University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

A knowledge, motivation and organizational gap analysis for integrating the arts with a STEM curriculum

(USC Thesis Other)

A knowledge, motivation and organizational gap analysis for integrating the arts with a STEM curriculum

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content Running head: INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

1

A KNOWLEDGE, MOTIVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL GAP ANALYSIS FOR
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

by

Louis O. D’Anjou

_________________________________________________________________________

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2017

Copyright 2017 Louis O. D’Anjou

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

2
DEDICATION
This humble work is dedicated to my mother Marion D’Anjou, who provided the vision
and started me on this journey that began in kindergarten in Georgetown, Guyana at a pre-school
called ‘Hand-in-Hand’. She was instrumental in moving her teenage children from Guyana to
Brooklyn, NY to continue their educational pursuits and appreciate the good life. My brother Dr.
Thomas D’Anjou also guided me along this path with his attributions and modeled the behaviors
necessary to complete this work. I recall he would wake up during the night to study and he
made sure that I was studying alongside him. He was my role model. At that time he was a
senior in high school and I was the equivalent of a fourth grader in Guyana. He ultimately
became a Guyana Scholar and a medical doctor who practiced in NY and Atlanta. I became an
USC-Rossier graduate. My journey continues as a humble educator. May they both rest
peacefully.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Completion of this doctoral pursuit would not have been possible without the learned
guidance and support of my committee chair Dr. Eugenia Mora-Flores, who has exhibited an
effective mix of scholarship, patience and humor during this process. I would like to thank my
committee members Dr. Angela Hasan and Dr. Fred Freking for their insights, suggestions and
encouragement that helped to focus my research around some additional scholarly works and the
implementation of STEAM education. I would also like to thank professors who provided sage
counsel and encouragement during my course work phase, including Dr. Meg Palisoc, Dr. Alan
Green, Dr. Doug Lynch, Dr. Ken Roth and Dr. Ilda Jimenez y West.
I would like to express my profound gratitude for the support and words of
encouragement from members of my family including my children Thabo, Chloe and Baraka,
my sisters Sharon and Rhonda, and my brother Barney. They kept me grounded and focused on
my end goal, and without their support of my decision to return to school, l would not have been
able to stay the course. I am particularly grateful to Cynthia Shaw for her love, support, patience
and guidance over the years.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 6
Abstract 7
Chapter 1: Introduction 8
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 8
Organizational Context and Mission 11
Organizational Performance Goal 12
Related Literature 13
Importance of the Evaluation 14
Stakeholders and Stakeholders’ Performance Goal 15
Purpose of the Project and Questions 16
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 16
Organization of the Dissertation 17
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 19
The KMO of Adding the Arts to a STEM Curriculum 19
Research Literature on STEM, the Arts, Creativity/Innovation and STEAM 20
Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework — KMO 32
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences 33
Conclusion 55
Chapter 3: Methodology 56
Purpose 56
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 56
Figure 1. Conceptual framework 58
Assessment of Performance Influences 59
Participating Stakeholders and Sampling 62
Recruitment 64
Data Collection 65
Data Analysis 68
Credibility and Trustworthiness 68
Validity and Reliability 71
Ethics 71
Limitations and Delimitations 74
Draft Protocols 75

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

5
Chapter 4: Data and Findings 77
Purpose of the Study 77
Participating Stakeholders 78
Findings 79
Conclusion 121
Chapter 5: Recommendations 122
Introduction 122
Discussion 123
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 126
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 147
Summary Recommendations and Evaluation Plan 166
Conclusion 168
Recommendations for Implementation 171
References 173
Appendices 183
Appendix A: Information/Fact Sheet for Exempt Non-Medical Research 183
Appendix B: Recruitment Letter — Teachers 185
Appendix C: Teacher Focus Group Questions 186
Appendix D: Observation Protocols 188
Appendix E: Steam Classroom Assessment Model 189
Appendix F: XDS Artifacts 1 190
Appendix G: Faces of the Scientists Project 191
Appendix H: Evaluation Tools 192
Appendix I: Blended Evaluation Tools 193

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

6
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. XDS’s Mission and Goals 13
Table 2. Knowledge Worksheet 34
Table 3. Motivation Worksheet 46
Table 4. Organization Worksheet 54
Table 5. KMO Influences and Assessments 60
Table 6. Data Collection Limitations 75
Table 7. Focus Group Results for Knowledge Influence Gaps 82
Table 8. Focus Group Results for Motivation Influence Gaps 111
Table 9. Focus Group Results for Organization Influence Gaps 117
Table 10. Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 127
Table 11. Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 139
Table 12. Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 146
Table 13. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 150
Table 14. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Teachers 151
Table 15. Required Drivers to Support Teachers’ Critical Behaviors 152
Table 16. Components of Learning for the XDS Program 157
Table 17. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 159
Table 18. Implementation Progress 164

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

7
ABSTRACT
Scholarly literature is extensive on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
trending upward, the Arts and its electives being marginalized, the worrying downward trend in
STEM achievement and ultimately the decline of the nation’s competitiveness. Noting that the
arts ultimately spur advances in all fields, the aim of this qualitative evaluation study was to
examine and understand the knowledge, motivation and organization (KMO) implications of
integrating the Arts within a (STEM) curriculum — STEAM education. In this study STEAM
education is referred to as integrated curricula, or an interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach.
A (KMO) gap analysis conceptual framework informed this study which focused on research
questions: (1) what are the perceived KMO elements related to integrating the Arts in a STEM
based curriculum from the high school teachers’ perspective at XDS high school?, and (2) what
are the recommendations for STEAM organizational practice in the areas of KMO resources?
The field data information was gathered with the aid of teachers (stakeholders) focus groups,
classroom observations and artifacts. Organized around KMO influence categories, coding of
teachers’ perspectives in regard to the implementation of STEAM education at XDS high school,
revealed KMO gaps that led to seven major findings. Informed by Kirkpatrick’s New World
Model and Matsui’s action plan, a set of recommendations and an integrated implementation and
evaluation plan to close the gaps were proposed.
Keywords: STEAM education, Arts, STEM, gap analysis, New World Model, integrated
curricula.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

8
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Introduction of the Problem of Practice
This introduction provides details on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) trending upward with some marginalization or elimination of the Arts in K-12 schools,
and the need to provide the Arts in concert with a STEM curriculum or STEAM education. In
addition, in this chapter there are sections focused on the context, mission and goals of the
organization of interest, the importance of this evaluation, the purpose of the project, the research
questions and the conceptual framework for this study.
STEM Trending with the Marginalization and Elimination of the Arts
In the late 1990s the National Science Foundation (NSF) led the discussion on the
conception and pioneering of a number of initiatives to group science, technology, engineering,
and math together: STEM. At that time, education became an educational and political priority in
the United States (Blackley & Howell, 2015). According to Ghanbari (2015) this movement was
also regarded as a means of strengthening national security and ensuring global competitiveness.
In addition, many education professionals held the belief that by focusing on these keys STEM
areas, the students of tomorrow would propel America’s global competiveness forward through
the development of innovative ideas (Land, 2013).
Some prevailing scholarly literature concludes there has been an upward trend in STEM
education (Carnevale, Smith, & Melton, 2011; Maguire, Donovan, Mishook, Gaillande, &
Garcia, 2012). In contrast to the current upward trend in STEM education, the Arts and
associated electives are being adversely affected in terms of marginalization or elimination
(Maguire et al., 2012). Wynn and Harris (2012) argue that with the current upward trend in
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

9
STEM education, the Arts and associated electives are being marginalized or eliminated. The
decline of the arts is further exacerbated by budgetary belt-tightening and parents’
discouragement of learners from majoring in the arts (Wynn & Harris, 2012)
It has also been established that with the upward trend in STEM curricula, there has been
an overall disturbing downward trend in STEM achievement and a significant reduction in the
STEM higher education pipeline, STEM workers and careers, and ultimately the nation’s
competiveness with the rest of the world (Bailey, 1990; Carnevale et al., 2011; Kuenzi,
Matthews, & Mangan, 2006; Land, 2013). Kuenzi et al. (2006) argue that the United States is not
preparing sufficient numbers of teachers with subject matter knowledge in STEM. The shortage
of adequately prepared teachers in turn leads to a large majority of secondary school students
failing to reach proficiency in math and science, thus an insufficient numbers of students and
practitioners in the STEM areas (Kuenzi et al., 2006). Land (2013) adds that a study by the
Partnership for a New American Economy indicated waning of interest of STEM undergraduates
throughout American born citizens.
The Arts and STEM – STEAM
Numerous studies claim the Arts are essential to creativity that drives innovation, which
in turn spurs achievement advances in all fields (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Ghanbari, 2015;
Inoa, Weltsek, & Tabone, 2014; Robelen, 2011; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Wynn
& Harris, 2012). In 2011, Robelen noted experts in the Arts community and beyond suggest
STEM may be missing another initial to make the combination still more powerful. Robelen
(20111) points out that the addition of an A for the Arts, converts STEM to STEAM. Robelen
added the Arts hold great potential to foster creativity and new ways of thinking that can help
unleash STEM innovation.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

10
Learning through the arts has the ability to transcend across different disciplines and
enrich learning in other disciplines (Ghanbari, 2015). Wynn and Harris (2012) claim the arts are
being recognized as essential to innovation, and innovation a hallmark of success in STEAM
drives quantum advances in all fields. Art and STEM, according to Wynn and Harris, are of
equal importance here.
Finding ways to foster arts education alongside science education and, even better,
finding ways to integrate the two must become a high priority for any school that wants to
produce students capable of creative participation in a science-dominated society (Root-
Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013). Other researchers also argued there are positive correlations
between the arts and academic achievement when the arts were integrated into the literature
curriculum (Inoa et al., 2014).
Some prevailing scholarly literature has established links between the arts, the nation’s
economy and its competitiveness. A compelling case for the arts education and the essential role
it plays in preparing students for success in the knowledge and innovation economy, was made
by Bequette and Bequette (2012) and Ghanbari (2015). According to Bequette and Bequette
(2012), some art educators joined the conversation about how the arts connect to STEM because
art and design are core constituents of 21st century art education. Bequette and Bequette added
that savvy art educators who are tuned in to the national conversation about the connectedness of
the arts and American economic competitiveness, should understand the importance of
promoting art as a way of knowing in today’s educational climate. Root-Bernstein and Root-
Bernstein (2013) pointed out that the more arts and crafts that scientists, engineers, and
entrepreneurs engage in across their lifetimes, the greater their likelihood of achieving important
results in the workplace.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

11
In summary, the problem of practice is that with STEM trending upward and the
marginalization or elimination of the Arts, the nation competitiveness in the global economy is
compromised. Noting that the arts ultimately spur advances in all fields, this study details the use
of a knowledge, motivation and organization (KMO) conceptual framework to analyze the arts
integration into a STEM – STEAM curriculum at a high school. The following section provides
some details on the context and mission of the organization of choice.
Organizational Context and Mission
The school of choice for this study is X Design School (XDS) — a pseudonym. XDS is a
high school located in the metropolitan area of Newark, New Jersey. The high school has a
student population of 800 that is 45% Hispanic, 29% Black, 22% White, 3% Asian, 0.4%
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander, 0.4% American Indian/Alaskan Native. According to the U.S.
News, the diverse student body makeup is 45% male and 55% female with a minority enrollment
of 78%. The student body is drawn from all areas of the city and represents a microcosm of the
community. The learners, who are from any public, private, parochial, or charter school and
reside in the area, are accepted in the 7th and 9th grades (school website, 2016).
Since 1974, XDS’s mission has been to support and prepare its students for successful
continuing study and careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(school website, 2016). According to XDS the district has established an educational plan that
focuses on the creation of a school whose mission is to transform the teaching and learning of
mathematics and science by developing ethical leaders. XDS indicates that to meet the
challenges of the 21st century, students must be critical thinkers, problem solvers, computer
literate, and committed to school and community.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

12
The intersection of the Arts with STEM learning looks like varies widely (Robelen,
2011). The curriculum at XDS reflects a STEAM based focus. Besides the Standard English and
Physical Education/Health and Social Studies courses, the curriculum consists of two years of
the Arts (fine arts, music and theater) four years of required college preparatory Mathematics,
four years of a Laboratory Science, one year of Computer Technology and two years of World
Languages (school website, 2016). The STEAM based curriculum at XDS can help to facilitate
understanding of implications of adding the Arts to a STEM curriculum.
The next section adds specifics on the organizational goal that aligns with the problem of
practice of this evaluation study, or the integration of the Arts with a STEM curriculum or
STEAM education.
Organizational Performance Goal
A goal represents the gap between the current status and a desired future state, and
clarifies where people intend to go and how they will know when they have gotten there
(Hallinger & Heck, 2002). Hallinger and Heck (2002) also synthesize goals, vision and mission,
when they argue the vision of an organization is a combination of the mission and goals, and
suggest that from an educational perspective, goal setting leads to school improvement. Lipton
(1996) added that the mission of an organization details why an organization exists and why it is
in business.
XDS’s mission has been to support and prepare its students for successful continuing
study and careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (school
website, 2016). XDS has also established an educational plan that focuses on the creation of a
school whose mission is to transform the teaching and learning through a rigorous curriculum
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

13
that emphasizes interdisciplinary study, research of mathematics, science and the Arts - fine arts
music and theater.
The specific organizational goal of XDS is to provide more challenging classes to better
prepare students for college and/or careers, during the years 2016 thru 2019. The priorities are
mathematics, language arts and additional emphasis on updated science, arts, technical education
and social studies (school website, 2016). Table 1 provides a summary of XDS’s mission and
organizational and stakeholder goals.
The related literature is detailed in the next section.
Table 1
XDS’s Mission and Goals
Mission
XDS’s mission is to support and prepare its students for successful continuing study and
careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (school website,
2016).
Organizational Performance Goal
XDS’s goals are to encourage and prepare students for successful further study and lifelong
contributions in the fields of STEM (school website, 2016).
Stakeholder Goal — Teachers
By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum
(school website, 2016).

Related Literature
Numerous studies establish the Arts are essential to creativity that drives innovation,
which in turn spurs achievement advances in all fields (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Ghanbari,
2015; Inoa et al., 2014; Robelen, 2011; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Wynn & Harris,
2012). Prevailing scholarly literature has made a compelling case for the arts education and the
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

14
essential role it plays in preparing students for success in the knowledge and innovation economy
(Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Ghanbari, 2015). Addition of the A for the arts to convert STEM to
STEAM according to Robelen (2011), STEAM advocates emphasize that the arts hold great
potential to foster creativity that can help unleash STEM students’ achievement and innovation
(Dwyer, 2011; Robelen, 2011).
Recognizing the dulling American edge in innovation and with innovation as the rallying
cry, congress authorized funding via the America COMPETES Act in 2011 (Wynn & Harris,
2012). Funding became available to broaden approaches to science education beyond the
quantitative method. The initiative provide funding for a national science and technology
summit, education for future STEM professionals, and related programs (Wynn & Harris, 2012).
The importance of this evaluation study is addressed in the following section.
Importance of the Evaluation
The literature is extensive on STEM trending upward, the Arts and its electives being
marginalized, the worrying downward trend in STEM achievement, pipeline, workforce and
ultimately the nation’s competitiveness (Bailey, 1990; Carnevale et al., 2011; Dwyer, 2011;
Kuenzi et al., 2006; Land, 2013; Maguire et al., 2012; Wynn & Harris, 2012). Some researchers
also claim the arts as an essential to creativity and innovation that facilitate achievement
advances in all fields (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Dwyer, 2011; Ghanbari, 2015; Root-
Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Wynn & Harris, 2012).
XDS, the school of choice for this study has incorporated the construct of the arts and
STEM and has a STEAM based curriculum in place. It is hoped that this evaluation study will
help to shed some light on their processes to become a successful fully integrated STEAM high
school with the kind of students who will demonstrate the creativity and innovation the research
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

15
suggests. Armed with the aforementioned, the importance of this study — knowledge,
motivation and organizational (KMO) elements related to integrating the arts with a STEM
curriculum — becomes clear and compelling.
The next section provides some specifics on the purpose of the project and research
question associated with this evaluation study.
Stakeholders and Stakeholders’ Performance Goal
A stakeholder is any individual or entity who can be affected by an organization or who
may in turn bring influence to bear (Wheeler & Sillanpa’a, 1998). Stakeholders demand things,
depend on, and are affected by organizations (Lewis, 2011). Lewis pointed out that stakeholders
fall into two categories of attributes that include definitive or having attributes that include
power, legitimacy and urgency, and important or having two of the three attributes. Lewis added
there are stakeholders that fit the mold of both definitive and important. Wheeler and Sillanpa’a
noted that typical primary stakeholder groups for schools are its learners, teachers, principals and
parents.
In regards to the definitive stakeholders the school board, the teachers’ union, agencies
(federal, state and local) and administration (superintendent, principal and supervisors) are all
members of this group. Meanwhile, learners, teachers, the parent teachers’ association,
community members and suppliers fall into the important stakeholder group, as defined by Lewis
(2011).
The stakeholders of interest in this study are the school’s teachers. The school’s teachers
are directly responsible for providing the STEAM education. As detailed in Table 1, the specific
stakeholder’s performance goal is that by the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with
their STEM educational curriculum (school website, 2016).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

