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Step Into STEAM, Grades PreK-5
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Step Into STEAM, Grades PreK-5
Your Standards-Based Action Plan for Deepening Mathematics and Science Learning

Second Edition (Revised Edition)

Foreword by Christa Jackson and Margaret Mohr-Schroeder



October 2024 | 240 pages | Corwin

Create innovative and equitable experiences that prepare your learners for the future!

STEAM education is crucial for preparing learners to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving world. Not every learner is going to pursue a STEAM-related career, but each and every learner needs to be challenged with opportunities to transfer what they are learning in mathematics and science instruction to seek solutions to the complex problems of today—and to meet our future world head on!

In this Second Edition of Step Into STEAM, authors Sarah Bush and Kristin Cook guide and inspire PreK–5 educators through a seamless process of designing and implementing STEAM inquiries that align precisely to key mathematics and science content and practices—all while meeting the demands of guiding assessments. Going far beyond a collection of STEAM activities, this book shows educators, as well as school and district leaders, how to build a STEAM ecosystem that can measurably improve every learner’s mathematics and science achievement, as well as engagement, belonging, and interest.

What truly sets this book apart is its masterful integration of problem-based inquiry as the foundation for STEAM instruction. This updated edition:

  • Expands on the latest research in STEAM education across PreK-5 in various educational settings
  • Incorporates strategies grounded in Universal Design for Learning to engage all learners
  • Provides updated STEAM resources aligned to the Integrated STEM Practices
  • Embeds actionable tips throughout each chapter that educators can implement immediately in addition to suggestions for ongoing learning and growth for all
  • Offers an updated companion website with additional templates for brainstorming sessions or book studies, action plans, and checklists to help educators put their ideas into practice

This is an essential guide for educators looking to implement STEAM education in their classrooms and beyond. Step Into STEAM provides a comprehensive roadmap for cultivating the creativity, problem-solving abilities, resilience, and empathy that will empower the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and global citizens. Make the most of your limited instructional time and become part of the Step Into STEAM journey!


 
Foreword by Christa Jackson and Margaret Mohr-Schroeder
 
Note by Matt Larson
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
PART 1. THE STEAM LANDSCAPE
 
Chapter 1: What Is STEAM and Why Does It Matter?
 
Chapter 2: How Do I Prepare for STEAM Teaching?
 
Chapter 3: What Frameworks Can Guide How I Engage Learners in STEAM?
 
Chapter 4: How Do I Design STEAM Inquiries?
 
Chapter 5: How Do I Implement STEAM Inquiries?
 
Chapter 6: How Do I Assess Learning in STEAM?
 
Chapter 7: What Are Some Examples of Successful STEAM Inquiries?
 
Chapter 8: How Do I Tie It All Together to Create the STEAM Learning Experience?
 
Chapter 9: How Do I Gather Resources for STEAM?
 
Call to Action
 
Appendices
 
References

STEM and STEAM learning must become more than an educational ‘sound bite.’ More importantly, STEAM learning needs to be fully
understood and implemented. Step Into STEAM examines and addresses issues regarding the importance of STEAM learning and provides the
support that elementary classroom teachers and instructional leaders need to truly guide their planning, teaching, and assessment of integrated and
inquiry-based STEAM instruction. What an amazing ‘must-have’ resource!

Francis (Skip) Fennell
McDaniel College

Step Into STEAM takes a sophisticated pedagogy from appearing as a complicated challenge to an approach that is accessible to each and every
classroom. What separates this work from others? Oh, right: There are no other books like this one! The authors’ practical approach to getting started and go-to resources recognize the reality of busy educators’ lives. Here you’ll find planning tools and examples of investigations that don’t trivialize any of the STEAM subjects to merely ‘cover’ a subject. Rather, they integrate the subjects in a way that leverages community and societal interests; they exemplify student-driven instruction that capitalizes on learners’ strengths; and they focus on equity, empathy, and experience to help learners seamlessly blend their noncognitive skills.

Karen S. Karp
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY

Step Into STEAM offers a rare opportunity for anyone concerned with education to consider what learning would be like with equity, empathy, and
experience. By providing examples from educators who have dared to put children first, this book offers more than just a new way to teach; it offers
hope for youth today. By considering what youth will need to be successful in jobs that are not yet created, Bush and Cook provide a platform for
educators to create authentic, real-world problem solving in classrooms and beyond with attention on the often forgotten component of STEAM—the M! As a proponent of STEAM education, my recommendation is to grab this book and watch your students love learning again!

Cassie Quigley
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

While some STEM and STEAM books tend to be heavy on one discipline and can leave out other disciplines, this book advocates interdisciplinarity
and in fact emphasizes the concept of transdisciplinarity. Transdisciplinarity is meaningful STEAM instruction that goes beyond simply connecting the
disciplines but supports meaningful connections among the disciplines that creates learning beyond the disciplines themselves. This idea melds
throughout the book with examples and suggestions for how to develop such a program that provides meaningful learning experiences across and
among the STEAM disciplines.

Valarie Akerson
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN

Step Into STEAM is a must-read for anyone interested in STEAM! Rather than supplying a set of prescribed lesson plans to follow, the authors provide guidance, practical suggestions, and thought-provoking questions to assist the reader as they successfully plan for and implement STEAM inquiries. These STEAM inquiries, which maintain a sharp focus on mathematics and science content and practices, hold the potential to highly affect learning for each and every student.”

Susie Katt
Lincoln Public Schools
Lincoln, NE

Step Into STEAM is a timely guide for those interested in framing their work in STEAM instruction. The authors’ unique and innovative approach
is transformational and takes readers on a journey into STEAM teaching and learning. Bush and Cook have written a must-read primer for
everyone involved in STEAM education . . . Read this book—and learn from the best!

Rommel J. Miranda
Towson University
Towson, MD

Through carefully crafted research-based frameworks; inspirational, authentic, and approachable practical strategies rooted in the reform efforts
of student-centered STEAM instruction; and opportunities for professional self-reflection, Step Into STEAM rightfully re-elevates educators to their
proper places as innovation experts and agents of change in their own classrooms, schools, districts, and communities. An inspirational step in a
needed direction, Drs. Bush and Cook have carefully crafted the type of book educators have been craving: a guide to transforming ourselves, our
learning spaces, and our profession.

Richard Cox Jr.
The Community and Social Impact Atrium Health
Charlotte, NC

Step Into STEAM provides a remarkable resource in bringing together mathematics and science learning in authentic ways that inform and reflect
the world around us. This book thoughtfully integrates STEM literacy and a research-informed focus to implement content and practice standards for
PreK–5 students, teachers, and leaders. Students are empowered through equitable STEAM instruction to connect their lived experiences in order to
impact local communities and society at large.

Farshid Safi
University of Central Florida
Educators (AMTE) Orlando, FL

Every craftsperson needs a good set of tools. A painter needs their collection of brushes, a carpenter their assortment of saws, an engineer their pencils and scales. Each tool is related, and some may seem indistinguishable to a casual observer—but the right tool in the right hands can make a world of difference. Teachers—especially STEAM teachers—are no exception, and for them Step Into STEAM can be both toolbox and tool: at once an indispensable collection of ideas, guidelines, hints, and tips, and a single convenient place to find them all. You might not use every tool on every job—but when you need just the right one, you’ll be glad you know where to find it.

Alan Perez
Jefferson County Public Schools
Louisville, KY

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Paperback
ISBN: 9781071946275
$37.95