Over the last few years, a push for students to pursue degree programs and careers in STEM has introduced a variety of strategies to cultivate effective critical thinking. However, many have argued that the term STEM itself is restrictive and does not promote creative processes. The desire to implement a broader sense of reasoning in science-based fields has led to numerous debates regarding the abolition of the acronym STEM and replacing it with STEAM to include an artistic perspective. While arguments on either side include pros and cons, both fail to acknowledge the need for educational decolonization. In an age where globalization and international collaboration are on the rise, Eurocentric focuses within the sciences inhibit students from gleaning diverse scholarship from a variety of cultures.
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Particularly in the West, the pursuit of career readiness for students via conventional STEM curriculum has failed to provide personal meaning. As an Indian dancer and a STEM major myself, I began to question whether the terms STEM, STEAM, etc. truly make a difference in students’ lives once they enter the workforce. When I researched arguments for the need of arts in the sciences, I noticed claims such as, “Playing a musical instrument increases your chances of getting into med school.” This perturbed me immensely. Although I have no objection to encouraging student engagement in activities to aid in academic success, I find such a blatant concentration on careerist interests devaluing and uninspiring long-term. Rather than engraining the inherent value of mental diversification, as well as multicultural and multidisciplinary appreciation into students’ lives, conventional curriculum often produces unsatisfied graduates. For example, a 2007 article from SWE Magazine found that on average, only a quarter of engineers are "very satisfied" with their jobs. Perhaps this is due to financial incentives being a prime reason as to why students choose to major in engineering and other high-paying STEM fields to begin with. To combat these issues, I decided to develop P-20 programming around STEM that focuses first and foremost on accessibility and social impact.
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Growing up in Cookeville, a small Tennessee city located between Nashville and Knoxville, I had always been aware of how few educational opportunities existed for rural communities. Coming from a middle-class family, I could easily take a trip from Cookeville to Nashville to attend a variety of academic and cultural programs. However, in realizing that this was not feasible for many in regions surrounding my hometown, I developed SMARTS.
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SMARTS (STEM, Multiculturalism, and the Arts) is a free event that brings hands-on scientific and artistic activities to children and their families through cultural immersion. The program provides three hours of engaging content for local communities to participate in, including station activities based on each of the New Seven Wonders of the World, an educational aquarium exhibition, heavy hors d’oeuvres from a variety of nations, and a line dance lesson with disability accommodations.
In crafting the event concept to prepare a pitch for our sponsors, I dedicated countless hours over the span of a month to ideation workshops and vision casting with a local artist and close friend. This included efforts based in two key areas: learning experience design and event planning logistics. To create activities that would be both educational and engaging for an audience of diverse ages, I focused extensively on curriculum development, multicultural research, and inclusive pedagogy. In conjunction with this work, I also executed a wide variety of logistical tasks such as material sourcing, branding/communication, project management, procuring additional funding, and recruitment.
Source: Kellie Malone
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our event was cancelled one month before the debut. However, a research poster presentation developed by one of our team leads won 1st Place in TTU’s Research and Creative Inquiry Day Poster Competition. Since then, my work with SMARTS has been recognized by our university’s Rural Reimagined Grand Challenge, connecting me with students and faculty on campus to engage in educational initiatives for rural communities. Although SMARTS is on hold for the time being, with this new collaborative endeavor, I hope to bring a learning experience I developed in engineering pedagogy (Microfluidics and Mixing) to middle schools and high schools in surrounding counties, uniting qualitative and quantitative learning while also utilizing engineering tools and concepts.