16
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The specific purpose of this case study was to understand the KMO implications of
integrating the Arts with a STEM curriculum. The study with XDS was based on an evaluation
dissertation model, a model that was suggested by Hirabayashi (2015a), assesses what an
organization, program or intervention is doing at a given point in time, or asks the question —
how are we doing?
A research question as defined by Samkian (2016a) is descriptive (what is happening?)
and meaning making (what does it mean?). The research questions aligned with the purpose of
this case study are as follows:
1. What are the perceived knowledge, motivation and organization elements related to
integrating the Arts in a STEM based curriculum, from the high school teachers’
perspective at XDS high school?
2. What are the recommendations for STEAM organizational practice in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources?
The section below adds essentials on the conceptual and methodological framework
attendant with this evaluation study.
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
As recently as 2013, Maxwell stated that a conceptual framework is a visual or written
tentative theory with a function to inform the rest of the design while helping to justify the
research. Maxwell (2013) also advised that a conceptual framework is constructed and not found.
The definition of a conceptual framework was further enhanced when Rocco and Plakhotnik
(2009) suggested that it grounds a study in a relevant knowledge base that lay the foundation for
the importance of the problem statement and research questions.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

17
An organizational model that applies the KMO gap analysis conceptual framework
advanced by Clark and Estes (2008), serves to guide and inform this study. Clark and Estes argue
that organizations need to be goal-driven with performance or work goal systems tied to an
organization’s business goals. Without clear and specific performance goals, people have a
tendency to focus on tasks that advance their careers instead of helping the organization achieve
its goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Goals, whether performance or work oriented, are defined as tasks and objectives that
teams and individuals must accomplish based on specific times and criteria (Clark & Estes,
2008). Clark and Estes point out that gaps are assessed between desired goals and actual
performance; in particular, gap analysis diagnoses the human causes behind performance gaps in
organizations. Clark and Estes claim there are three critical factors that must be examined in a
gap analysis process including people’s knowledge and skills (K), their motivation to achieve the
goal (M) and organizational barriers — equipment, work processes (O).
According to Samkian (2016b) this KMO gap analytic conceptual framework is
prescribed because it examines potential influences on the problem of practice. Samkian also
suggest the application of a KMO model would frame questions as they relate to KMO or
connect the questions to the conceptual framework. Additional details of the conceptual
framework or graphical representation of this study are illustrated in Figure 1.
Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation consists of five chapters. This chapter provided details on key concepts
and terminology found in this study on the Arts integration in a STEM curriculum or STEAM
education. The context, mission, goal, conceptual framework and stakeholder of the organization
of interest were also introduced. Chapter 2 provides a review of current literature surrounding the
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

18
scope of the study. Topics of STEM, the Arts, Creativity and Innovation, and STEAM were
addressed. Chapter 3 details the purpose for this study as well as methodology with focus on
choice of participants, sampling, data collection and analysis. In Chapter 4, the data and results
are assessed and analyzed. Chapter 5 provides solutions, based on the data and literature, for
closing the perceived gaps as well as recommendations for an implementation and evaluation
plan for the solutions.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

19
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The KMO of Adding the Arts to a STEM Curriculum
Maguire et al. (2012) argued compellingly that with the current upward trend in STEM
education, the Arts and associated electives are being marginalization or eliminated. Wynn and
Harris (2012) reinforced this perspective and warned arts electives continue to be eliminated first
with budgetary belt-tightening, and with parents’ continued efforts to dissuade their children
from majoring in the arts. The marginalization of the Arts is further exacerbated since focus on
standards-based education has had the unfortunate and perhaps unintended consequence of
curtailing the arts programs in schools (Gershon & Oded, 2014).
Yet, despite the upward trend in STEM, it has been evidenced that there is a concomitant
significant reduction in STEM achievement, and ultimately the nation’s competiveness with the
rest of the world (Dwyer, 2011). Given the addition of an A for the arts to convert STEM to
STEAM as suggested by Robelen (2011), STEAM advocates emphasize that the arts hold great
potential to foster creativity and new ways of thinking that can help unleash STEM students’
achievement and innovation (Dwyer, 2011). The Arts and STEM are of equal importance here,
and are being recognized as essential to innovation, and innovation a hallmark of success in
STEAM drives quantum advances in all fields (Wynn & Harris, 2012).
The following sections of this chapter will chronicle the literature review in an effort to
provide additional insights on the implications of the Arts in association with creativity on
STEM curricula. Starting with the research literature review that addresses STEM, its origins,
trends and influences, followed by a review of the Arts, its marginalization, adoption and
influences. The next section looks at relationships between creativity, innovation and
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

20
achievement in all STEM fields. Then details on STEAM curricula, its potential and impact is
provided. Finally, this review will apply the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis framework to
examine the KMO factors’ influence on the perspectives of teachers and administration,
perceptions of the Arts on STEM.
Research Literature on STEM, the Arts, Creativity/Innovation and STEAM
This section presents a review of the general literature search concentrated on seminal
and current prevailing scholarly works specific to STEM, the Arts, creativity/innovation and
STEAM-focused education curriculum.
STEM
According to Blackley and Howell (2015), in the late 1990s the National Science
Foundation (NSF) could be credited with the conception of the notion of STEM and added the
initial acronym SMET — Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology. After negative
feedback about the acronym sounding too much like ‘smut’ the STEM acronym was born
(Sanders, 2015). The NSF drove a number of initiatives to group science, technology,
engineering, and math together, and STEM education became an educational and political
priority in the United States, and was regarded as a means of strengthening national security and
ensuring global competitiveness (Ghanbari, 2015).
From the inception of the STEM initiative, the NSF and others have advocated for adding
an engineering component to a new breed of comprehensive science education that interfaces
with technology and math (Bequette & Bequette, 2012). Bequette and Bequette added the
excitement-surrounding STEM, and confusion over how to teach it, inspired many states to
ponder how engineering should be addressed in elementary and middle school classrooms.
According to Bequette and Bequette, art, like engineering, is concerned with finding answers to
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

21
problems and seeking visual solutions using the design process. Bequette and Bequette describe
the possibilities and pitfalls of an approach that infuses both the creative process and design
thinking into a new iteration of STEM education that adds Arts (with a capital “A”) to the
acronym to make STEAM. The researchers also noted Arts teachers (and others) in STEM-
focused schools have scrambled to make their disciplines relevant with little assistance from
packaged curriculum that tout STEAM learning. Bequette and Bequette (2012) counsel art
teachers that when reaching out to STEM teachers, to use the language of functional design,
offer examples of problem-based lessons, and extend an invitation to collaborate around
engineering topics.
There are other challenges that need to be overcome for integrated STEM education to
succeed (Blackley & Howell, 2015). Blackley and Howell noted the development of the STEM
movement both nationally (Australia) and internationally, and examined both the influences that
have progressed its evolution and those that have stymied authentic STEM practices. Blackley
and Howell added that when standardized tests results impact upon school funding, school
image, and teacher performance pay, priority will be given to the tested subjects — mathematics
and literacy. Challenges are centered on reassuring teachers that embracing integrated STEM
education and preparation for standardized tests are not mutually exclusive. Blackley and Howell
points out another challenge is that there is also a potentially high financial cost and work
commitment for retraining and professional development of teachers and pre-service teachers to
prepare for the implementation of integrated STEM education.
The inclusion of the full stops (S.T.E.M.) as suggested by Blackley and Howell (2015) is
not trivial since it signifies and acknowledges the siloing of the four distinct discipline areas,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

22
rather than their integration, and it will take more than a four-letter word to bring them together.
The integration is prohibitive for reasons that include (Blackley & Howell, 2015):
1. Engineering is not a subject area in the curriculum of either primary or secondary
phases of schooling although there may be some evidence of its existence in aspects
such as problem solving and innovation within subjects such as science and
mathematics.
2. Differing interpretations of the meaning of ‘technology’ lead to confusion and
frustration.
3. Traditionally primary school teachers lack proficiency and confidence in teaching
both science and mathematics, and favor the teaching of literacy.
The STEM achievement of American students is precipitously declining (Wynn & Harris,
2012). In the Wynn and Harris article, the authors explored the movement towards collaborating
with STEM teachers to incorporate Art into the science, technology, engineering and math
curriculum. According to Wynn and Harris, fifteen-year-old American students tested at 28%
math literacy and 24% science literacy on a global scale. With a STEM job market increasing
three times faster than the rest of the economy and only 4.4% of American undergraduates
enrolled in STEM programs, there is a huge shortage of qualified, high-technology workers
(Land, 2013). Land, an art educator with STEM interest, summarized the major initiative in
STEM, rationalized the value of arts integration, discussed objective driven assessment,
evaluated literacy opportunities and provided examples of taking theory to practice. Land argued
that many professionals held the belief that by focusing on these keys STEM areas, the students
of tomorrow will propel America’s global competiveness forward through the development of
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

23
innovative ideas. Land added there has been a decrease in innovative American ideas, and its
ranking of 3rd or 8th in innovation, depending on the survey.
A dissenting perspective on the nation’s reported current STEM worker crisis was offered
by Charette (2015). His journal article analyzed the reported STEM worker crisis and business
leaders warning of the nation falling behind in the global economic race because our STEM
students are unprepared. Charette concluded the claim of America facing a STEM worker crisis
does not stand up under close scrutiny. His research suggests the crisis is overstated that the
workforce does not have a shortage of STEM workers. Charette claims that in fact college
graduates majoring in STEM may not have trouble finding a job in their field of study.
The next section will focus attention on the Arts and its impact on STEM, with particular
focus on a high school level, similar to that of XDS.
The Arts
Maeda (2013), then president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) suggested in
his journal article what it means to add Art and turn STEM into STEAM. Maeda submitted that
we should fully expect in the coming decades many of our best leaders will come from art and
design backgrounds. Planck (2014) a Nobel laureate as well as an extraordinary pianist advised
in his autobiography Max Planck a Nobel, “The creative scientist needs an artistic imagination”
(p. 14). Steve Jobs, American information technology entrepreneur, inventor and co-founder of
Apple Computers repeatedly referred to linking technology with creative thinking and artistic
design as a key factor in his stunning accomplishments (Wynn & Harris, 2012). The greatest
scientists and developers of technology, according to Wynn and Harris, were vivid visual
thinkers including Newton’s falling apple and Einstein’s vision of riding on a beam of light.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

24
The prevailing literature on the impact of arts and crafts on sciences is extensive. The
idea arts and crafts training enhance scientific ability, first advanced by J. H. van’t Hoff, the first
Nobel laureate in chemistry have been substantiated by numerous subsequent studies of eminent
individuals in other fields (Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013). Alvarez, Einstein, and von
Euler-Chelpin (all Nobel prize winners) highlight the often overlooked, yet unexpectedly
widespread and profoundly important interactions that occur among the arts, crafts, and sciences
(Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013). The researchers suggest arts and crafts develop such
skills as observation, visual thinking, the ability to recognize and form patterns, and manipulative
ability. They develop habits of thought and action that include practicing, persevering, and trial-
and-error problem solving. The research found that eminent scientists are 15 to 25 times more
likely than the average scientist to engage as an adult in fine arts, such as painting, sculpting, and
print making; in crafts, such as wood and metalworking; in performance arts, such as acting and
dancing; and in creative writing and poetry.
There are real and measurable consequences to integrating arts and crafts education with
science and mathematics education (Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013). In concert with a
team of researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein
studied several populations of engineers, STEM honors graduates, and STEM entrepreneurs and
found that in these groups sustained adult arts and crafts participation characterizes top
performers. The researchers conducted their own informal analysis of the Scholastic Aptitude
Test (SAT) results from 2006. Their analysis revealed that four years of high school arts or
music classes conferred a 100-point advantage over the average SAT score, whereas four years
of science conferred only a 69-point advantage. Finding ways to integrate the two (Arts and
STEM) must become a high priority for any school that wants to produce students capable of
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

25
creative participation in a science-dominated society like ours (Root-Bernstein & Root-
Bernstein, 2013).
The bridging of art and science is founded on the belief that the critical-thinking skills
promoted through art-based activities are transferable to science (Milkova, Crossman, Wiles, &
Allen, 2013). Milkova et al.’s analysis of art in biology courses was designed with the goals of
piquing undergraduate students’ curiosity, broadening engagement with courses and developing
aspects of students’ higher-level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The
findings revealed that the assignment supported engaged students and the development of higher-
level thinking skills. Milkova et al.’s analysis also noted that developing skills in art for transfer
to a domain such as science may seem circuitous, but characteristics of art make it ideal for the
development of critical thinking skills.
Gershon and Oded (2014) stated they see the arts as a means for conceptualizing,
understanding, and expressing science — what science can learn from a performing art rather
than what a performing art can help us better understand about science. In their study, the authors
argue that engaging in processes of making music can help students more deeply engage in the
kinds of creativity associated with inquiry based science education (IBSE) and scientists better
convey their ideas to others. Gershon and Oded advised there is a growing body of qualitative
research suggesting the visual and performing arts might contribute to STEM learning and
although there is focus here on the importance of the Arts, it seems to be primarily on visual arts
and media rather than on the performing arts. Gershon and Oded noted there is an understanding
that music is important in education for both its pedagogical value and in the ways in which
music can aid understanding of musical and non-musical ideas for students.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

26
In academia, visual and performing arts have the ability to enhance learning in other
subjects (Ghanbari, 2015). Ghanbari’s case study explored the role of arts integration,
collaboration, and experience centered learning in knowledge creation of two university
programs that integrated the arts with STEM. The study shared students learning experiences in
two programs that integrate an arts discipline with a STEM discipline. Ghanbari noted that
student and alumni interviews were compared within a collective case study methodology and
framed by principles of sociocultural theory and experiential learning theory. Ghanbari added
learning through the arts has the ability to transcend different disciplines and enrich learning in
disciplines beyond the arts. Ghanbari pointed out that the arts have the ability to open up new
ways of seeing, thinking, and learning. The researcher specified that artistic inquiry promote
rigor and creativity while also enabling an instructor to teach in multiple ways, which in turn
creates more neural pathways and a higher probability of retaining knowledge. In addition to
improving learning the core content, arts integration can be engaging and bring joy to learning
(Ghanbari, 2015).
Savvy art educators who are tuned in to the national conversation about the
connectedness of the arts and American economic competitiveness, should understand the
importance of teaching design in art classrooms is as much the business of art education as
teaching the artistic/creative process (Bequette & Bequette, 2012). According to Bequette and
Bequette, introducing students to hybrid works of art can help young people understand more
about the artistic/creative process, design thinking, and the value of aesthetic inquiry. Bequette
and Bequette urged art educators to join the conversation about how the arts connect to STEM
because art and design are core constituents of 21st century art education.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

27
The next section examines the relationship between creativity and innovation in regards
to STEAM education.
Creativity/Innovation
Prevailing scholarship provides insight on the relationships between
creativity/innovation, design and STEM (Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Catmull &
Wallace, 2014; Dyer, Gregersen, & Christensen, 2011; Filback, 2015; Maeda, 2013; Sawyer,
2012). Filback (2015) — University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education —
suggested creativity is an idea that is judged to be novel and useful by a relevant and
knowledgeable group, while innovation is a creative idea that has been successfully implemented
in an organized system. Creativity is a trans-disciplinary process of thinking and doing, and
consists of 13 creative thinking tools, such as observing, recognizing patterns, empathizing,
playing, and synthesizing that are universal to creativity across disciplines (Root-Bernstein &
Root-Bernstein, 2013).
In education, mathematics and science are often taught in a manner that lacks
opportunities for students to engage in creativity and the arts are allotted less time with fewer
resources (Tillman, An, & Boren, 2015). Tillman et al.’s study focused on integrating STEM
lessons with arts-themed activities to create interdisciplinary STEAM education. Participants
completed surveys to measure the extent to which STEAM lessons met specific creativity-related
objectives. Ghanbari (2015) recommended artistic inquiry promote rigor and creativity while
also enabling an instructor to teach in multiple ways, which in turn creates more neural pathways
and a higher probability of retaining knowledge. Ghanbari added this type of process-oriented
thinking is common and is conducive to creativity.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

28
According to Maeda (2013) creativity and ingenuity have always been central to the
American story of progress. Maeda added innovation happens when convergent thinkers, who
march straight ahead towards their goal, combine forces with divergent thinkers — those who
professionally wander, who are comfortable being uncomfortable, and who look for what is real.
Steve Jobs attributed the combination of technology, creative thinking and artistic design as a
key factor in his accomplishments (Wynn & Harris, 2012). Progress does not come from
technology alone but from the melding of technology and creative thinking through art and
design (Land, 2013). Maeda noted that design creates the innovative products and solutions that
will propel our economy forward and artists ask the deep questions about humanity that reveal
which way forward actually is. Land concluded that if the United States wants to remain a global
competitor, it will be crucial to foster creative thinking and practice.
Accepting creativity as a systemic rather than individual process also furthers the
realization that an individual’s capacity to produce creative output is basically non-existent
without a domain in which creativity may be enacted (Gershon & Oded, 2014). Gershon and
Oded suggested that similarly, the introduction of specific creative measures into the science
classroom can also create a more targeted framework for pupils (and teachers) to more readily
grasp characteristics of creativity. Immordino-Yang, Christodoulou, and Singh (2012) indicate
‘constructive internal reflection’ and advocate educational practices that promote effective
balance between external attention and internal reflection. Immordino-Yang et al.’s study
suggests that relaxed daydreaming is potentially important for deriving and sifting through the
social and emotional implications of everyday situations and relationships and connecting them
to personal experiences and future goals. Teachers advocate for “down time” and reflection and
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

