Intro to STEAM course exposes students to real-world applications

Intro to STEAM course exposes students to real-world applications

Introduction to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) is a CCHS course that integrates these five subjects into one fluid course that focuses on real-world application of the subject areas. Other schools offer STEM courses, but Cathedral Catholic is the first high school to integrate the art element into it.

The course is taught by Mr. Wallace and is the first UC-approved STEAM class ever. Our Introduction to STEAM course has 93 students this year, broken up into three classes, and so far about 80 students have signed up for the class next year. “Students of all grades can take Intro to STEAM as long as they complete the prerequisite, geometry, which ensures that students have also completed biology,” said Mrs. Fleming. “Students can expect to get an overview of a number of different type of engineering fields ranging from basic understanding to app design to how to weld while taking Intro to STEAM,” said Mr. Wallace.

Cathedral students taking Intro to STEAM this school year have been enjoying the course and many will continue on to take Advanced STEAM next school year. “This class is perfect for creative students who like working on more hands-on projects,” said Mr. Wallace. The counselors as well as Mr. Wallace are encouraging students to take these courses next school year. “In our STEAM courses students can expect to have fun with technology, hands-on projects, engineering, and robotics. Now that the school year is coming to a close, I’ve noticed that students who are taking STEAM have become a lot more comfortable with technology and robotics from taking this course,” said Ms. Fleming.

Students who are in Intro to STEAM this year have been working with ten professional engineers to create a third-year path where students will be able to specialize in specific types of engineering and will be able to apply for internships through the connections made with the professionals. Ideally, there will be a separate class for electrical, programming and computer, and mechanical engineering. “After taking geometry and Intro to STEAM, students are eligible for Advanced STEAM, which will be a new course next school year. Advanced STEAM will also be UC-approved,” said CCHS counselor Ms. Fleming.

The difference between Introduction to STEAM and Advanced STEAM is that Intro to STEAM focuses on learning all the components for the different types of engineering, and in Advanced STEAM, students put it all together. “My favorite thing about this class is the creative aspect of it. When you do a project in regular classes, everyone kind of has to make the same thing, whereas when I give my students parameters and they build something, I get seventy different results. It’s pretty cool to see how everyone interprets the same project differently,” said Mr. Wallace.

CCHS has purchased several large robotics kits, and students in Advanced STEAM will be putting them together. They will also complete more advanced programming, and will learn more about hardware to computers and circuit boards. Next year, Intro to STEAM will be a prerequisite to Advanced STEAM and will be counted as a science rather than an elective.

STEAM courses are becoming more important as America grows into a more technology-based country. Unfortunately, many students around the nation lose interest in the field of STEAM as they grow older. Nearly 28% of high school freshmen show interest in STEM-related careers but almost 57% of these students lose interest by the end of their senior year, according to the United States Department of Education.

The federal government hopes to improve these statistics in the coming years. The Obama administration announced the 2009 “Educate to Innovate” campaign to motivate and inspire students to excel in STEM subjects. This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects. The goal is to get American students from the middle of the pack in science and math to the top of the pack in the international arena” (livescience.com).