Paints of the Artist’s Palette in STEAM Teaching

Abstract

This qualitative study was an emergent phenomenological study based in the tradition of portraiture, which shares many of its features with ethnography, case study, and narrative inquiry. The purpose of this study was to identify the most engaging cooperative learning methodologies for students to actively participate in home-school learning with parents during scientific inquiry investigations and supportive strategies for teachers to employ for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) education. The conditions identified motivated students and their parents to take ownership of the learning in which they became self-managed, self-responsible, and self-directed. Data indicated the increased success of students were the result of students participating in teacher-designed experiential, constructivist learning activities that utilized a facet of involvement strategies and provided students with authentic and socially constructive learning. Providing a guided inquiry-based learning environment also promoted student achievement and empowered students to assess their learning for developing self-responsibility, acquiring self-management skills, and raising student efficacy. As a result, students were empowered to develop scientific inquiry and literacy skills and were enabled to take control of the learning through cooperative learning that included interactive homework, collaborative inquiry-based activities, metacognitive questioning, self-assessments, and dialogue journaling.