29
the importance of time for introspection. Immordino-Yang et al. added that quiet reflection and
mindfulness produce benefits especially for social and emotional functioning.
The following section will focus attention on STEAM and its impact on student
achievement outcomes.
STEAM
STEAM advocates emphasize that the arts hold great potential to foster creativity and
new ways of thinking that can help unleash STEM innovation (Ghanbari, 2015; Guyotte,
Sochacka, Costantino, Walther, & Kellam, 2014; Kim, 2015; Maeda, 2013; Tillman et al., 2015).
In 2015 Ghanbari indicated that dating back to thinkers like da Vinci, the inherent
interconnectivity between the arts and sciences is an area of research and practice that can be
traced throughout history. According to Ghanbari (2015) examination of international Nobel
Laureates from 1901 to 2005 showed that this group of high-achieving individuals identified
avocations in the arts significantly more than the general public.
Tillman et al. (2015) suggested an interdisciplinary pedagogical approach, where the Arts
and STEM disciplines enhance each other when combined in the classroom. Tillman et al.’s
study focused on integrating STEM lessons with arts-themed activities with the aid of three
educational technologies, digital multimedia (DM), design tools (DT), and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE), to create interdisciplinary STEAM education. Tillman et al. argued
this STEAM interdisciplinary pedagogical approach that is realizable and scalable, via the three
readily accessible DM, DT and AE educational technologies, can result in a pedagogical
approach with a solution to educational gaps including low student achievement outcomes.
Currently, as suggested by Guyotte et al. (2014), there is a growing interest in STEAM
education as a means to enhance the creativity of STEM students and broaden interest in STEM
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

30
fields. Guyotte et al.’s study describe how a collaboration between art education, engineering,
and landscape architecture led us to conceptualize STEAM as a social practice that reflects
concerns for community engagement and ecological sustainability. STEAM is also gaining
traction as a movement in research circles and in government via House Resolution 319. The
resolution stipulated adding art and design into federal programs that target STEM fields
encourages innovation and economic growth in the United States (Maeda, 2013). Maeda added
government agencies are also acknowledging that art and science once inextricably linked, both
dedicated to finding truth and beauty, are better together than apart. Ghanbari (2015) cautioned
that the emergent STEM to STEAM movement is stymied by an effort to incorporate the arts
with STEM as an equally important, and not simply a supplementary subject.
STEAM simultaneously complements and challenges current conceptions of this
emerging educational movement that, almost without exception, are underpinned by calls for
competitive economic growth and technological development (Guyotte et al., 2014). Ghanbari
(2015) added STEAM education is based on the premise that STEM and the arts function better
together than they do apart. Ghanbari noted STEAM is a relatively new term, but collaborations
across the intersections of the arts and STEM are not a novel idea. Having the ability to
simultaneous decompose a complex problem using convergent thinking and then apply the
corresponding solution to the real world uses divergent thinking (Land, 2013). Land noted the
integration of arts and sciences produces a unique skill set that can improve these transitional
outcomes. According to Land, the STEAM initiative offers students more than high-tech skills
and integrating the arts into the STEM curriculum provides pathways for personal-meaning
making and self-motivation. Students are able to construct their own learning and go full
STEAM ahead.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

31
Like STEM, STEAM education stresses making connections between disciplines that
were previously perceived as disparate (Guyotte et al., 2014). Guyotte et al. suggest that STEAM
enables an experience rich in doing. It is through the Arts and through doing that we may come
to know, understand, and engage. Kim (2015) found positive indications that engaging students
in hands-on STEAM activities promotes interest in STEAM. Kim’s study examined the impact
of hands-on projects whose curriculum was designed on six structured inventive thinking (SSIT)
approach that can facilitate the development of the knowledge of STEAM content and
investigate perceptions of STEAM subjects by middle school students. Kim added that STEAM
education aims to develop students’ interest in and understanding of science and technology, to
develop their integrated thinking and problem solving abilities, and more importantly, to educate
the next generation of students to become creative innovators. The combination art, design, and
technology practice ‘STEAMD’ can enhance the developing of STEM learning (Moriwaki et al.,
2012). Moriwaki et al.’s study was about an informal learning experience for youth ages four
through eleven and their families utilizing the integration of art, design, and technology to
deliver STEM concepts. The study concluded that the current trends in art, design and
technology practice could provide fertile ground for STEM learning.
In regards to a working definition of STEAM that will be applied throughout this study,
Clemson University (2017), Ghanbari (2015), Guyotte et al. (2014), and Tillman et al. (2015)
proposed that STEAM education stresses the collaboration and integration or connections
between disciplines should include multiple content areas, synthesis across disciplines, content
areas, connected ideas, multiple methods and task specific approaches.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

32
The following section addresses the knowledge, motivation and organization (KMO)
components that are the essentials to this study’s conceptual framework and to the understanding
of STEAM in educational contexts.
Gap Analysis Conceptual Framework — KMO
Some research addresses the definition of a conceptual framework (Maxwell, 2013;
Merriam & Tisdell, 2009; Samkian, 2016b). Maxwell claims that a conceptual framework is a
tentative theory with a function to inform the rest of your design while helping to justify your
research. Essential insights added by Samkian specify that a conceptual framework defines the
way we frame a research study and helps to guide the design of the data collection via interview
protocol or survey instruments and such. Maxwell argues that a conceptual framework is a visual
or written product that explains either graphically or in narrative forms the main thing to be
studied and is constructed and not found. Merriam and Tisdell note that the lack of a clearly
articulated conceptual framework or weak theorizing in general could result in a study report or
proposal being rejected by committees or publications.
This study is steeped in the KMO analytic gap conceptual framework advanced by Clark
and Estes (2008). Clark and Estes argue that gap analysis diagnoses the human causes behind
performance gaps in organizations. According to Samkian (2016b) the KMO gap analysis
conceptual framework is suggested because it examines potential influences on the problem of
practice. Samkian also claims the application of a KMO model would frame questions as they
relate to KMO or connect the questions to the conceptual framework. This study looks at
perceived KMO implications of integrating the Arts in a STEM based curriculum, from high
school teachers’ perspectives.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

33
Scholarly literature is replete with definitions of knowledge and motivation. Clark and
Estes (2008) advocated that human beings are made up of two very distinct yet competing
psychological systems — knowledge and motivation. Other essential factors the Clark and Estes
KMO model encompasses include the following:
• Knowledge: People’s knowledge and skills. It is necessary to determine whether
people know how — when, what, why, and where and who — to achieve their
performance goals.
• Motivation: Their motivation to achieve goals (particularly when compared with
other work goals they must also achieve). Further, motivation is the internal
psychological process that gets us going, keeps us moving, and helps us get jobs
done.
• Organization: Organizational barriers such as a lack of necessary equipment and
missing or inadequate work processes. Organizational problems can be traced back to
business and work processes that are out of alignment with the business strategy or
organizational structure.
The next section delineates the study’s KMO influences on the teachers.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
Knowledge and Skills
Clark and Estes (2008) claimed that human beings are made up of two very distinct yet
competing psychological systems — knowledge and motivation. Clark and Estes further clarified
that knowledge tells us how to do things and is our storehouse of experiences, while motivation
gets us going, keeps us moving, and tells us how much effort to spend on work tasks. This
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

34
section of the literature review focus on knowledge-related perspectives and influences in
regards to stakeholder goals — the teachers, as detailed in Table 2 — the Knowledge Worksheet.

Table 2
Knowledge Worksheet
Organizational Mission
XDS’s mission is to support and prepare its students for successful continuing study and careers in the
fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (school website, 2016).
Organizational Global Goal
XDS’s goals are to encourage and prepare students for successful further study and lifelong
contributions in the fields of STEM (school website, 2016).
Stakeholder Goal — Teachers
By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum (school
website, 2016).
Assumed Knowledge Influence
Knowledge
Influence
Assessment
Learning
Solution
Principle
Proposed
Solution
Declarative
Factual
Teachers know and understand what is STEAM
education.
Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the
Arts with the curriculum’s STEM subjects via problem-
solving applications, crafts and designs.
Arts teachers will know and understand what are
aesthetic inquiry and design thinking via artistic/creative
processes and problem-based engineering topics.
Teachers will know and understand varied forms of
media, visual, performing and theater arts for lesson
planning and projects.
Teachers will know and understand what the integration
of music, and music with technology mean and be able to
use them in their lesson planning.
A combination
of teachers’
focus group
interviews
along with
classroom
observations
and documents.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

35
Table 2, continued
Assumed Knowledge Influence
Knowledge
Influence
Assessment
Learning
Solution
Principle
Proposed
Solution
Declarative
Conceptual
Teachers will be able to understand the concept of
integrating the arts with STEM with lesson plans
and projects.
Science and art teachers will be able to understand
the concept that science can learn from performing
arts.
Teachers will be able to understand the concept of
artistic inquiry.

Procedural
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and
methodologies that enable collaboration among the
STEAM subjects.
Teachers will know the procedures and methodologies
that facilitate infusing technology and creative thinking
through art and design.
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and
methodologies that facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry,
the creative process and measures, and design thinking
into STEAM subjects.
Teachers will know the procedures and practices that
allow for ‘down time’ and reflection.
A combination
of teachers’
focus group
interviews along
with classroom
observations and
documents.

Metacognitive
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive
methodologies that facilitate social and emotional
functioning.
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive
methodologies that facilitate ways of visualizing,
critical and process-oriented thinking and learning via
the arts.
A combination
of teachers’
focus group
interviews along
with classroom
observations and
documents.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

36
Knowledge types. Krathwohl (2002) provided updated details on Bloom’s taxonomy
about educational objectives in a framework for classifying statements of what we expect or
demand students to learn as a result of instruction. According to Krathwohl (2002) and Rueda
(2011) there are four knowledge dimensions that include:
1. Factual Knowledge: The basic elements that students know to be acquainted with a
discipline or solve problems in it.
2. Conceptual Knowledge: The interrelationships among the basic elements within a
larger a larger structure that enable them to function together.
3. Procedural Knowledge: How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for
using skills, algorithms, techniques and methods.
4. Metacognitive Knowledge: Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness
and knowledge of one’s own cognition.
According to Rueda (2011) knowledge is a key goal of learning. Learning has three main
components that include a change in the learner, what is changed is the learner’s knowledge and
the cause of the change is the learner’s experience. Rueda advocated that differentiating
knowledge into distinct categories or different instructional approaches are more effective for
some types of knowledge than others. A Knowledge Matrix described by Rueda specifies that
the afore-mentioned Bloom’s taxonomy for teaching, learning and assessing, compare via a
matrix of cognitive processes (remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create), and
the knowledge dimensions of factual, conceptual, procedural and metacognitive.
Stakeholder knowledge influences. The mission of the XDS high school is to encourage
and prepare students for successful further study and lifelong contributions in the fields of STEM
(school website, 2016). There are associated concomitant global and stakeholder-teachers’ goals,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

37
as detailed in Table 2. With the stakeholder goals there is a subsequent cascade of STEAM
knowledge-related issues (influence and influence assessment) illustrated in the first two
columns of Table 2. Scholarly findings pertaining to the four dimensions of STEAM-based
knowledge (Declarative — factual or conceptual, Procedural and Metacognitive) are detailed in
the next three sections on knowledge influences, including declarative, procedural and
metacognitive.
Declarative knowledge influences. Mayer (2011), Rueda (2011) and Seli (2015)
described a taxonomy or schema of knowledge. Declarative knowledge consists of factual and
conceptual knowledge that could be classified as the knowledge of ‘what.’ According to Seli
factual knowledge is about discrete and isolated content, while conceptual knowledge is about
complex things working together or organized forms of knowledge. As pointed out by Rueda
conceptual knowledge is knowledge about categories, classifications and such, while factual
knowledge is what is commonly known as the facts and refers to knowledge that is basic to
specific domains, contexts and disciplines. Mayer added that conceptual knowledge focuses on
categories, schemas, models or principles, and summarized that factual knowledge is simply
facts about the world.
There is compelling scholarly literature specific to factual STEAM based knowledge
influences (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Blackley & Howell, 2015; Gershon & Oded, 2014;
Ghanbari, 2015; Guyotte et al., 2014; Inoa et al., 2014; Land, 2013; Maeda, 2013; Peppler, 2010;
Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Welch, 2012). Based on the factual STEAM based
knowledge influences detailed in the literature, there are suggested factual knowledge influences
teachers in a STEAM program at the K-12 level should possess. The factual STEAM based
knowledge influences are listed in Table 2.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

38
Teachers will be able to explain what is STEAM education. STEAM education stresses
making connections between disciplines that were previously perceived as disparate (Guyotte et
al., 2014). According to Clemson University (2017), Ghanbari (2015) and Tillman et al. (2015),
the collaboration and integration or connections between disciplines should include multiple
content areas, synthesis across disciplines, content areas, connected ideas, multiple methods and
task specific approaches. Ghanbari (2015) added STEAM education is based on the premise that
STEM and the arts function better together than they do apart. Ghanbari noted STEAM is a
relatively new term, but collaborations across the intersections of the arts and STEM are not a
novel idea.
Teachers should be able to explain how the Arts can be integrated within the curriculum’s
STEM subjects via problem-solving applications, crafts and designs. Land (2013) argued for
focusing on Art integration within the STEM areas. Land supported by Maeda (2013) also
recommended the melding of technology and creative thinking through art and designs. Blackley
and Howell (2015) suggested focus on integration of engineering via problem solving and
innovation within subjects such as science and mathematics. Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein
(2013) advanced the idea that arts and crafts training enhance scientific ability. Guyotte et al.
(2014) claimed that STEAM education stresses making connections between disciplines that
were previously perceived as disparate. Finally, Guyotte et al. added that STEAM enables an
experience rich in doing.
Arts teachers will be able to implement and emphasize aesthetic inquiry and design
thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-based engineering topics. Bequette and
Bequette (2012) claimed works of art can help with understanding more about the
artistic/creative process, design thinking, and the value of aesthetic inquiry. Bequette and
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

39
Bequette also pointed out that Art teachers use the language of functional design via offering
examples of problem-based lessons around engineering topics.
Teachers will be able to explain how media, visual, performing and theater arts can be
included with their lesson plans and projects. Ghanbari (2015) noted that the visual and
performing arts have the ability to enhance learning in other subjects, while Inoa et al. (2014)
claimed that students in the theater arts program outperformed their control group counterparts.
Gershon and Oded (2014) argued the importance of the Arts primarily of performing and visual
arts, along with media contribute to STEM learning. Peppler (2010) noted there are several
reasons why the arts educators should be interested in incorporation media arts into the schooling
curriculum since current conceptions of schooling envision new technologies being integrated
across the curriculum in all K-12 school, to keep up with the demands of preparing youth for the
21st century.
Teachers will be able to explain their understanding of the integration of music, and
music with technology in their lesson plans and projects. Gershon and Oded (2014) claimed there
is an understanding that music is important in education for both its pedagogical value and in the
ways in which music can aid understanding of musical and non-musical ideas for students.
Welch (2012) argued that technology is a core feature of the arts including music, and music
should be a core subject.
There is persuasive scholarly literature on conceptual STEAM-based knowledge
influences (Gershon & Oded, 2014; Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et al., 2013). Based on the
conceptual STEAM based knowledge influences detailed in the literature, there are suggested
conceptual knowledge influences teachers in a STEAM program at the K-12 level should
possess. The conceptual STEAM based knowledge influences are listed above in Table 2.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

40
Teachers will be able to explain the concept of integrating the arts with STEM in their
lesson plans and projects. Ghanbari (2015) contended learning through the arts promote rigor and
creativity, enables an instructor to teach in multiple ways, has the ability to transcend across
different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond the arts. Ghanbari pointed out that
STEAM education is based on the premise that STEM and the arts function better together than
they do apart, and noted the emerging STEM to STEAM movement is largely grounded by an
effort to incorporate the arts with STEM as an equally important, and not simply a
supplementary subject. Ghanbari added that in addition to improving learning, the core content
and arts integration can be engaging and bring joy to learning. This type of process-oriented
thinking is common and is conducive to creativity according to Ghanbari.
Science and art teachers should understand the concept that science can learn from
performing arts and its critical-thinking characteristics, and creativity as a systemic process.
Gershon and Oded (2014) argued the arts as a means for conceptualizing, understanding, and
expressing science — what science can learn from a performing art rather than what a
performing art can help us better understand about science. Gershon and Oded claimed accepting
creativity as systemic rather than individual process without a domain (classroom) in which
creativity may be enacted. Milkova et al. (2013) recommended the critical-thinking skills
promoted through art-based activities and transferable to science, and the developing skills of art
make it ideal for the development of critical thinking.
Teachers will be able to demonstrate understanding of the concept of artistic inquiry that
enables and enhances teaching skills, rigor and creativity, in their lesson plans. Ghanbari (2015)
argued that artistic inquiry enables an instructor to teach in multiple ways and also promote rigor
and creativity, which in turn creates more neural pathways and a higher probability of retaining
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

