Arts-integrated STEM in Korean schools

This chapter addresses the theme of innovative teaching approaches, reporting on three funded studies investigating the effects of a STEAM teaching approach where the arts are integrated into STEM teaching/learning activities. ‘Arts’ is defined as any event or product that reflects a community’s sociocultural practices and values, for example, paintings, architecture, literature, leisure activities, and festivals. The STEAM approach has been adopted into Korea’s national science curriculum. The chapter describes the STEAM teaching/learning process, including classroom activities: encouraging students to ask inquiry questions and hypothesize answers; engaging students in activities aimed at verifying their hypotheses; and inviting peer collaboration in testing, applying, and evaluating their hypotheses. Throughout the teaching/learning process, arts-related sociocultural events (e.g. a light festival) and/or products (e.g. 3D quasi holograms) are used to demonstrate to students how science concepts (e.g. light propagation) create or explain a sociocultural experience. Samples of students’ work provide evidence of their developing understanding of science concepts. The chapter also reports on the effect of the STEAM approach on students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards science and studying science, and presents some evidence of scientific creativity in STEAM lessons. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential benefits and challenges of the STEAM approach.