STEAM Education in Ontario, Canada: a Case Study on the Curriculum and Instructional Models of Four K-8 STEAM Programs

Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-16-2019 10:30 AM STEAM Education in Ontario, Canada: A Case Study on the Curriculum and Instructional Models of Four K-8 STEAM Programs Marja G. Bertrand The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Immaculate Namukasa The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Marja G. Bertrand 2019 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Art Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Technology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons Recommended Citation Bertrand, Marja G., "STEAM Education in Ontario, Canada: A Case Study on the Curriculum and Instructional Models of Four K-8 STEAM Programs" (2019). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 6137. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6137 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning and project-based learning are important educational initiatives in North America. However, it is important to consider whether current STEM educational practices are sufficient to prepare students for the world they are to live and work in. This prompts discussions about STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) which is shifting educational paradigms towards art integration in STEM subjects. This study investigates the STEAM education reform movement in Canada to better understand the STEAM curriculum and instructional programs offered by non-profit organizations and publicly funded schools. This research study addresses the following major questions: 1) what curriculum and instruction models of STEAM education are implemented in non-profit and in-school contexts in Ontario, Canada? 2) What do students learn through different models of STEAM education? 3) What types of assessment of student learning is happening in STEAM education? 4) How do classroom teachers view such models of STEAM education in meeting their curriculum and instruction goals? To explore these questions, I took a small sample of four different STEAM programs in Ontario, Canada. I conducted interviews, observations, content analysis of curriculum documents and a focus group interview. At the four research sites, the main pedagogies used are design-based and inquiry-based models which focused on the students’ interests and encourages students to construct their own knowledge. Students learn character-building skills that empower them to solve real-world problems, develop perseverance and grit, engage in their community and develop a global perspective. The instructors/teachers describe the STEAM tasks at each site as rich and authentic experiences. The findings also suggest that sharing the learning in the STEAM program with the community extends the learning experiences to a wider community and contributes to the collective knowledge about how students learn. This study can inform teaching practices for teachers who seek to engage and motivate students by integrating the arts in STEM subjects. This study also promises to deepen the field’s understanding of STEAM education in Canada and to provide new insights into the practicality, affordances, and tensions of designing and implementing a STEAM program. i Keywords STEAM, STEM and Arts, STEM and creativity, Art Integration, Integrated Curriculum, Art- based curriculum, STEAM and Canada, Case Study ii Dedication I dedicate this work to my dad Doug Bertrand and my mom Eulene Bertrand for encouraging me to work hard, continue learning and further my education. I also want to thank my 9-year- old daughter Aurianna who supported me throughout this entire process and was understanding when I had to work evenings and weekends to complete my thesis. This study is also dedicated to my brother Craig Bertrand who has always encouraged and supported me in educational endeavors. iii Acknowledgments My journey started as a MPEd student, and I developed a passion for research in curriculum studies through my work with Dr. Immaculate Namukasa. After taking the course Diverse Traditions, I decided to transfer to the MA program and pursue my passion for mathematics, computational thinking and STEAM education. I have had the privilege and honor of working with Dr. Namukasa in different capacities as an RA, colleague and graduate student over the last three years. Working in the field with Dr. Immaculate Namukasa allowed me to experience firsthand how we can engage both students and teachers with the pleasure of doing, teaching and learning mathematics. I was able to use this knowledge to inform my own research on STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) education. I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Immaculate Namukasa for her meticulous work in providing me with thorough feedback, constructive criticism from a positive perspective and the opportunity to meet with her in person when needed. I thank you Dr. Namukasa for pushing me to a higher level with my education and research pursuits. I also want to thank Dr. George Gadanidis from my supervisory committee who has been supportive in my aspirations to embark upon a PhD and has encouraged me to be more critical in the analysis of the data. I also wanted to thank Dr. Gadanidis for suggesting to collect data from both in- school and out-of-school research sites to study STEAM education in different contexts. I was extremely thankful for your suggestion to conduct a Focus Group near the end of my study because this added a new dimension to my study and to get classroom teachers’ views on how STEAM education is meeting their curriculum and instruction goals. Special thanks to Chris Eaton who was an implemental part in the writing of my thesis, helped me with the copyediting and provided a new lens to view my research study. I want to thank my dear friend Luyi Liang who assisted me with the focus group and shared her experiences as a graduate student. I also want to thank Chloe Weir for giving me help with my proposal and who helped me not get overwhelmed when my timeline was extended. I am thankful to God for giving me perseverance and endurance. I am also thankful to all the people who encouraged, prayed for and supported me through this entire process. iv Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................... i Dedication ................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ....................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ......................................................................................... v List of Tables .............................................................................................. xi List of Figures ............................................................................................ xii List of Appendices ................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1 ...................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 2 1.2 Research Problem and Statement ........................................................................... 3 1.3 Significance of this Study ....................................................................................... 5 1.4 Organization of the Thesis ...................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................... 7 Literature Review ......................................................................................... 7 2.1 Models of Art Integration and STEAM .................................................................. 7 2.1.1 ........................................................................... School-Based STEAM Models 7 2.1.2 ..................................................................... Higher Education STEAM Models 10 2.1.3 ...................................................................Community-Based STEAM Models 11 2.1.4 ........................................................ Faculties of Education STEAM Initiatives 12 2.1.5 . After School STEAM Programs by Non-Profit Community Organizations v 12 2.1.6 .............................................. STEAM Education and Makerspaces in Canada 12 2.2 Collaboration and Capacity Building in Schools .................................................. 14 2.3 Components of a Productive Pedagogy in STEAM ............................................. 15 2.4 Curriculum Models and the Transdisciplinary Approach to STEAM .................. 17 2.5 Assessment in STEAM Pedagogical Models ....................................................... 17 2.6 Rationale for an Integrative Curriculum ..............................................................

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