41
knowledge. Ghanbari added this type of process-oriented thinking is common and is conducive
to creativity.
The next section examines procedural knowledge influences.
Procedural knowledge influences. As suggested in the previous section, Krathwohl
(2002), Mayer (2011), Rueda (2011) and Seli (2015) described a taxonomy or schema of
knowledge, with focus on procedural knowledge. Seli argued that procedural knowledge pertains
to how we do things, and Krathwohl claimed with support from Rueda that procedural
knowledge refers to knowing how to do things and methods of inquiry or very specific skills,
techniques and methodologies.
There is a plethora of learned literature on procedural STEAM-based knowledge
influences (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Blackley & Howell, 2015; Gershon & Oded, 2014;
Ghanbari, 2015; Huber, Dinham, & Chalk, 2015; Immordino-Yang et al., 2012; Kim, 2015;
Land, 2013; Maeda, 2013; Tillman et al., 2015; Wynn & Harris, 2012). Based on the procedural
STEAM based knowledge influences detailed in the literature, there are suggested procedural
knowledge influences teachers in a STEAM program at the K-12 level should possess. The
procedural STEAM based knowledge influences are listed above in Table 2.
Art and STEM teachers will be able to implement procedures and methodologies that
enable collaboration among the STEAM subjects. Wynn and Harris (2012) claimed that Arts
teachers collaborate with STEM teachers to incorporate Art into the science, technology,
engineering and mathematics curriculum. Tillman et al. (2015) added that teachers integrate
STEM lessons with arts-themed activities to create interdisciplinary STEAM education. Blackley
and Howell (2015) suggested integration of the four silos of STEM and engineering via problem
solving and innovation within subjects such as science and mathematics. Bequette and Bequette
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

42
(2012) suggested that when reaching out to STEM teachers, art teachers use the language of
functional design, offer examples of problem-based lessons, and extend an invitation to
collaborate around engineering topics. Huber et al. (2015) recommended practices that employed
in arts methodologies offer a key resource to conceptualize new practices beyond traditional text
based literacy. Kim (2015) found positive indications that engaging students in hands-on
STEAM activities promotes interest in STEAM. Maeda (2013) claimed integrating art and
design into STEM fields encourages innovation and recommended they are better together than
apart.
Art and STEM teachers will be able to implement procedures and methodologies that
facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into
STEAM subjects. Bequette and Bequette (2012) recommend infusing both the creative process
and design thinking into a new iteration of STEM education that adds arts. Gershon and Oded
(2014) added the introduction of specific creative measures into the science classroom can also
create a more targeted framework for pupils (and teachers) to more readily grasp characteristics
of creativity. Artistic inquiry or process-oriented thinking promote rigor and creativity while also
enabling an instructor to teach in multiple ways creating more neural pathways, a higher
probability of retaining knowledge and is conducive to creativity (Ghanbari, 2015).
Teachers will be able to implement procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing
technology and creative thinking through art and design. Land (2013) noted the integration of
arts and sciences produces a unique skill set that can improve these transitional outcomes.
Progress does not come from technology alone but from the melding of technology and creative
thinking through art and design (Land, 2013). The integration of arts and sciences produces a
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

43
unique skill set that can improve these transitional outcomes. Progress comes from the melding
of technology and creative thinking through art and design (Land, 2013).
Teachers will be able to implement procedures and practices that allow for “down time”
and reflection. Immordino-Yang et al. (2012) argue that quiet reflection and mindfulness produce
benefits especially for social and emotional functioning. Immordino-Yang et al. advocate for
down time and reflection and stress the importance of time for introspection. Immordino-Yang et
al. claim for ‘constructive internal reflection’ and endorse educational practices that promote
effective balance between external attention and internal reflection.
The next section details metacognitive knowledge influences.
Metacognitive knowledge influences. Metacognitive knowledge is about cognition
(Baker, 2006; Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011; Seli, 2015). Baker noted that
metacognition refers to learners need to have awareness and control of their cognitive processes
or higher-level cognition. Baker added metacognition is cognition about cognition or thinking
about thinking and metacognition growth is gradual throughout childhood, adolescence and even
into adulthood. Seli defined metacognition as the awareness of and knowledge about one’s own
cognition. Rueda note the awareness of particular cognitive processes that allows one to know
when and why to do something, along with integrating key aspects of strategic behavior in
solving problems.
There is some current scholarly literature with information regarding metacognitive
STEAM-based knowledge influences (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Ghanbari, 2015; Immordino-
Yang et al., 2012; Milkova et al., 2013). Based on the metacognitive STEAM based knowledge
influences detailed in the literature, there are suggested metacognitive knowledge influences
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

44
teachers in a STEAM program at the K-12 level should possess. The procedural STEAM based
knowledge influences are listed above in Table 2.
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that facilitate ways of
visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and learning via the arts. Ghanbari (2015)
claimed that the arts have the ability to open up new ways of seeing, thinking, and learning.
Ghanbari noted that employing process-oriented thinking via artistic inquiry to promote rigor and
creativity while also enabling an instructor to teach in multiple ways, which in turn creates more
neural pathways and a higher probability of retaining knowledge and is conducive to creativity.
Milkova et al. (2013) argued that the critical-thinking skills promoted through art-based activities
and transferable to science, and the developing skills of art making it ideal for development of
critical thinking. Bequette and Bequette (2012) noted introducing students to hybrid works of art
can help young people understand more about the artistic/creative process, design thinking, and
the value of aesthetic inquiry.
The following section provides details on the motivational influences for this study.
Motivation
This section of the study focuses on motivation-related influences appropriate for the
achievement of the stakeholder goal — the teachers, detailed in Table 3 — the Motivation
Worksheet. Current literature is awash with definitions of motivation (Clark & Estes, 2008;
Grossman & Salas, 2011; Pintrich, 2003; Rueda, 2011). Pintrich claimed that motivation is
derived from the Latin verb movere, which means to move. Clark and Estes argued that
motivation results from our experiences and beliefs about ourselves, our coworkers and our
prospects about being effective. Clark and Estes noted motivation as a root motive influencing all
human behavior, a desire to be effective in our lives. Clark and Estes added that motivation is an
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

45
area where tangible benefits are available to organizations, when there is no gap between goals
and current performance. Grossman and Salas pointed out that motivation refers to the process
that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a
goal. Rueda defined motivation as the process whereby goal-directed activity is integrated and
sustained. Rueda claimed that motivation especially ‘achievement or academic’ motivation,
emphasizes the beliefs that a person develops related to themselves as learners, to learning tasks
and activities and related factors.
Clark and Estes (2008) and Hirabayashi (2015b) added that motivated behavior is
characterized by three specifics, including active choice — when people choose or fail to choose
to actively pursue a goal and intention to pursue a goal is replaced by action, persistence — once
started, one continues in the face of distractions, and mental effort — people work smarter and
develop novel solutions.
The following section looks at the two motivational influences associated with the
teachers. The specific influences illustrated under the stakeholder goal in column 1 of Table 3,
are Attribution Theory and Goal Orientation.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

46
Table 3
Motivation Worksheet
Organizational Mission
XDS’s mission is to support and prepare its students for successful continuing study and
careers in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (school website,
2016).
Organizational Global Goal
XDS’s goals are to encourage and prepare students for successful further study and lifelong
contributions in the fields of STEM (school website, 2016).
Stakeholder Goal — Teachers
By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum
(school website, 2016).
Assumed Motivation Influences
How Will It Be
Assessed?
Motivational
Solution
Principle
Proposed
Solution
Attribution Theory
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution
via feedback communication modes
(assignments, exams etc.) with learners.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution
via one-on-one conversations.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution
via use of the ‘third space’ in the classroom.
A combination of
teachers’ focus
group interviews
along with
classroom
observations.

Goal Orientation
Teachers will be able to integrate the Arts
with their STEM educational curriculum by
the year 2019.
A combination of
teachers’ focus
group interviews
along with
classroom
observations.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

47
Attribution theory. Anderman and Anderman (2006) argued persuasively that
attribution theory provides an important method for examining and understanding motivation in
academic settings. Attribution theory examines individual beliefs about why certain events occur
and correlates these beliefs to subsequent motivation. Anderman and Anderman further detailed
specifics on Weiner’s Model of Attribution that indicate learners are affected by environmental
and personal factors. Hirabayashi (2015b) elaborated on to the three dimensions of Attribution
Theory that include locus — refers to whether the cause of the event is perceived as internal
(own behavior) or external (outside control) to the individual, stability — refers to whether the
cause is stable (permanent factor) or unstable (temporary factor) across time and situations, and
Controllability — refers to whether the cause of the event is perceived as being under the control
of the individual.
Attribution theory — teachers. Given some of the prevailing scholarly literature on
motivation and attribution theory for teachers, the following perspectives are appropriate. There
are suggested attribution theory motivation influences teachers in a STEAM program at the K-
12 level should possess. The attribution theory motivation influences are listed above in Table 3.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via feedback communication modes
(assignments, exams, learning, effort etc.) with learners. Anderman and Anderman (2006)
claimed that teachers’ attribution is via their communications to learners. Anderman and
Anderman argued that teachers affect attributions on a daily basis through comments to students,
and communicate important information to learners through feedback on assignments, on graded
examinations and types of praise they offer during classroom instruction. Specific and
differentiated feedback is more useful to learners. Anderman and Anderman noted that teachers
can also educate parents about attributions, since parents provide feedback and comment on
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

48
students’ performance on academic work. Teachers can encourage parents to provide effective
feedback. Hirabayashi (2015b) pointed out that teachers provide feedback that stresses the
process of learning, including importance of effort and potential self-control of learning.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via one-on-one conversations. Anderman and
Anderman (2006) argued teachers remember the power they have in shaping students’
attributions and also realize that they can affect the types of attributions that students make.
Anderman and Anderman added that teachers/educators should be aware that students think
about the causes of their own failure and successes and teachers should engage in conversation
and learn about their students’ attributions and monitor potentially inaccurate and harmful
beliefs. Anderman and Anderman noted that one-on-one conversations might provide insight to
teachers and provide opportunities for shaping students’ beliefs about their performance. Shute
(2008) prescribed feedback is a significant factor in motivating learning.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via use of the ‘third space’ in the classroom.
Some scholars refer to a hybrid, in-between or third space emphasizing a physical, socialized
space in which people interact (Moje et al., 2004). Increased academic engagement and learning
gains occur when third spaces are built in classrooms (Moje et al., 2004). Rousseau (2015) also
reasoned persuasively in regards a ‘third space’ in a classroom and claimed it is the meeting of
teacher and students attributes, and is rich with interactions, culture, discourse and dialogue and
it is where knowledge is constructed. Taylor, Klein, and Abrams (2014) refer to the ‘third space’
as a hybrid space, not as an either/or space but an and/also place to share and construct
knowledge. Bhabha (1994) summarized it is the ‘third space’ which enables other positions to
emerge and new knowledge to grow.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

49
Goal orientation. Yough and Anderman (2006) stipulated that Goal Orientation Theory
is a social-cognitive theory of ‘achievement motivation’ that encompasses Mastery Goal or
Mastery-Oriented and Performance Goal or Performance-Oriented. Yough and Anderman noted
mastery goal is to truly understand or master the task at hand. Yough and Anderman added the
learner is interested in self-improvement and compares own achievement to prior achievement.
Rueda (2015) suggests that mastery goal could be characterized by task-involved, task-focused,
and intrinsic attributes. Rueda pointed out that goal orientation involves focus on learning,
mastering and self-improvement.
According to Yough and Anderman (2006) performance goals occur when the learners’
goal is to demonstrate their ability compared to others. The learner, according to Yough and
Anderman, is interested in competition and demonstrating competence, with focus on out-
performing others and using others as point of comparison. Rueda (2015) adds that performance
goal incorporates characteristics like relative ability, ego-involved ability, ability-focused and
extrinsic.
Goal orientation — teachers. From the teachers’ perspective, Yough and Anderman
(2006) advanced students as being master-oriented since the culture of the school focuses on
learning and improving task mastery. Alternatively, according to Yough and Anderman, students
regard schools as performance-oriented, since the culture of schools focuses on grades,
achievement, competitiveness and learners out-performing others. In keeping with achievement,
grades and competitiveness art integration with STEM could be compromised because of the
issue of standardized tests, teachers and students’ outcomes and the results of the tests impact
upon teacher performance pay (Blackley & Howell, 2015).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

50
Based on the above literature on goal orientation for teachers, there is a suggested goal
orientation motivation influences teachers in a STEAM program should possess. The goal
orientation motivation influence is listed above in Table 3. Teachers will be able to integrate the
Arts with their STEM educational curriculum. According to XDS (school website, 2016) by the
year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum.
This next section of the study focuses on organizational related influences specific to the
achievement of the stakeholder goal — the teachers.
Organizational Influences
Organizational theory. Substantial literature accumulated identifying organization
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Kezar, 2001; Perrow, 1973; Schein, 2004; Schneider, Brief, & Guzzo,
1996). Perrow (1973) noted original literature suggested a mechanical school of organization
theory that treated the organization as a machine, this evolved to a human relations school of
thought that emphasized people rather than machines. Perrow claim definitions evolved further
from stipulating that organizations are cooperative systems and not the products of mechanical
engineering, to a simple definition of organizations as open systems. Perrow concluded simply
that organizations are extremely complicated.
This study embraces and is steeped in an organizational model that applies the KMO
analytic gap conceptual framework advanced by Clark and Estes (2008). Clark and Estes argue
that organizations need to be goal-driven with performance or work goal systems tied to an
organization’s business goals, and without clear and specific performance goals people have a
tendency to focus on tasks that advance their careers instead of helping the organization achieve
its goals. Clark and Estes define performance or work goal as a description of tasks and
objectives that teams and individuals must accomplish based on specific times and criteria. Clark
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

51
and Estes claim that gaps are assessed between desired goals and actual performance and
prescribe three critical factors (KMO) that must be examined in a gap analysis process. They
include:
1. People’s knowledge and skills (K).
2. Their motivation to achieve the goal (M).
3. Organizational barriers — equipment, work processes (O).
Schneider et al. (1996) focused on organizations and culture with the offering that culture
is an abstraction, yet the forces that are created in organizational situations deriving from culture
are powerful because they operate outside of our awareness. To fully understand what goes on
inside an organization, it is necessary to understand both the organization’s macro/micro
contexts and the interplay of organizations’ three generic subcultures (operator, engineer/design
and executive) (Schein, 2004). According to Schein the subcultures are aligned toward shared
organizational goals and they operate in one or more macro cultures, such as ethnic groups and
other larger cultural units. Schein also noted that within organization, micro cultures also evolve
in small groups that share common tasks and histories.
The next section focuses on stakeholder specific influences, in regards to cultural model
and settings.
Stakeholder influences. There is a significant body of prevailing research literature that
has documented definitions of organization influences in terms of sociocultural theory, culture,
cultural setting and cultural models (Clark & Estes, 2008; Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001;
Rueda, 2011; Schein, 2004; Scott & Palinscar, 2006). Clark and Estes claimed that culture is a
way to describe the core values, goals, beliefs, emotions and processes learned as people develop
overtime in our family and work environments. Rueda argued that culture should not be seen as
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

52
static or monolithic, but as a dynamic process that is jointly created and recreated by individuals
in the course of negotiating everyday life. Schein claimed that culture implies that rituals,
climate, values and behaviors tie together and intersect into a coherent whole — this patterning is
the essence of culture. Clark and Estes noted that organizational culture specifically, is present in
our conscious and unconscious understanding of who we are, what we value and how we do
what we do as an organization. Clark and Estes pointed out that organizational culture is the
most important ‘work process’ in all organizations because it dictates how we work together to
get our job done.
Scott and Palinscar (2006) argued persuasively that sociocultural theory explains how
individual mental functioning is related to cultural, instructional and historical contexts.
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) claimed that culture is rendered more practically useful in
education when employed with two ‘keys’ — cultural model and cultural settings. According to
Gallimore and Goldenberg cultural model is a shared mental schema or normative understanding
of how the world works, or ought to work, and it incorporates behavioral (activity) as well as
cognitive and affective components. Gallimore and Goldenberg added cultural models can be
described as tools of the mind that represents community or an ecological niche. Rueda (2011)
claims that cultural models help shape the ways that an organization is structured, including the
values, practices, policies, rewards and so forth. Rueda notes that cultural models are more
changeable or temporary, but help define what is customary and normal.
Culture exists (and is created) in those settings where people come together to carry out
joint activity that accomplishes something they value — homework time, watching television,
sharing news and events (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Gallimore and Goldenberg added
cultural settings occur wherever two or more people come together over time to accomplish
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

53
something and is homely and familiar. Rueda noted that cultural settings are more enduring or
lasting and can be helpful in thinking about the more visible aspects — seen as the who, what,
when, where, why and how of routines which constitute everyday life or a more concrete version
of a social context. Gallimore and Goldenberg pointed out that in many, perhaps most schools,
settings for collaborative work designed to improve teaching and learning steadily, does not
exist.
There is some prevailing literature on STEAM-based cultural model influences (Blackley
& Howell, 2015; Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et al., 2013; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013;
Tillman et al., 2015; Wynn & Harris, 2012). Table 4 shows the organizational influences
associated with the teachers under the stakeholder goal in column 1.
Based on the above literature on cultural model for organizations, there is a suggested
cultural setting organizational influences for a STEAM program (Blackley & Howell, 2015;
Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et al., 2013; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Tillman et al.,
2015; Wynn & Harris, 2012). The cultural setting organizational influences is listed in Table 4,
that shows the organizational influences associated with the teachers under the stakeholder goal
in column 1. The organization will facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM curriculum.
Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein claimed finding ways to integrate the arts and sciences must
become a high priority for any school that wants to produce students capable of creative
participation in a science-dominated society like ours. Milkova et al., claimed that the bridging
of art and science are founded on the belief that the critical-thinking skills promoted through art-
based activities are transferable to science developing skills in art for transfer to a domain such
as science may seem circuitous, but characteristics of art make it ideal for development of critical
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

54
thinking. Ghanbari argued that studies have also suggested learning through the arts has the
ability to transcend across different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond the arts.

