Table Of ContentSTEAM Teaching and Learning
Through the Arts and Design
In this book, award-winning art educator Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt offers user-friendly,
approachable strategies for STEAM planning, instruction, and assessment to help culti-
vate PK–12 students’ full potential, and draws from wide-ranging artists and designers to
help you develop inspired, creative approaches to teaching STEAM in your classroom.
Beginning with the basics and best practices of STEAM planning, instruction, and
assessment, Sickler-Voigt then encourages readers to move full steam ahead with chap-
ters based around diverse contemporary and historical artists and designers. In help-
ing you to explore the interdisciplinary connections between Science, Technology,
Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, Sickler-Voigt identifies strategies to build off from
STEM subjects to form authentic, well-designed, and age-appropriate learning tasks
that encourage your students to make deep connections and learn subject matter in
context through art media and technologies.
Each chapter includes flexible, choice-based classroom resources—with tips for adapt-
ing to different grade levels—and STEAM amplifiers, which fuse contextual learning
on artists and designers with real-world STEAM topics to spark student learning and
ignite creative approaches to planning, instruction, and assessment.
Featuring 150 visually stunning, full-color images, this book fuses tried-and-true best
practices with highly applicable instructional models inspired by artists and STEAM
professionals, ideal for PK–12 teachers and STEAM specialists.
Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt is a professor of art education at Middle Tennessee State
University. She is the author of the textbook Teaching and Learning in Art Education
(2020) and served as Senior Editor for the National Art Education Association’s popular
assessment papers. Her professional website is www.arted.us.
Teaching and Learning
Through the Arts and Design
A Practical Guide for PK–12 Educators
Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt
Designed cover image: © Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt
The right of Debrah C. Sickler-Voigt to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sickler-Voigt, Debrah C., 1970- author.
Title: STEAM teaching and learning through the arts and design : a
practical guide for PK-12 educators / Debrah C Sickler-Voigt.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022047520 (print) | LCCN 2022047521 (ebook) | ISBN
9781032025162 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032025148 (paperback) | ISBN
9781003183693 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Science--Study and teaching. | Technology--Study and
teaching. | Engineering--Study and teaching. | Arts--Study and teaching. |
Mathematics--Study and teaching. | Design--Study and teaching. |
Interdisciplinary approach in education. | Activity programs in
education.
Classification: LCC LB1585 .S498 2023 (print) | LCC LB1585 (ebook) |
DDC 372.35--dc23/eng/20230125
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022047520
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022047521
ISBN: 9781032025162 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032025148 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003183693 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003183693
Typeset in Berling
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
Access the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/sickler-voigt
Dedicated to my parents for their love, continued support, and
insightful guidance in developing STEAM Teaching and Learning
Through the Arts and Design to positively impact students’
lives through the arts, design, and best teaching and learning
practices.
Contents
Models xiii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xvi
PART I
STEAM Teaching and Learning: Planning, Instruction,
and Assessment 1
1 STEAM Teaching and Learning Through
the Arts and Design 3
STEAM’S Disciplines 5
Science 5
Technology 6
Engineering 7
Arts 8
Mathematics 9
Artistic Behaviors and STEAM 9
Idea Development 10
Observation 10
Imagination and Wonderment 10
Persistence 10
Making Creative Connections 10
Yes, We Can Teach STEAM! 11
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 12
Chapter Questions and Activities 12
References 12
2 Bright Ideas for STEAM Planning 13
Planning and the Artists’ Lessons to Thrive! Chapters 14
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 15
viii Contents
Goal Setting 15
Choice-Based STEAM Lessons 16
Learning Spaces and Resources 16
The Context-Driven Rationale 17
Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, and Essential Questions 17
Writing Measurable Objectives 18
Daily Learning Targets 19
Procedures 20
STEAM Standards: Building Interdisciplinary/
Transdisciplinary Connections 20
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 21
Chapter Questions and Activities 21
References 21
3 Instruction and Assessments that Shine 23
Authentic Instruction 24
Inquiry-Based Research 26
STEAM Safety and Ethics 28
Assessment 28
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 31
Chapter Questions and Activities 31
References 31
PART II
Artists’ Lessons to Thrive! Idea Development 33
4 Nam June Paik: Mapping the Electronic Superhighway 35
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Time-Based Media: Artist’s Intent, Conservation,
and Performance 38
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Cartography, Satellite Images, and Lidar
Technology 39
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Digital Drawings and Manipulations 40
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #4—Video Technologies as Art 40
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 41
References 41
5 Alma Thomas: Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt 42
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—The Solar Eclipse 45
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—We Practice Sun Safety! 45
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Engineering Star-Studded Marionettes 46
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #4—Stop-Motion Animations and Claymations 47
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 48
References 48
Contents ix
6 Deborah Butterfield: Horse Power Leading the Way 49
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Understanding Earthquakes 52
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Volcanology 52
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Measuring the Impacts of Acid Rain 53
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #4—Plastic Marine Debris 54
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 55
References 55
PART III
Artists’ Lessons to Thrive! Observation 57
7 Katsushika Hokusai: Capturing a Great Wave 59
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Understanding Waves 63
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Interpreting Under the Wave off Kanagawa 63
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Gyotaku Fish Printing 64
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #4—Severe Weather Conditions 64
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 65
References 66
8 Claude Monet: Cultivating Artistic Vision 67
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Protecting Our Watersheds 71
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Building Bridges 71
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Ophthalmology, Optometry, and
Artistic Vision 72
STEAM Amplifier Choice #4—Water Garden Scavenger Hunt 73
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 73
References 74
9 Desert View: Designing an Inter-Tribal Cultural Heritage Site 75
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Fred Kabotie: Hopi Room’s Teachings 78
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Multidisciplinary Conservation 79
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Cultural Appropriation 80
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #4—First Voices 80
Moving Full STEAM Ahead… 81
References 82
PART IV
Artists’ Lessons to Thrive! Imagination and Wonderment 83
10 Camille Utterback: Interactive Designs that Move Us 85
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #1—Algorithms 88
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #2—Getting Started with Coding 89
STEAM Amplifiers Choice #3—Seeing AI: An Assistive Technology 90
