STEM vs. STEAM: Debating the Superiority of STEAM – Updated

STEM and STEAM are not exactly very new ideas when you think about them. But of late, more and more people have started focusing on the importance of both. The concepts are considered unique and significant for comprehending and incorporating a diverse range of learning modalities. 

Educators see these two concepts as something vital for catering to real-world issues. In the U.S. alone, more than 10 million people are working in the STEM field, representing the country’s 6.6% of the workforce. This fact alone testifies to the significance of STEM and STEAM in the career graph of any individual.                                   

Leveraging STEAM enables teachers to adopt project-based learning. It transcends the five disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) and paves the way for a welcoming learning experience.

Compared to conventional learning models, educators utilizing the STEAM framework merge diverse disciplines. They harness the collaboration between modeling procedures and mathematical and scientific concepts. 

Before diving into which learning concept is better, you should know the difference between both STEM and STEAM. 

What is STEM?

STEM-based education tries to prepare students with the expertise and proficiency needed to succeed in the worldwide job market. They focus on science, technology, engineering, and math, along with related areas like statistics, biology, psychology, economics, agriculture, and aeronautics. 

A study conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that ever since 1990, STEM-based employment had grown a whopping 79%, a lot more than any other industry in the U.S. 

What is STEAM?

To include the arts in STEM education, some schools use a STEAM approach. This means they teach humanities, language arts, dance, drama, music, design, new media, and more, alongside science, technology, engineering, and math. Learning any of these subjects can help students be more attractive to employers since many companies value soft skills like creativity and communication more than technical skills. 

With the STEAM learning approach, students can strike the right balance between soft skills and technical skills. 

STEM vs. STEAM: How are they different?

STEM and STEAM are basically different ways of looking at science. STEM emphasizes hard scientific skills to solve real-world issues, while STEAM combines both hard and soft skills to solve problems. 

In STEAM, people work together to understand a STEM idea. For instance, they might use tools like data visualization to better understand science or math. This kind of creative thinking can lead to new ideas and products. It also helps people understand complex data by showing it in easier-to-understand formats.

Similarities between STEM and STEAM

Both STEM and STEAM value integration, which means they don’t teach each subject separately, but instead focus on holistic education.  This approach reflects how to solve real-life problems by considering all the different factors and looking at the problem as a whole. 

By combining different skills, one can become a more proficient and capable individual. 

Is STEAM better than STEM?

When it comes to comparing the education industry, there is always room for improvement. Instead of following the herd mentality, students should choose the curriculum they are familiar with and more comfortable with. 

STEM professionals need both hard and soft skills to succeed in different careers. STEM mainly focuses on technology, which can sometimes make it hard to develop soft skills. However, soft skills are essential for people, businesses, and life in general.

STEAM takes a holistic approach that includes soft skills as a crucial part of education. It also encourages collaboration between STEM and other arts and humanities subjects.

Types of careers you can pursue in STEAM

There are many careers that fall under the STEAM umbrella. Some of the most popular ones are Graphic designers, Software developers, architects, biomedical engineers, animators, data scientists, game designers, musicians, environmental scientists, fashion designers, etc. 

Wrapping Up

While you may feel like your child should focus more on STEM than STEAM for multiple reasons, you should encourage your kid to follow their heart and goals. It’s good for kids to learn that they can be creative and analytical at the same time. STEAM helps with this by teaching them to use both sides of their brain to solve problems. By using STEAM to learn, kids will be better prepared for their future careers, no matter what kind of job they want to do.

As jobs become more complicated and technology changes things, learning soft skills is very important. New classes that teach skills like leadership, communication, and working together will help people do well in a world with A.I. and technology. These skills are things that you cannot trust the machines to do, so humans need to learn them to stay abreast of industry requirements.

In order to help kids gain STEM/STEAM skills from a young age, Moonpreneur has brought an innovatively and holistically designed Robotics program for 6 to 15 years to offer your child an opportunity to learn these skills in a hands-on way!

Book a free trial class on Robotics with Moonpreneur today!