Table 4
Organization Worksheet
Organizational Mission
XDS’s mission is to support and prepare its students for successful continuing study and careers in the
fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (school website, 2016).
Organizational Global Goal
XDS’s goals are to encourage and prepare students for successful further study and lifelong
contributions in the fields of STEM (school website, 2016).
Stakeholder Goal - Teachers
By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum (school
website, 2016).
Assumed Organizational Influences
Organizational
Influence
Assessment
Research-Based
Recommendation
or Solution
Principle
Proposed
Solution
Cultural Settings
Influence 1:
The organization will facilitate the integration
of the Arts in a STEM curriculum.
Influence 2:
The organization will facilitate collaboration
between the Arts and STEM teachers.
Teachers’ focus
group along
with sample
classroom
observations.
To be completed
in future
semesters
To be
completed
in future
semesters
Cultural Models
Influence 1:
The organization will facilitate technology
integration throughout the school.
Influence 2:
The organization will facilitate collaborative
work settings.
Teachers’ focus
group along
with classroom
observations.
To be completed
in future
semesters
To be
completed
in future
semesters

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

55
The organization will facilitate collaboration between the Arts and STEM teachers.
Wynn and Harris (2012) recommended Art teachers collaborating with STEM teachers to
incorporate Art into the science, technology, engineering and math curriculum. Blackley and
Howell (2015) suggested integration of the four silos of STEM and engineering via problem
solving and innovation within subjects such as science and mathematics. Finally, Tillman et al.,
(2015) supported integrating STEM lessons with arts-themed activities to create interdisciplinary
STEAM education.
There is some scholarly literature on STEAM-based cultural model organizational
influences (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Peppler, 2010; Welch, 2012). The organization will
facilitate technology integration throughout the school. Peppler claimed that there are several
reasons why the arts educators should be interested in incorporation media arts into the schooling
curriculum since current conceptions of schooling envision new technologies being integrated
across the curriculum in all K-12 school, to keep up with the demands of preparing youth for the
21st century. Welch pointed out that technology is a core feature of the arts including music, and
music should be a core subject.
The organization will facilitate collaborative work settings. Gallimore and Goldenberg
(2001) recommended settings for collaborative work designed to improve teaching and learning.
Conclusion
This chapter provided a general literature review of scholarly works with particular focus
on the integration of the Arts with STEM and the relationship between STEM, the Arts,
creativity/innovation and STEAM. Sections also addressed STEM its origins and trends followed
by the Clark and Estes (2008) KMO gap analysis conceptual framework and its influences.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

56
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Purpose
The specific purpose of this case study was to understand the knowledge, motivation and
organization elements related to adding the Arts and associated electives to a (STEM) or
STEAM curriculum. This chapter addresses the methodology associated with this evaluation
study. STEAM advocates argue that the arts hold great potential to foster creativity and new
ways of thinking that can help unleash STEM student achievement and innovation (Dwyer,
2011; Robelen, 2011). Wynn and Harris (2012) claim the arts are being recognized as essential
to innovation, and innovation a hallmark of success in STEAM drives quantum advances in all
fields. Wynn and Harris suggest Art and STEM are of equal importance here.
The study with XDS high school was based on an evaluation dissertation model that as
suggested by Hirabayashi (2015a) assesses what an organization, program or intervention is
doing at a given point in time. The research questions to be answered with this case study were
as follows:
1. What are the perceived knowledge, motivation and organization elements related to
integrating the Arts in a STEM based curriculum, from the high school teachers’
perspective at XDS high school?
2. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
A conceptual framework is a tentative theory with a function to inform the rest of your
design while helping to justify your research (Maxwell, 2013). Rocco and Plakhotnik (2009)
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

57
helped shape the definition of a conceptual framework and offered it grounds a study in relevant
knowledge bases that lay the foundation for the importance of the problem statement and
research questions. Maxwell added conceptual frameworks help assess and refine research goals,
develop realistic and relevant research questions, select appropriate methods and identify
potential validity threats to your conclusion. Maxwell noted that a conceptual framework is a
visual or written product that explains either graphically or in narrative form the main thing to be
studied, it is constructed and not found.
This study is steeped in, and embraces an organizational model that applies the KMO gap
analysis conceptual framework advanced by Clark and Estes (2008). Clark and Estes stipulate
that organizations need to be goal-driven with performance or work goal systems tied to an
organization’s business goals. Without clear and specific performance goals, people have a
tendency to focus on tasks that advance their careers instead of helping the organization achieve
its goals (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Clark and Estes (2008) define performance or work goal as a description of tasks and
objectives that teams and individuals must accomplish based on specific times and criteria. Clark
and Estes added gaps are assessed between desired goals and actual performance. Clark and
Estes recommend three critical factors (KMO) that must be examined in a gap analysis process
that include people’s knowledge and skills (K), their motivation to achieve the goal (M) and
organizational barriers — equipment, work processes (O).
According to Samkian (2016b) this KMO gap analysis conceptual framework is
prescribed because it examines potential influences on the problem of practice. Samkian also
posits the application of a KMO model would frame questions as they relate to KMO or connect
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

58
the questions to the conceptual framework. In addition, Clark and Estes (2008) proffered that gap
analysis diagnoses the human causes behind performance gaps in organizations.
This study’s conceptual framework is represented graphically in Figure 1. The figure
illustrates the yellow block that represents XDS’s high school Arts and STEM focus. The grey
block represents the potential KMO influences with the teachers. Bidirectional red arrows are
used to illustrate the relationships between the teachers, STEM, the Arts, Creativity and
Innovation, STEAM and the learners. Grey arrows are used to illustrate the flow of information
between STEM, the Arts, Creativity/Innovation and STEAM.

Figure 1. Conceptual framework

Science
Technology
Engineering
Mathema3cs
Arts
Crea3vity/
Innova3on
Science
Technology
Engineering
Arts
Mathema3cs
Learners
Teachers
Arts + STEM
High School
Knowledge
Motivation
Organization
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

59
Assessment of Performance Influences
Table 5 summarizes the KMO influences detailed in Tables 2 to 4, in Chapter 2 —
Literature Review. Notice the various possible KMO STEAM-based influences are number listed
in the left column, while the corresponding proposed assessments are detailed in the right
column. The next three sections below provide some additional details on the specific
assessments.
Knowledge Assessment
Based on some scholarly literature, a number of declarative factual influences and
conceptual influences resulted (see Table 5). Following some analysis of possible data gathering
techniques and strategies, the approach of choice was the use of a combination of teacher focus
group interviews along with a small sample of classroom observations aided by some teacher
documentation. This approach facilitated the assessment of teachers’ level of factual and
conceptual proficiency in the current STEM curriculum. The procedural influences assessed via
a combination of teachers’ focus group interviews along with a sample of classroom
observations. These assessments facilitated understanding and use of methodologies and ways to
integrate (bridge) the arts and STEM and science overlap with math, technology, and
engineering. The three metacognitive influences detailed in Table 2 were assessed using a
combination of teachers’ focus group and a small sample of classroom observations. The idea
was to evaluate the effectiveness of introspection, artistic and aesthetic inquiry, the creative
process, and the use of art as way of knowing.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

60
Table 5
KMO Influences and Assessments
Assumed Knowledge Influences
How it was
assessed
Declarative
Factual
1. Teachers will know and understand what is STEAM education.
2. Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the Arts with
the curriculum’s STEM subjects via problem-solving applications,
crafts and designs.
3. Arts teachers will know and understand what are aesthetic inquiry
and design thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-
based engineering topics.
4. Teachers will know and understand varied forms of media, visual,
performing and theater arts for lesson planning and projects.
5. Teachers will know and understand what the integration of music,
and music with technology mean and be able to use them in their
lesson planning.
Conceptual
1. Teachers will be able to understand the concept of integrating the
arts with STEM with lesson plans and projects.
2. Science and art teachers will be able to understand the concept that
science can learn from performing arts.
3. Teachers will be able to understand the concept of artistic inquiry.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.
Procedural
1. Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies
that enable collaboration among the STEAM subjects.
2. Teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate
infusing technology and creative thinking through art and design.
3. Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies
that facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and
measures, and design thinking into STEAM subjects.
4. Teachers will know the procedures and practices that allow for “down
time” and reflection.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

61
Table 5, continued
Assumed Knowledge Influences
How it was
assessed
Metacognitive
1. Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that
facilitate social and emotional functioning.
2. Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that
facilitate ways of visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and
learning via the arts.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.
Assumed Motivation Influences
How it was
assessed
Attribution Theory
Increased academic engagement, learning construction and gains, via
one-on-one conversations and communication along with ‘building
third spaces’ to allow new knowledge to grow in STEAM classrooms.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.
Goal Orientation
Priority will be given to mathematics, language arts and additional
emphasis on updated science, arts, technical education and social
studies.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.
Assumed Organizational Influences
How it was
assessed
Cultural Model Influence 1:
The organization will facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM
curriculum.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
The organization will facilitate collaboration between the Arts and
STEM teachers.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
The organization will facilitate technology integration throughout the
school.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
The organization will facilitate collaborative work settings.
Teachers’ focus
group along with
classroom
observations.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

62
Motivation Assessment
A review of current scholarly literature revealed two specific motivation influences (see
Table 5) that include attribution theory via one-on-one conversations and communication along
with ‘building third spaces’ to allow new knowledge to grow in STEAM classrooms. The other
influence is goal orientation where priority was given to mathematics, language arts and
additional emphasis on updated science, arts, technical education and social studies. The
influences were assessed with the aid of a combination of teacher focus groups and a sample of
classroom observations.
Organization/Culture/Context Assessment
The prevailing scholarly literature revealed two STEAM-based cultural model influences
that was assessed (Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2001). Further examination of Table 5
illustrates the two cultural model influences include focus on integrating the Arts with STEM
and collaboration between teachers.
The two cultural settings are technology as a core feature of the STEAM curriculum and
collaborative work settings designed to steadily improve teaching and learning. Both the cultural
model and settings influences at XDS was assessed with the aid of teacher focus groups along
with sample classroom observations.
The following section addresses the participating stakeholders and sampling for this
study.
Participating Stakeholders and Sampling
Wheeler and Sillanpa’a (1998) stipulated that a stakeholder is any individual or entity
who can be affected by an organization or who may in turn bring influence to bear. As
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

63
recommended by Childress, Elmore, and Grossman (2006), schools like businesses are
accountable to primary stakeholders such as learners, teachers, administration and parents.
Based on the purpose, curriculum and research questions the stakeholder of interest in
this case study was the school’s teachers responsible for the STEAM curriculum and education.
Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Maxwell (2013) addressed the topic of sampling and explained that specific decisions on
where to conduct your research and whom to include in it, is what is traditionally referred to as
sampling. Maxwell noted that particularly in qualitative research the typical way of selecting
settings and individuals is called ‘purposeful selection’ or ‘purposive sampling.’ Samkian and
Slayton (2016) added that purposeful sampling approaches focus on defining participants’
criteria including leadership, staff, gender and age group.
The sampling strategy and rationale are critical to this study since they inform the data
collected. The data collected according to Merriam and Tisdell (2009) enable ‘rich thick’
descriptions that are essential with qualitative research. Maxwell (2013) added that ‘rich’ data
are detailed and varied enough that they provide a full revealing picture of what is going on.
Merriam and Tisdell claimed that interviews and observations are two data sources and
collection strategies designed to gather data in qualitative research. Merriam and Tisdell noted
that the choice of strategy should fit the sampling approach (convenient location sampling like
workplace), while balancing convenience sampling with feasibility (geographic location is
prohibitive) and avoiding biases. The researcher should be attentive to the eventual sample
response rate or the number of responses divided by the sample size (Samkian & Slayton, 2016).
If the response is small the resulting data could be biased — a response rate of 25% is
reasonable, while a response rate of 51% is good.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

64
Based on the above-suggested guidance the sampling strategy employed a simple random cluster
sampling technique (Fink, 2013), with three, 4-member focus groups of teachers. The sample
was convenient and purposeful convenience based on setting (local school) and teaching groups
rather than individual teachers. The groups were randomly assigned and the local school choice
also enhanced administrative convenience.
The following sections provided details on the participants’ recruitment and data
collection strategies.
Recruitment
Glesne (2011) suggested that ‘ethical consideration’ should accompany plans, thoughts
and discussions about each aspect of qualitative research. This notion served as a guide for the
recruitment process. After obtaining permission from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of
the University of Southern California ensuring that research follows prescribed ethical
guidelines, the fieldwork portion of this qualitative study began with the recruitment of the
aforementioned stakeholders — teachers (IRB # UP-17-00069).
The process began following a short announcement to the stakeholders by the XDS’s
vice-principal, of the upcoming study and the researcher’s occasional presence in the building.
Teachers were informed in one of teachers’ staff meetings and participating teachers received a
copy of the teachers’ recruitment letter (see Appendix B for the teachers’ letter). The recruitment
letter detailed the study’s design for the focus interviews with the teachers. The letter also
stressed participation is voluntary and any identifiable information obtained in connection with
this study will remain strictly confidential.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

65
Data Collection
Conveying an understanding of the case, an intense holistic description and analysis of a
single bounded unit, is the paramount consideration in analyzing the data derived from
interviews, focus groups, surveys, field observations and document/artifacts (Merriam & Tisdell,
2009). This section details data collection with particular foci on the focus group, observation
and documents/artifacts.
Focus Groups of Teachers
A small sample of 12 teachers was used in this qualitative study that allowed for in-depth
analysis via interviewing (DI) techniques as detailed by Patton (1987). DI allows for probes
beneath the surface, soliciting detail and providing a holistic understanding of the integration of
Art with STEM (STEAM). This inductive qualitative study relied on input from the focus groups
of participants (teachers) in conjunction with classroom observations and documents/artifacts
(Creswell, 2014; McEwan & McEwan, 2003).
An interview with a small group of people with similar backgrounds on a specific topic is
considered a focus group (Patton, 2002). Patton claimed that focus group interviews aim is to
capture the perspectives of the participants and increase confidence in whatever patterns emerge.
Focus group interviews are structured to foster talk among the participants about the subject of
interest, and are particularly useful when the topic to explore is general (Bogdan & Biklen,
2007). Bogdan and Biklen claimed these group members can stimulate each other to articulate
their views, or even realize what their own views are. Finally, Bogdan and Biklen argued that
focus groups stimulate talk so that the researcher can learn their range of views. Krueger and
Casey (2009) added that focus groups’ intent is not to infer but understand, not to generalize but
to determine the range and provide insights about how people in the groups perceive a situation.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

66
Krueger and Casey pointed out that focus groups are characterized by homogeneity (have
something in common including occupation, age, etc.), but with sufficient variation among
participants to allow for contrasting opinions.
In summary, based on this study’s conceptual framework (see Figure 1) and the two
research questions, the use of focus groups of teachers garnered from simple random cluster
sampling, is apropos. Maxwell (2013) argued that sampling selection decisions should also take
into account the feasibility of access and data collection, your research relationship with study
participants and gatekeepers, along with validity and ethics consideration. Other specifics on the
focus group interview strategy and rationale include:
1. Three, 4-member focus groups of teachers based on purposeful and convenience
simple random cluster sampling was appropriate.
2. Currently, there are 33 fine Arts and STEM teachers’ at XDS. The sample of 12
teachers corresponds to a response rate of 36%, which is above the 25% acceptable
response rate.
3. Informed consent was acquired from all participants.
4. This focus group interview questions are detailed in Appendix C.
5. The researcher requested participation by potential teachers by a combination of
email and personal contacts.
6. The focus groups’ interviews were conducted based on a personal approach by this
study’s researcher in a reserved classroom or conference room to ensure privacy,
minimal distractions and a pleasant ambience.
The next section details specifics on this study’s proposed classroom observation.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

67
Classroom Observation of Teachers
Observations are used not only to describe settings, behavior and events, but more
importantly combined with interviews can address the same issues and research questions from
different perspectives and enhance triangulation of data for purposes of credibility or internal
validity and trustworthiness (Maxwell, 2013). Maxwell noted that observations generate a
description of someone’s perspective that is inherently a matter of inference from a person’s
behavior. Maxwell added that observations could also be used to enable the researched to draw
inferences about a perspective one could not obtain by relying on interviews, generate a
description of someone’s perspectives and goals of actors and provide a description of what the
participants said.
Based on this study’s conceptual framework (see Figure 1) and research questions, the
classroom observation strategy and rationale are as follows:
1. Observation of teachers in two senior classes at the XDS high school are important to
this case study’s research data collection.
2. One senior Arts and one STEM class observation sessions were conducted after focus
group interviews of teacher. Based on the researcher prior knowledge as a classroom
teacher, the two classroom observations was guided by elements that include
collaboration between students, collaboration between teachers, the Arts and STEM
integration and communication modes, as detailed in the observation protocol shown
in Appendix D.
3. This strategy enhanced triangulation of data for purposes of credibility and
trustworthiness.
The following section provides details on this study’s data analysis.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

