Using Knowledge Forum to Support the Development of STEAM Literacies"

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been growing interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) education to promote creativity and design thinking in schools. Knowledge Building, which engages students in sustained, interdisciplinary work with ideas, represents one pedagogical approach to achieve these goals, while Knowledge Forum technology facilitates the implementation of STEAM education in classrooms. This study explores the simultaneous development of 8- and 9-year-old’s scientific literacy, graphical literacy, and mathematical literacy in Knowledge Forum. Between fall and winter term, a grade 3 class studied growth and changes in plants. Qualitative analyses on student work in Knowledge Forum reveal increasingly proficient use of expert vocabulary to explain scientific phenomena, as well as productive use of increasingly complex graphical and mathematical representations to explore socio-scientific issues. Study implications are discussed within the context of STEAM education and assessment of 21st Century competencies.