load, 2. Economic transition,
proach that incorporates the arts into the more-familiar Science, and Mathematics (STEM) and 3. A lack of educational mea-
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics “STEM” model. This way education, which was originally sures. One of the root causes of
STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) programs proposed by the American Univer- these problems is the shortage of
can include any of the visual or performing arts, such as dance, sity of Virginia scholar Georgette innovative talents which has been
design, painting, photography and writing. Since the emergence Yakman in the study of compre- the case for Aruba. According to
of the knowledge economy in the 20th century, the focus has been hensive education, whose purpose Wang, Xo, and Guo (2018) “with
on STEM fields and education taking into account the ongoing is to strengthen the United States a multidisciplinary fusion feature,
shortage of technology workers during that time. Since then, glob- (US) K–12 education in science, STEAM education focuses on cul-
ally, governments have invested heavily in STEM education and its technology, engineering, art, and tivating students’ innovative ca-
promotion, and has now made its way in Aruba with the start of the mathematics (Wang et. al, 2018). pability and engineering literacy.
SISSTEM faculty at the University of Aruba. The increasing emphasis The major fall back from the STEM It has a great advantage in deal-
on obtaining STEM skills has inescapably led to decreased emphasis is that our economy requires so ing with the three key issues stated
on other subjects in the arts and humanities, resulting in decreased much more than an understanding above” (p.2). In this paper, just
funding for them while students have fewer arts-related options. of science, technology, engineer- like China, Aruba’s population is
Overall, studies have shown that the reintegration of art and design ing and math. It requires applica- increasing, faces a lack in innova-
into education increases the happiness and well-being of students. tion, creation and ingenuity to be tive economies, and experiences
Also, from a business perspective, the major benefits include better able to innovate, and STEM alone a shortage of innovative talent
problem-solving skills and increased creativity and innovation. Con- does not foster these essential nu- and brain drain. “Innovative talent
sidering the vision of the current Aruban Government, the integra- trients. The STEAM model aims to is the key to the core competitive-
tion of arts into STEM education and fields may also help encourage use the benefits of STEM and com- ness of the country. Although the
more participation by women in what have been male-dominated plete the package by integrating United States ranks first in terms of
areas. these principles in and through the comprehensive innovation capa-
arts. This way STEAM takes STEM bility, it still puts forward a STEAM
to the next level by allowing stu- education strategy that is com-
dents to connect their learning in mitted to improving citizens’ inno-
these critical areas together with vative practice” (p.3). In the Ca-
arts practices, elements, design ribbean according to the STEAM
principles, and standards to pro- Educational Movement founded
vide the whole pallet of learning at in 2006, there are currently STEAM
their disposal. Also, STEAM removes programs and educators being
limitations and replaces them with provided in the British Virgin Islands,
wonder, creativity, critique, inquiry, the Dominican Republic, and the
and innovation. Bahamas.
The primordial reason why STEAM
education could be a hit on the is-
land lies in its diverse nature. In the Continued on Page 15
process of future sustainable de-
velopment, human society faces