68
Data Analysis
Data analysis is the process of systematically searching and arranging focus group, filed
notes and observations and other material, to come up with findings (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
For this study, data analysis was facilitated with the aid of focus groups, observations and
documents detailed in the previous three sections. For focus groups and observations, data
analysis began during data collection. Analytic memos after each focus group and each
observation were completed within 48 hours. I documented my thoughts, concerns, and initial
conclusions about the data in relation to my conceptual framework and research questions. Once
I left the field, focus groups’ interviews were transcribed and coded. In the first phase of
analysis, I used open coding, looking for empirical codes and applying a priori codes from the
conceptual framework. A second phase of analysis was conducted where empirical and a priori
codes were aggregated into analytic/axial codes. In the third phase of data analysis I identified
pattern codes and themes that emerge in relation to the KMO conceptual framework and study
questions. I analyzed artifacts for evidence consistent with the concepts in the conceptual
framework.
The next section adds specifics on the credibility and trustworthiness of this study.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Fieldwork is the way most qualitative researchers collect data (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
Bogdan and Biklen added that these researchers go to where the people they will study are, and
spend time with them in their territory. Qualitative researchers could work alone in the field as a
one-person research machine, that defines the problem, does the sampling, designs the
instrument, collects, analyzes, interprets the information and writes it up (Miles, Huberman, &
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

69
Saldaña, 2014). Miles et al. added that qualitative researchers should be cognizant of analytic
bias that can weaken or even invalidate findings.
Credibility or internal validity, which deals with how the research findings match or are
congruent with reality, could be also threatened by researcher bias or subjectivity of the
researcher, and reactivity or the influence of the researcher on the setting or individual studied
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2009). According to Maxwell (2013) credibility or internal validity also
depends on the relationship of your conclusions to reality, but cautioned that no method can
completely assure that you have captured it.
Credibility and trustworthiness issues was enhanced by a methodology that primarily
employs rigor, the interaction between researcher and respondents and triangulation combined
with rich thick data description. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2009) triangulation uses
different sources of data for comparing and crosschecking. Rich data are detailed and varied
enough that they provide a rich thick description and a full revealing picture of what is going on
(Maxwell, 2013). For this study the rigor derived from this researcher’s presence, triangulation
and the acquisition of rich data was facilitated via focus groups of the teachers, the observation
of two classes and documents and artifacts from the XDS school.
In order to facilitate the fieldwork and to further enhance trustworthiness and credibility,
the essential processes included:
• Maintaining trust was established by making it clear the information obtained will be
confidential and findings will not be used to demean or otherwise hurt or cause no
harm, and the researcher will keep any promises made (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

70
• It was stressed that there are no right or wrong answers, just interested in
understanding perspectives. The participants were told they did not have to agree
(Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
• It was stressed that any subsequent findings will not be used to demean or otherwise
hurt (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
• It was communicated that any information obtained will remain anonymous with use
of code or fake or pseudonyms (Merriam & Tisdell, 2009).
• Feelings were recorded via observer’s comment, as a method of controlling bias,
while helping to establish rapport, and help generate understandings (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2009).
• Data was analyzed simultaneously with the data collection to help establish data
saturation, maintain focus and avoid being overwhelmed (Merriam & Tisdell, 2009).
• Making meaning and finding themes consistent with the data, to answer research
questions (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
• Be mindful and check for researcher effects. The effects of this researcher on the case
and vice versa (Miles et al., 2014).
• To avoid bias, be cognizant to avoid the selection of data that fits this researcher’s
existing theory, goals or preconceptions and data the ‘stands out’ (Maxwell, 2013).
• Be mindful and check for analytic bias that can weaken or even invalidate findings
(Miles et al., 2014).
• To enhance transparency, this researcher documented reflections to provide a
window on how the information is interpreted (Samkian & Slayton, 2016).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

71
• When possible, conduct some informal interviews with teachers, and search for and
analyze discrepant or negative data (Maxwell, 2013).
The following section examines the validity and reliability issues specific to this study.
Validity and Reliability
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2009) the validity and reliability concerns can be
addressed through attention to the way data is collected, analyzed and interpreted. Merriam and
Tisdell added that the reliability and validity concerns could also be addressed with the way in
which the results or findings are presented. Merriam and Tisdell argued the connection between
validity and reliability rests on the assumption that a study more valid if repeated replication of
the entire study produces the same results. The reliability of a study is the extent to which the
research findings are consistent with the data collected according to Merriam and Tisdell.
For this qualitative research study the validity and reliability, which could also be
referred to as trustworthiness, was addressed with the aid of relentless attention to data
collection, analysis and interpretation, and conducting this investigation in an ethical manner —
see Ethics section below.
Ethics
Scholarly literature provides extensive details on research ethics (Glesne, 2011; Merriam
& Tisdell, 2009; Patton, 2002; Rubin & Rubin, 2012). According to Glesne (2011) ethics is not a
matter of isolated choices in crucial situations or something that you can forget once you satisfy
the demands of university ethics committees and other gatekeepers. Glesne noted that ‘ethical
consideration’ should accompany plans, thoughts and discussions about each aspect of
qualitative research. Glesne added that ethical dilemmas concern what to do with dangerous
information and to what extent you protect the confidentiality of research participants (e.g.,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

72
should you report illegal behavior). It is appropriate the researcher do absolutely nothing with
illegal information and continue to maintain both rapport and researcher neutrality, so as not to
jeopardize the data obtained via the fieldwork (Patton, 2002).
Echoing similar sentiments, Rubin and Rubin (2012) recommended that the researcher
have an absolute responsibility and obligation to behave ethically with conversational partners
and should report fully, honestly and as fairly as possible. Rubin and Rubin added that deceit is
not only ethically wrong, but it implies a lack of respect, and reiterated the researcher should
remind the interviewees if they tell you something ‘illegal or harmful’, you might not be able to
keep it confidential. Item of note: if illegal behavior is observed the researcher has to decide if
the information may be more ‘useful to society’ versus reporting the activity to authorities and
ruining the rest of the research (Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
Merriam and Tisdell (2009) tied ethics together with credibility or internal validity or
trustworthiness with the guidance that ensuring validity or trustworthiness and reliability involve
conducting the investigation in an ‘ethical’ manner. Merriam and Tisdell added that to a large
extent the credibility or internal validity and reliability of a study depends upon the ethics of the
researcher. Guided by these principles the following ethical ‘imperatives’ informed this case
study.
1. Permission was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University
of Southern California to ensure that research follows prescribed ethical guidelines
(Rubin & Rubin, 2012). One of the essentials of this study is that it is aligns with the
rules and guidelines regarding the protection of the rights and welfare of the
participants in this study.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

73
2. Informed consent was acquired from all participants. To contribute to the
empowering of the research participants, Glesne recommended that ‘informed
consent’ be obtained. Rubin and Rubin stipulated that informed consent ensures that
all participants understand the nature of the research, be aware of the risks and are not
forced overtly or covertly to participate. Informed consent was acquired from all
participants and ensured that they are made aware of the following:
a. Participation is voluntary.
b. Any aspects of the research that might affect their well-being.
c. That they may freely choose to stop participation at any point in the study.
3. The informed consent was designed to asssure that the participants understand the
nature of the research, made aware of the risks, and are not overtly or covertly forced
to participate (Rubin & Rubin, 2012).
4. All participants had the ‘right to privacy’ and they had the right to expect that giving
their permission to be observed, interviewed and recorded, their confidences was
protected and their anonymity was preserved (Glesne, 2011).
5. This study was designed to ‘do no harm’, reveal no embarrassing information and
was void of any exploitation or deception of all participants as recommended by
Rubin and Rubin (2012). Exploitation involves questions of power and control of
participants and deception and could take the form of either omission or commission
(Glesne, 2011).
6. Participants: Three, 4-member focus groups of teachers (12 teachers) were engaged
based upon the use of purposeful and convenience sampling techniques, with
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

74
attention to the reduction of bias (Fink, 2013). Besides their discipline (the Arts or
STEM), all the volunteer participants were also selected based on their availability.
7. While being cognizant of bias, and in an effort to improve the credibility or internal
validity of this study and response rate of respondents, an incentive-based ($10 gift
certificates) non-coercive recruitment strategy was employed (IRB # UP-17-00069).
The next section provides details on this study’s limitations and delimitations.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study’s design with focus on a sample population of teachers and two research
questions employed triangulation to enhance the collection of rich data. The triangulation and
acquisition of rich data was addressed with the aid of focus groups of the teachers, observation of
two classes and documents and artifacts. Patton (2002) cautioned that qualitative interviewing
begins with an underlying assumption that perspective of the participants is meaningful,
knowable and able to be made explicit. There are some inherent limitations that come with these
data sources (Creswell, 2014). The limitations to the data sources are detailed in Table 6.
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2009) observations are highly subjective and
therefore the unreliable nature of human perception — human perception is highly selective.
Notice from Table 6, the acquisition of rich data is dependent on the researcher’s skills, presence
and diligence.
The next section looks at this study’s draft protocols.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

75
Table 6
Data Collection Limitations
Data Collection
Types Limitations of the Type
Focus Groups • Provides indirect information filtered through the views of the
participants.
• Researcher’s presence may bias response.
• Not all participants are equally articulate and perceptive.
• Provides information in a designated place rather than the natural field
setting.
Observations • Researcher may be seen as intrusive.
• Researcher may not have good attending and observation skills.
Documents • May be protected information unavailable to public or private access.
• Materials may be incomplete.
• May require the researcher to search out the information in hard-to-
find places.

Draft Protocols
This section focuses on the draft protocols including the consent information sheet and
the recruitment letter for teachers. Recruiting strategies for researchers, indicating researchers’
need to focus on sample participants’ recruiting strategy because of the concomitant effects on
the resulting respondents’ pool size or sample response rate of the study (Samkian & Slayton,
2016).
Informed decisions were made with respect to sample administration, including the
personal approach, request participation by potential respondents following signed informed
consent.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

76
• Consent Information Sheet. All participants received a consent information sheet (see
Appendix A).
• Recruitment Letter for Teachers: All participants received a recruitment letter (see
Appendix B).
• Teachers Focus Group Questions: Teachers participated in 4-member focus groups. A
total of 30 questions make up the teachers’ questions (see Appendix C).
The next chapter looks at the field data collected and the subsequent findings associated
with this evaluation study.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

77
CHAPTER 4
DATA AND FINDINGS
Purpose of the Study
The specific purpose of this evaluation case study was to understand the knowledge,
motivation and organizational (KMO) implications of integrating the Arts within a Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum. An organizational model that applies a
KMO gap analysis conceptual framework (Figure 1) advanced by Clark and Estes (2008), served
to inform this study. The conceptual framework used in this evaluation study examined potential
KMO influences as needs to achieve the organizational goal and helped to frame questions as
they related to the framework (Clark & Estes, 2008; Samkian, 2016b). The research questions
aligned with the purpose of this case study were as follows:
1. What are the perceived KMO elements related to integrating the Arts in a STEM
based curriculum, from the high school teachers’ perspective at XDS high school?
2. What are the recommendations for STEAM organizational practice in the areas of
KMO resources?
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2009) the paramount consideration in understanding a
case supported by holistic description and analysis, is analyzing the data derived from
interviews, focus groups, surveys, field observations and document/artifacts. The data analysis is
making meaning and finding themes consistent with the data to answer research questions
(Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). Bogdan and Biklen noted it is a process of systematically searching
and arranging focus group, field notes, observations and other material, to come up with
findings. Based on this study’s conceptual framework (see Figure 1) and the two research
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

78
questions, the use of the focus groups of teachers garnered from simple random cluster sampling,
was essential (Kroger & Casey, 2009; Maxwell, 2013).
For this qualitative evaluation study, the data collection effort undertaken to develop
understandings of the two research questions included three teacher focus group interviews (four
members per focus group), two classroom observations, a sample of artifacts (See Appendices F
and J) and a few school-based documents. All interviews were digitally recorded with the aid of
an iPhone and the files securely and professionally transcribed using the services of REV.COM,
an online transcription service. All transcripts were then coded based on KMO influences.
Participating Stakeholders
As noted by Wheeler and Sillanpa’a (1998) typical primary stakeholder groups for
schools are its learners, teachers, principals and parents. The participants or stakeholders of
interest in this study were a convenience sample of 12 participants out of a total population of 33
of XDS’s teachers who are directly responsible for providing the school’s education, based on a
recommended ‘STEAM’ curriculum.
The group of participating teachers consisted of six females and six males whose
classroom teaching experiences ranged from six to 22 years. The focus group was comprised of
five White, three Black, two Asian and two Hispanic teachers. To ensure confidentiality, as
stipulated by the IRB (# UP-17-00069), pseudonyms were assigned to the teachers participating
in this study. The Arts was represented by three teachers (Fay, Beth and Ben) while the nine
STEM teachers consisted of three science teachers (Sue, Fran, Jim and Jay), two math teachers
(Gwen and John) and three technology teachers (Mary, Stan and Rob). The teachers were
responsible for grades nine thru 12.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

79
The next section provides details on the findings aligned with the research questions and
resulted from the collection and analysis of data gathered via focus group interviews, classroom
observations and artifacts during the field study.
Findings
This study’s findings are organized around Knowledge, Motivation and Organization
based categories that focused on the two research questions and correlates with the KMO gap
analysis conceptual framework (Clark & Estes, 2008). The specific KMO based categories for
both questions are:
• Knowledge Influences
o Declarative — Factual and Conceptual
o Procedural
o Metacognitive
• Motivation Influences
o Attribution Theory
o Goal Orientation
• Organizational Influences
o Cultural Model
o Cultural Settings
Clark and Estes (2008) recommend three critical factors (KMO) that must be examined in
a gap analysis process that include people’s knowledge and skills (K), their motivation to achieve
the goal (M) and organizational barriers — equipment, work processes (O). Clark and Estes
(2008) claimed that gaps are assessed between desired goals and actual performance.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

80
To the extent that there is a misalignment between the teachers’ responses or perspectives
and the scholarly claims or constructs, for the purposes of this qualitative study, the
misalignment (percent misalignment) would be considered a gap. Understandings that emerged
from the transcribed interview data and coded based on the KMO categories for these two
research questions, are detailed below.
Knowledge Influences
Clark and Estes (2008) defined knowledge as knowing how, why, when and where to do
something. According to Krathwohl (2002), there are four knowledge dimensions or types that
include declarative (factual and conceptual), procedural and metacognitive.
Declarative — factual. Declarative knowledge consists of factual and conceptual
knowledge that could be classified as the knowledge of ‘what’ (Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011).
According to Seli (2015) factual knowledge is about discrete and isolated content, while
conceptual knowledge is about complex things working together or organized forms of
knowledge. Specifically, teachers were interviewed to ascertain their declarative knowledge
(what) as it relates to their ability to know and understand the following:
Teachers will know and understand what is STEAM education. Teachers were
interviewed regarding their factual knowledge as it relates to the definition of STEAM education.
Clemson University (2017), Ghanbari (2015), Guyotte et al. (2014), and Tillman et al. (2015)
advised that STEAM education stresses the collaboration and integration or connections between
disciplines should include multiple content areas, synthesis across disciplines, content areas,
connected ideas, multiple methods and task specific approaches.
Given this construct, 2 of the twelve teachers’ responses were in concert or aligned with
the suggested STEAM definition. Gwen, a STEM teacher, offered:
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

81
The same definition as Mary [Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math], but it
means now we trying the students to make connections between those. Not just math
problems or just chemistry problem but now you have like both…with some examples,
but now you’re integrating mathematics. You have to see application in the end.
Of the 10 teachers whose perspectives were not aligned with the suggested STEAM definition,
Fay, an Arts teacher said, “Well, it’s just the integration of art into STEM which was, what?
Science, technology, engineering, and math? So now you add art in there and you get STEAM.”
Stan, also a STEM participant added:
For me it is the lack of abilities that the engineers had in basics of art. The different areas
of art, not only art by itself but they were lacking psychology, they were lacking other
kind of skills as technical professionals didn’t have.
Other responses ranged from John’s, a STEM teacher, who said, “To evaporate something” to
Beth’s who noted, “Oh it’s the integration of technology into the schools.”
Given that two teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the suggested definition, 10 out
of the 12 teachers’ responses were misaligned and translate to a gap of 83%. The ratio of
teachers with perspectives that were aligned to the total respondents and the gap (percentage) are
listed in Table 7.
Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s
STEM subjects via problem solving applications, crafts and designs. The Arts integration with
STEM (STEAM) stresses making connections that enhance creative thinking, problem solving,
innovation, scientific ability and enable an experience rich in doing — crafts and designs (Clark
& Estes, 2008; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Guyotte et al., 2014).

