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Showing posts from October, 2015

STEAM Acronym Conversations I've Had Lately

This year, every school in our board will be participating in an inquiry to explore STEAM education. Two weeks ago we launched this initiative with a kick-off event for secondary teachers at the Education Centre. STEAM is part of my job title; it is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math. We anticipated some uncertainty about what this would look like in schools, particularly in secondary schools where we naturally separate the subjects into different rooms, hallways, or wings of our school buildings. I am proud that this acronym is part of my title, though I might add that I've had my fill of STEAM puns and jokes for the time being. (These include, but are not limited to 'STEAM rooms,' 'getting STEAMy,' references to trains and conductor's hats, and the use of phrases like 'full STEAM ahead!'...I'm sure you get the idea.)  I have had many conversations with teachers in the two weeks since the secondary STEAM launc