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

82
Table 7
Focus Group Results for Knowledge Influence Gaps

Knowledge Influences
Aligned
Responses/
Total
Respondents
Gap or
Misaligned
Percentage
(%)
F* Teachers will know and understand what is STEAM education. 2/12 83
F
Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the Arts with the
curriculum’s STEM subjects via problem solving applications, crafts and
designs.
0/12 100
F
Arts teachers will know and understand what are aesthetic inquiry and
design thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-based
engineering topics
3/3 0
F
Teachers will know and understand varied forms of media, visual,
performing and theater arts for lesson planning and projects.
12/12 0
F
Teachers will know and understand what the integration of music, and music
with technology mean and be able to use them in their lesson planning.
12/12 0
C
Teachers will be able to understand the concept of integrating the arts and
STEM with lesson plans and projects.
12/12 0
C
Science and art teachers will be able to understand the concept that science
can learn from performing arts.
2/12 83
C Teachers will be able to understand the concept of artistic inquiry. 1/12 92
P
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies
enabling collaboration among the STEAM subjects.
1/12 92
P
Teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing
technology and creative thinking through art and design.
4/12 67
P
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that
facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and measures, and
design thinking into STEAM subjects.
0/12 100
P
Teachers will know the procedures and practices that allow for “down time”
and reflection.
2/12 83
M
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that
facilitate social and emotional functioning.
1/12 92
M
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that
facilitate ways of visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and
learning via the arts.
1/12 92
* Indicate knowledge type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (F) Factual, (C) Conceptual, (P)
Procedural; (M) Metacognitive.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

83
Informed by this construct, the teachers shared perspectives indicated that none of the 12
of the teachers were familiar with Arts integration with STEM. As reflected in John’s, a STEM
teacher, comments:
Okay if we are talking about the integration of art into math, lets be honest I’ve never
actually tried it . . . Honestly I’m like the worst artist in the world . . . I never took an
artist class in my life I was always taught in math, science . . . Honestly I don’t believe
there’s a connection between the two in that it can be helpful, help some how . . . From
my own experience our students, with no background in arts, the worst you can think of
in arts, like can’t draw, can’t play music. I’ve always been number one when it comes to
math, physical science, and engineering.
The disconnect with Art and STEM integration was also indicated by Sue, a STEM teacher, who
responded with the comment:
For me [how you are integrating the arts into your curriculum?] . . . to remember the
periodic table make a song. They learn the complete periodic table with the singing. I
told them just make a song or kind of rap song kind of thing. They do it and the really
learn all the elements. They completely go from the first to 118 in a row.
Reflecting on a clear understanding of Art and STEM integration, Ben an Arts teacher, indicated:
It depends on . . . what you mean by integration? I don’t know if that’s curriculum-
focused integration or if that’s career focused integration. A lot of times it does seem like
arts is included to just not get left out . . . but it’s the same way that we treat lunch in
America is the same way we treat the arts. It’s something just to say you did it. Just to say
that you offered it. It’s not about the nutrition of it. It’s just to say you did it. When we
get to a space where we are truly interdisciplinary in our approach to overall academics
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

84
and education, the idea was in the 70s, kids had like playing an instrument or being a
musician or taking certain things were part of your rearing as a child. You learn how to
do these things as part of growing up. It was whether or not you learned those skills. It
was taken serious, a lot more serious.
Fran, a STEM teacher, echoed some of Ben’s sentiments and offered:
I don’t feel like other subjects have to incorporate music, but music has to incorporate the
other subjects. For whatever reasons, it seems as if music is the extra thing, and
everything else is the real subject. This is just to appease people like I said earlier. To
appease people we throw arts in there just so it doesn’t look like we’re leaving them on
the side. That was incorporating math into art. It was like the opposite. I think we can do
a lot more of that, like if we were to bring teachers in and do some observations and say,
“Hey, let’s plan together.”
For instance, Gwen a STEM teacher, added a time-based perspective and argued:
I think that [state required exams] is the problem with introducing something like that
[Arts with STEM integration]. What’s more important? Like I need to be told where my
focus should be, and normally the focus that I’m told that it should be on passing the
exam. I need to spend more time towards that as opposed to making choices to integrate
STEAM into my classroom.
Jay, another STEM teacher, voiced similar time constraint concerns as Gwen, with the sentiment:
I found out the same thing with that [state required exams] in a way in science, we are
facing the same problems. We won’t be able to cover those topics that ordinary we
should have covered if we’re just on the target and moving on with it. But it takes part of
the class time to get all those things in, so same thing.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

85
None of the 12 teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the suggested integration
approach. Thus all of the 12 teachers’ perspectives nonalignment translates to a gap of 100%
(see Table 7).
Arts teachers will know and understand what are aesthetic inquiry and design thinking
via artistic/creative processes and problem-based engineering topics. The three Arts teachers
shared their perspectives as it relates to aesthetic inquiry and design thinking via the creative
process and problem-based engineering. Bequette and Bequette (2012) along with Clark and
Estes (2008) argued that works of art can help with understanding more about the
artistic/creative process, design thinking, and the value of aesthetic inquiry.
All the Arts teachers’ responses indicated they were aware of, and had some
understanding of aesthetic inquiry and design thinking. In that regard Fay, an Arts teacher,
stated:
I mean, I can say like the way I integrated in the art program with math, science, and
technology is I use all those things in the classroom. I think I could be more purposeful in
how I integrated, but we do use technology and we do talk a little bit about measurements
and ratios and angles, and things like that, and how chemicals react with different things
that we’re doing. Yeah, balance, symmetry, symmetrical, asymmetrical, all those. Then it
[a section of lesson plans] also talks about, so with the critical thinking, I think that’s a
big part of the lesson plan because we use Maslow’s Hierarchy of thinking.
Ben, an Arts teacher, elaborated on the artistic inquiry, design thinking and problem-based
engineering aspects and expressed:
The engineering aspect, the construction of chords is musical and mathematic. The
identification of information is physics based. Psychomotor skills . . . . We can’t do
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

86
anything in a music class without being related to science and math. It’s impossible. So
for any music teacher there’s no way to approach it by just a quote unquote just musical
standpoint because it is math. You can’t take the mathematics from rhythm. That’s just
part of it. How you teach rhythm. That’s how you approach it. When you teach intonation
for students who are understanding pitch differentials, they need to be able identify A is
440 seconds vibrations per second. What does that mean and how does that compare to
. . . You’re a little sharp, so you’re 450. You’re really sharp, you’re at 475.
All three of the Arts teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the suggested integration
approach. The three Arts teachers’ perspectives were aligned and translate to a gap of 0% (see
Table 7).
Teachers will know and understand varied forms of media, visual, performing and
theater arts for lesson planning and projects. The teachers shared their perspectives as it relates
to the varied forms of media, visual, performing and theater arts for lesson planning and projects.
The visual and performing arts have the ability to enhance learning in other subjects and
contribute to STEM learning (Clark & Estes, 2008; Ghanbari, 2015; Peppler, 2010; Inoa et al.,
2014).
Guided by this construct and based on the interview responses, all of the teachers
appreciated the varied forms of media and particularly visual and performing arts in lesson
planning and projects. Gwen, a STEM teacher offered:
So there are technologies that assist with the visual representations. He [John] is bringing
up a workshop that I gave where we used Kahoot. It’s just an online resource for students
to be quizzed on what they’ve learned. I think it would be a great way to assess the
students’ findings. If they’re going to be exploring something and they need to present
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

87
their findings in some creative way, I think it stretches their thinking about what they’re
learning, right? If in a math class they are applying fractions again, if they perform
something with it, that would be the highest level of thinking that I could think of, right?
I think at this point in an algebra class, for example, because it is very foundational,
there’s just not enough time to do something like that.
Arts teacher, Fay, added a similar supportive perspective and commented:
I use YouTube to demonstrate. Instead of me having to do the demonstration, I go to a
YouTube video. When we were doing graffiti, I showed several YouTube videos
showing how to do graffiti and then we went and after I showed the video, okay now,
let’s try it out. I think videos are great because they can open up my lesson. They can
visually show somebody, show my students someone doing what we’re about to do, and
things like that.
Ben, an Arts teacher, was in complete agreement with the other teachers and added:
Dance can really help you I think, in the different, with physics and angles, things like
that. We don’t have those two here, but that doesn’t mean that, that the science and math
teachers themselves couldn’t step outside the box and do something that relates to it,
because dance in particular really deals with a lot of physics and math.
All of the 12 teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the scholarly suggestion as it
relates to the varied forms of media, visual, performing and theater arts for lesson planning and
projects. Thus all of the 12 teachers’ responses alignment translates to a gap of 0% (see Table 7).
Teachers will know and understand what the integration of music, and music with
technology mean and be able to use them in their lesson planning. During the focus group
interviews, teachers shared their perspectives in regards of their factual knowledge pertaining to
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

88
what the integration of music, and music with technology mean and be able to use them in their
lesson planning. According to Clark and Estes (2008), Gershon and Oded (2014), and Welch
(2012) there is an understanding that music is important in education for both its pedagogical
value and the ways in which music can aid understanding of musical and nonmusical ideas for
students.
Given this construct, all of the teachers’ responses indicated they appreciated what the
integration of music, and technology means and would be able to use them in their lesson
planning. In support of this perspective, Ben, an Arts teacher, also stressed the importance of
including music not as an elective but a required course with the following perspective:
So when you come in, every single year you have to take an English, a math, and a
science. Every year until you are out of high school. But you only have to take certain
music classes or art classes. You can substitute them for other stuff. It’s always looked at
as you are going to treat it like an elective. But put it as a part of STEM, then it has to
come out of elective space and become a part of full curriculum for the school. Integrate
it as a part of what is important for kids in general. Music is a part of the kids culture.
Science and arts, I mean, sorry. Science and engineering, mathematics, technology, that’s
a part of their culture as well. But they look at it in different scopes. So if the school
operates as a caveat to help send that message through, I think it would be the beginning
of a future for us to actually succeed . . . . Music has a big role to play in physics. In
physics especially in the area of sound and harmonics, everything. I talk about using
electricity to convert to sound, all those energy conversion and then how we can produce
sound from different types of energy.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

89
I was talking about resonance and different things. So they said “oh they do this in their
music class” and they showed me, they brought the paper and showed me how the
harmonics and the way you change the length and the harmonic changes.
Gwen expressed similar sentiments regarding how music can help with math (fraction), and
suggested:
You had a quarter note, you had a half note. It was very visual in the music that I’m
reading that this fits and makes a whole line, right? Like this is four out of four, like this
is complete, whereas if something was missing it was very obvious that something is not
making that complete. Then when they changed the four fours to four-fourths and et
cetera, et cetera, it got more complicated. The students that I see all struggle with
fractions. I wish that if somebody . . . . Because it’s tying in the different branches of
your brain, right? You’re playing, you’re reading, and you’re doing the math at the same
time, like getting that all collaborated together. If somebody would take them through
that process, they would have a much richer understanding of what a fraction is, how it
works within the whole.
Stan supported Gwen regarding the music and math connection, when he said, “Yeah, the music
part is perfect in that sense [I think the number sense never comes across to the students], yeah.”
Fay, was also in agreement with Stan and Gwen, add added:
Like with you, I have music playing all the time, mainly because it impacts their mood.
I’m in the visual arts so a lot of the visual artists are also connected with music in a lot of
different ways. Again, it’s kind of casual. Studies have shown that the creative arts
stimulate different parts of the brain that then impact other areas of thinking and how you
think and how you see things. From a simple thing they found out that writing in cursive,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

90
which they don’t teach anymore, stimulates different parts of the brain. It does something
when the students can see these curved lines and the way they move and things like that.
It’s a different brain stimulation.
Focusing on the technology perspective, Mary a STEM teacher, added:
I don’t see any way to avoid technology at this point in time. If they’re not checking their
homework on the Internet, they have their phones on their desks. It is just blatantly in
your face. You can’t even remove it from your life if you really wanted to at this point. I
use it as a supportive tool for organization for them. I use it as a way to deliver the
instruction.
All of the 12 teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the integration of music, and
technology mean and would be able to use them in their lesson planning. Therefore all of the 12
teachers’ responses translate to a gap of 0% (see Table 7).
Declarative — conceptual. During the course of the interviews, teachers were also asked
to share their perspectives regarding their conceptual knowledge or organized forms of
knowledge (Seli, 2015) as it relates to integrating the arts with STEM lesson plans and projects.
Teachers will be able to understand the concept of integrating the arts with STEM
lesson plans and projects. Clark and Estes (2008) and Ghanbari (2015) asserted that learning
through the arts promote rigor and creativity, enables an instructor to teach in multiple ways, has
the ability to transcend across different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond the
arts.
All of the 12 teachers’ perspectives reflect their understanding the concept of integrating
the Arts with STEM. Fay addressed implementing this form of integration informally and stated:
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

91
I mean, I can say like the way I integrated in the art program with math, science, and
technology is I use all those things in the classroom. I think unfortunately I’m doing it
more on an ad hoc casual as it comes up basis, versus planning it into my lesson.
Jay shared the same perspective on integration during science classes and said:
Yes. In science when we do some projects, we have some of those they describe what are
the makeup of this, what is the history of this person who invented this, right? Those
we’ll have to draw which is like real art drawing. Yeah, they even have to draw because
they have to show me the projection view and then the land, the base drawing and so on.
Again, in science also they made it compulsory that any test you are given.
Gwen, elaborated on the positive aspect of this type of integration and offered:
Yeah. In math class it’s also a requirement that we deal with real life applications using
the math that we’re dealing with, so when you apply the context, so the rest of the
questions do come up. It is a big push because of these PARCC [Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for college and Careers] exams though. Honestly, it became a
focus because of that. The students don’t do as well on questions where it’s context-rich
versus just a straightforward math question. So we are exposing them to these different
things to give them the background knowledge as well. Our students are mostly urban
minority, so there are certain questions that can come up on a test they don’t have the
right background information for. So we try to expose them to as much rich context as we
can, but it’s not done with the purpose to implement STEAM in the classroom.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

92
Mary, a STEM teacher, shared a perspective that involved pre-planning to allow for integration,
and commented:
And you would really need to figure out where every component goes before the school
year starts or you have kids because in the midst, like to say, “Okay how can I extend this
lesson? Or this chemistry lesson or whatever.” If you had everybody from every
department maybe the art teacher goes, “Oh I well I can do molecules demonstrations, or
we could build molecules, or I could tell you how to pull the atom apart, from there we
could make a webpage or whatever.” It would be all the different stakeholders and it
seems like its never enough time for that, or education doesn’t have in place timing where
I guess they would pay teachers to do that.
Mary also added another interesting perspective that involved text book publishers facilitating
Arts with STEM integration lesson planning, with the suggestion:
I guess that where he [Jim, A STEM teacher] says the publisher would help. If the
publisher came up with units where everybody would know their roles and you just
needed to know the stakeholder’s. Then you could be like, for a true collaboration, or
STEM a unit then you know we need the gym person for this, we need the art person for
that, so it’s kind of hard to map it out if its not in place. I think that’s the part that’s
lacking in actually seeing that happen.
John, a STEM teacher, shared a similar perspective about the publisher but with focus on the
curriculum writers, and offered:
One thing, even though its not a direct answer to that, shouldn’t that be, wouldn’t it be
easier if the curriculum writers got together and before writing the curriculum in math
they look at the curriculum of arts how can they without us teachers having to go through
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

93
all that. All I have to do is follow my curriculum, the curriculum writer, collaborating
with the curriculum writer of ours with the curriculum writer of science, wouldn’t that be
easier? At least its how we do it in Europe.
Jim added his perspective on Science and Art integration and noted:
Yes, so you do forensic, you do chemistry, you do art . . . . But you know like it’s a video
and I don’t have to collect like five teachers, or two or three teachers and have the teacher
in everything, and so again some things are great resources that we can use and the kids
can see the connection. Again the time is issue.
Fay, shared a similar perspective but focused on the arts and technology, and added:
Technology is well integrated in my classes. I would say, and history’s integrated, but I
would say from math and science maybe working with the science and math teachers to
be more precise and probably correct in the analogies between what we’re doing and
scientific theory or mathematical equations, things like that. I know they’re connected. I
mention, yes, angles or ratios, percentages, all of that’s part of when we’re creating.
Ben, provided a musical perspective regarding integration, and shared:
I guess I like to think . . . In an engineering class, if there was an engineering class, you
could talk about the construction of chords, and how chords . . . Just like you build a
structure or a building, the same way a chord is built, and the understanding of how this
one chord connects to another, and how that line creates an important, like a surface
beam, and how that . . . Like a beam holds as a foundation for a building. Well that’s the
same way a tonic and a dominant work in music, and understanding how their structure is
. . . Yeah, the foundation to build off of. Yeah. What is it that, if I can sit down with a
mathematics teacher, or a science teacher and say “this is what we’re doing. This is what
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

94
we offer. These are the things that we do” and they can say the same to me, and we can
sit down and actually pow-wow about that. I think that offers us an opportunity to really
start to dig into, not our caring, but how can the kids go into the 21st century more
equipped to be wholesome, holistically prepared for what the world offers.
Ben also went on to share his perspective on integration with particular focus on STEAM, with
the suggestion:
Well, as I said prior, one of the most important aspects of the STEAM approach, is that I
would love for arts to actually have a legitimate role and not be considered, almost like a
stepchild. I think that there’s such a divide in most schools between what the kids are
learning in their music and arts classes, and what they’re learning in the other courses.
It’s almost like it’s looked at as a break in the day. Like “oh, well this is music. This
should be a least . . .” Not to say school should be stressful, or any more worrisome than
any other class, but the rigor and the content knowledge that you have to have, and the
ability that you have to have for music is just detailed as any other core subject. So, in
order for us to get to a place where we can sit and have a legitimate understanding of
each other’s subject matter, we have to have a true appreciation for what the arts and
what other STEM subjects offer.
All of the 12 teachers’ perspectives indicated they appreciated the concept of integration
the Arts with STEM. All of the 12 teachers’ perspectives translate to a gap of 0% (see Table 7).
Science and art teachers will be able to understand the concept that science can learn
from performing arts. Art-based activities are a means for conceptualizing, understanding, and
expressing science and the developing skills of art make it ideal for the development of critical
thinking (Clark & Estes, 2008; Gershon & Oded, 2014; Milkova et al., 2013).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

95
The teachers shared their perspectives regarding understanding science can learn from the
performing arts. Given this construct, some teachers’ responses indicated they understand this
concept. Ben mentioned:
Yeah, the visual and performing arts. That aspect. I think that can be used within, in a
math class, or in an early math class, or lower high school students, being able to
understand fractions differently. They can use music as a way to help and incorporate
some things like that, or geometry for tenth graders, in terms of the way to be artistic, the
design, learning different ways to approach shapes. Being able to see all sides, rather than
draw all sides. They can see it from a visual perspective. It helps them identify. I’m
teaching music history. We talk about Renaissance man and what that means. And how
being the totality of the person. They understood it. And pulling away from the arts and
not allowing students to have those opportunities has hindered the growth and creativity
of student in other areas.
Fay, supported the critical thinking aspects of the concept and added:
Yeah, because some of the feedback I get from my students a lot when they have to do a
reflection after a project is, they realize that this requires a lot more patience than they’re
used to using. They’ll say, “Well, I had to be patient and I had to learn that there were
steps involved and that I wasn’t going to be able to just jump right to the end. I had to go
through all these steps.”
Two of the twelve teachers responses indicated they appreciated the concept that science
can learn from the performing arts. Therefore 10 out of the 12 teachers’ responses were
misaligned and translate to a gap of 83% (see Table 7).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

96
Teachers will be able to understand the concept of artistic inquiry. Artistic inquiry
enables an instructor to teach in multiple ways and also promote rigor and creativity, which in
turn creates more neural pathways and a higher probability of retaining knowledge (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Ghanbari, 2015).
The teachers shared their perspectives on understanding the concept of artistic inquiry.
With this construct only one of the 12 teachers’ understood this concept and provided a detailed
response. Fay reflected:
Artistic inquiry. There’s always a unit where they’re learning about how art was applied
in different things, how art is used in different fields, and how different individual artists
were important in that time period or in that art movement. Then they make something
that’s related to what they were studying. With engineering, I mean, you’re designing and
building, and so I think with all the studio projects that we do, they have to think of
something, design it on paper and then they have to try to execute that design in
something physical. I think that’s where some of them struggle because it’s these steps
that okay, now you have to think of something, design it, plan it out, what materials
you’re going to need, what equipment are you going to need, how long is it going to take
and how you’re going to apply all these things. Then once they do all that and they get to
the actual construction, then they have to see where some of their flaws were and where
they had to adjust. Yeah. I think it’s built in.
One of the twelve teachers responses indicated they appreciated the artistic inquiry
concept that that aligns with the suggested. Hence, 11 out of the 12 teachers’ responses that were
misaligned translate to a 92% gap (see Table 7).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

97
Procedural. Teachers were asked to share their perspectives regarding their procedural
knowledge. Seli (2015) noted that procedural knowledge pertains to how we do things, and
Krathwohl (2002) added, with support from Rueda (2011), that procedural knowledge refers to
knowing how to do things and methods of inquiry or very specific skills, techniques and
methodologies.
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies enabling
collaboration among the STEAM subjects. STEAM teachers collaborate and integrate STEM
lessons with arts-themed activities to create interdisciplinary STEAM education (Bequette &
Bequette, 2012; Blackley & Howell, 2015; Clark & Estes, 2008; Tillman et al., 2015; Wynn &
Harris, 2012).
Based on this construct, the only teacher who provided a procedural approach, Fran, a
STEM teacher, added some detail on a Google Docs approach that could enable collaboration,
and stated:
I think just in general if you want to collaborate with teachers, especially from other
subjects, you can also create now like Google Docs or a webpage. Something in which
multiple teachers can access if you want to build a curriculum that was interdisciplinary.
You could do that through technology.
The rest of the teachers responded with “I don’t know,” “I don’t think so” or “no.”
One of 12 the teachers knew procedures and methodologies that could enable STEAM
collaboration. The 11 of the 12 teachers’ perspectives that did not know translate to a 92% gap,
(see Table 7).
Teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing
technology and creative thinking through art and design. Arts methodologies offer a key
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

98
resource to conceptualize new practices beyond traditional text based literacy and encourages
innovation; in addition, engaging students in hands-on STEAM activities and technology to
promotes interest in STEAM (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Clark & Estes, 2008; Gershon &
Oded, 2014; Maeda, 2013).
Some teachers appreciated the procedures and methodologies that could facilitate
infusing technology and creative thinking through art and designs. Of the teachers that
appreciated this construct, Ben, an Arts teacher, provided a perspective that involved technology,
creative thinking, art and design, and commented:
The technology aspect is huge. Mathematics is big. Engineering is becoming more of a
thing. Because we have the audio engineering aspect which a lot of kids are really
interested in. Becoming audio engineers and that has become a huge thing. Almost
technology can become slightly a double-edged sword. In some aspects. Just because the
type of discipline and perseverance that it takes to learn an instrument. Like the day-to-
day grind that that kind of entails. When you don’t have to do that and you can go into
another direction. Just kind of flip a switch or push a button. There is know a new
element of difficulty within that but it takes away some of that one-on-one time with
yourself that you have to do it. I think helps you holistically, not just musically.
Holistically helps you identify some things within yourself when you have to deal with
yourself for hours in a practice room working.
Fay, an Arts teacher, shared a perspective that involved infusing technology and some higher-
level thinking and indicated:
So, like something that happened kind of spontaneously when we were doing the faces of
the scientists on the walls out there. One of the teachers suggested integrating technology
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

99
into the art by, through barcodes. Saying that you can put up bar codes, people can scan
the barcode and the barcode would then take him to a link about that scientist . . . . So
we’re about, we are doing that, and we’re in the process of making these barcodes and
having the barcode then take them to different links on the internet. I was going to say
technology enables more you giving like when I use Google Docs and I can see what the
students are doing, I can give them instant feedback on things that they’re doing. I don’t
have to wait for them to turn it in to me. But we also have to integrate higher and higher
levels of critical thinking into our lesson plans. It can’t be just memorization. It has to be
application. It has to be formulating. It has to be projecting and planning and all that. I
think for everybody, that’s pretty much built into our lessons. They build things. In math,
you have manipulatives. No, you’re not using those. Well, the other thing that I know
with myself is I’m always having my students whether they’re learning history or
something, they have visual components, whether it’s a PowerPoint or something like
that. They have hands-on, so that it’s kinetic learning.
Based on this study’s author classroom observation that extended beyond the classroom and into
the hallways and lobby/foyer of the XDS school, I was able to appreciate the art students’ works
with the barcode technology first hand. Samples of the ‘Faces of The Scientists Project’ are
illustrated in copies of some artifacts (see Appendix G). Gwen, a STEM teacher, offered a
technology and visuals perspective and shared:
Kahoot. It’s just an online resource for students to be quizzed on what they’ve learned.
As far as like visual representations in math, I think that’s a huge deal. I’m a visual
learner, so when I explain something to the students, I try to give them the different ways
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

100
that they can see it. They can graph it. They can put it in a table. They can come up with a
rule for it.
Jay, a STEM teacher, had a perspective that involved technology and the Arts, and stated:
When we built recent projects, I told them to make a design first. They use somehow . . .
They make sketch with hand. I told them use technology to make the design. Let me see
how it will look like when you finish, and so they had to do that. Then the second
diagrams, I asked them to use technology too to show those things and actually see that it
is not the way you place it on paper that you do it when you actually build.
Only 4 out of the 12 teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the suggested. Thus 8 of 12
teachers that did not know procedures and methodologies facilitate infusing technology and
creative thinking translate to a 67% gap (see Table 7).
Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate
infusing artistic inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into STEAM
subjects. The integration of arts and sciences produces a unique skill set that can improve these
transitional outcomes. Progress comes from the melding of technology and creative thinking
through art and design (Clark & Estes, 2008; Land, 2013).
Based on this construct, teachers did not know procedures and methodologies that
facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into
STEAM subjects. Ben captured the groups’ sentiment regarding a lack of knowledge of these
procedures and methodologies and offered:
I wouldn’t be really sure . . . Yeah, I don’t know how they would have a role with it. I
guess I wouldn’t be sure . . . Yeah, I wouldn’t know. Yeah, because I don’t know what
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

101
they’re doing in their classroom. So it’s hard for me to get an idea of what type of artistic
perspective that the other teachers take.
The other teachers comments included, “I wouldn’t really be sure,” “I don’t know,” “I don’t
think so,” and “no.”
None of the teachers’ perspectives were aligned with the recommended procedures and
methodologies. None of the teacher knew procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing
artistic inquiry into creative process and measures, and design thinking, that translates to a 100%
gap (see Table 7).
Teachers will know the procedures and practices that allow for “down time” and
reflection. Quiet reflection and mindfulness produce benefits especially for social and emotional
functioning (Clark & Estes, 2008; Immordino-Yang et al., 2012).
Given this construct some teachers used procedures and practices that allow for ‘down
time’ and reflection. Of the teachers that allowed for some form of reflection, Ben said:
Well, with 40 minutes, I’m usually rushing them to finish what they’ve started and clean
up or whatever. I do reflection with them where I have them when the project is finished,
then they write an essay, a reflection essay, on what they’ve done. But I think on a daily
basis, it’s really hard in 40 minutes. With a block schedule when we have 80 minutes, yes
we can take 10 minutes and reflect on what we have learned and all these things.
The other teacher that allowed for some form of reflection, Gwen stated:
I turned the lights on, I told them to walk around. So that was like go talk to a friend. You
can reflect on math if you really wanted to, but I wasn’t able to monitor what they were
doing. I gave them the two minutes and that was their downtime. The reflection
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

102
sometimes can come through the homework. Or have individual conversations with
students, but it is not a priority.
The 2 of the 12 teachers’ perspectives aligned with the suggested procedures and
practices that allow for “down time” and reflection. Ten out of 12 teachers did not use
procedures and practices for ‘down time’ resulting in an 83% gap (see Table 7).
Metacognitive. Metacognitive knowledge is about cognition (Baker, 2006). Baker noted
that metacognition refers to learners need to have awareness and control of their cognitive
processes or higher-level cognition. Baker claimed that metacognition is cognition about
cognition or thinking about thinking. Krathwohl (2002) added that metacognition is knowledge
of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s condition.
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that facilitate social
and emotional functioning. Quiet reflection and mindfulness produce benefits especially for
social and emotional functioning (Clark & Estes, 2008; Immordino-Yang et al., 2012).
Guided by this construct, teachers did not use procedures and practices that facilitate
social and emotional functioning. The only teacher to share a perspective that used some form of
a metacognitive methodology was Fay, who indicated:
I have music playing all the time, mainly because it impacts their mood. I’m in the visual
arts so a lot of the visual artists are also connected with music in a lot of different ways.
Again, it’s kind of casual. Studies have shown that the creative arts stimulate different
parts of the brain that then impact other areas of thinking and how you think and how you
see things. From a simple thing they found out that writing in cursive, which they don’t
teach anymore, stimulates different parts of the brain. It does something when the
students can see these curved lines and the way they move and things like that. It’s
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

103
different brain stimulation. By them taking the arts, a lot of the arts out of the school and
not even teaching cursive writing that we used to get in like third or fourth grade or
something.
One of the 12 teachers’ responses was aligned. Eleven out of 12 teachers did not use
procedures and practices that facilitate social and emotional functioning, translating to a 92% gap
(see Table 7).
Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that facilitate ways of
visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and learning via the arts. The arts have the
ability to open up new ways of seeing, thinking, and learning, while hybrid works of art can help
young people understand more about the artistic/creative process, design thinking, and the value
of aesthetic inquiry (Bequette & Bequette, 2012; Clark & Estes, 2008; Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova
et al., 2013).
Based on this construct, teachers did not know metacognitive methodologies that
facilitate ways of visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and learning via the art. Fay,
the Arts teacher, was the only teacher to share a perspective. The perspective used some form of
a metacognitive methodology, and Fay shared:
But we have to integrate higher and higher levels of critical thinking into our lesson
plans. It can’t be just memorization. It has to be application. It has to be formulating. It
has to be projecting and planning and all that. I think for everybody, that’s pretty much
built into our lessons.
One of the 12 teachers’ perspectives was aligned with the suggested scholarly
perspective. Therefore, 11 of 12 teachers not knowing metacognitive methodologies translate to a
92% gap (see Table 7).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

104
Motivation Influences
Motivation is a desire to do it, and the belief that one can (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Grossman and Salas (2011) argued that motivation refers to the process that accounts for an
individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining goal. The following
two sections look at the two motivational influences, Attribution Theory and Goal Orientation
associated with the teachers.
Attribution theory. Attribution theory provides an important method for examining and
understanding motivation in academic settings (Anderman & Anderman, 2006). Anderman and
Anderman added that Attribution theory examines individual beliefs about why certain events
occur and correlates these beliefs to subsequent motivation.
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via feedback communication modes
(assignments, exams, etc.) with learners. Teachers affect attributions on a daily basis via their
communications to learners through the types of praise they offer during classroom instruction
and feedback on assignments and examinations, and stress the process of learning (Anderman &
Anderman, 2006; Hirabayashi, 2015b; Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2011).
With this construct in mind, some of the teachers were able to exhibit attribution via
feedback communication modes (assignments, exams, etc.) with learners. Gwen shared her
process to exhibit attribution via feedback and commented:
Technology has really helped in being able to give students quicker feedback. (Math) I
used something called Nearpod.com, where the way I implemented it, it was everybody’s
work shown at the same time in the front of the room. When they responded, I could go
and see everybody’s struggles. It was blatantly obvious on the board for me as the teacher
to see everybody is there instantaneous. I could work with them one-on-one. That’s
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

105
probably the only time that I was able to target certain individual weaknesses and address
it instantaneously while they were having it, but it was because not everybody was
struggling. The students are given a question as a group, but then they respond
individually.
During observation of this teachers’ classroom, she exhibited similar behaviors. The teacher
with the aid of Mobi View Handheld device and its Mobi Interactive Whiteboard software
application that facilitate illustrations on a Smart board, walked around the classroom to
individual learners and observed their work. Occasionally, Gwen completed some quick
formative assessments (observation of individuals work, one on one questions, etc.) accompanied
by affirmations like, “Nice work,” “Good job,” or “Nice, nice.” Jim, a STEM teacher, added his
perspective on feedback and noted:
Well usually I will do that only when they work assignments on the Chromebook [laptop
computers]. So like they’re all working and then you can discuss with only one student
and then you can discuss with the other student but those others are engaged . . . Because
you don’t want the whole class.
John, a STEM teacher, shared his thoughts on feedback and stated:
I think it’s a lot easier in math than the other subjects because most of the time the kids
are working on like worksheets or something because math is mostly uses more than
memory. So, while they are working in pairs or free whatever . . . . We walk around and
if someone, we always see someone that’s struggling or something and you actually help
him understand it, like everybody else is still busy, so it’s not a problem that you actually
can engage with one person from the whole class . . . . I can see how it’s done like in
other classes, other subjects, it might be harder but in math its kinda easy.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

106
Mary, a STEM teacher, provided the following virtual feedback perspective:
From the district’s standpoint I think, part of the push they are trying to do is using the
Google Classroom [cloud sharing application] where they can share and comment on
documents so the virtual one on one feedback, that’s what they’re hoping to go for . . . .
We use that Edmodo [online collaboration and assessment application], I think a lot of
people give feedback too and Edmodo . . . Where kids can directly ask a teacher and
they’ll respond.
Beth, a STEM teacher, said, “Well I use Edmodo.” Fay noted thoughts on her feedback approach
and indicated:
I do it a lot only because once I have given them an assignment or a project, whether it’s
a written project or a studio project, once the group has gotten the instruction or and the
direction, I will go around individually and speak with the students about where they are,
if they’re understanding. Again, I may not get to everyone that day, but at some point and
over of course a few days, they’re getting my feedback and my one-on-one.
Six of the 12 teachers’ responses were aligned with the suggested scholarly construct.
Therefore, 6 of 12 teachers not knowing metacognitive methodologies translates to a 50% gap
(see Table 7).
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via one-on-one conversations. One-on-one
conversations might provide insight to teachers and provide opportunities for shaping students’
beliefs about their performance. Teachers should remember the power they have in shaping
students’ attributions (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Rueda,
2011; Shute, 2008)
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

107
Based on this claim, some of the teachers were able to exhibit attribution via one-on-one
conversations with learners. Gwen said, “The reflection sometimes can come through the
homework. Or individual conversations with students, but it is not a priority.” Ben appeared to
embrace a one-on-one conversation strategy, and stressed:
Well, I can’t speak for other teachers, but I know for me, I do have one-on-ones with all
my students. We have this things called a practice log, and after the two weeks of
practicing, I like to sit down with that student, whether in the morning or in the afternoon
when after class. Not during class time, but speak with them, and find out what their
struggles and difficulties are, so I can find a way to better suit the classroom direction. If
I find that there are too many students that are having some similar issues, I usually go
back in the lesson, or I find a different way of approaching.
Fay commented on one-on-one conversations, but with timing and technology caveats:
I do it a lot only because once I have given them an assignment or a project, whether it’s
a written project or a studio project, once the group has gotten the instruction or and the
direction, I will go around individually and speak with the students about where they are,
if they’re understanding. Again, I may not get to everyone that day, but at some point and
over of course a few days, they’re getting my feedback and my one-on-one. I actually try
to steer my students away from coming to me individually. I tell them I shouldn’t be your
first resource. What I try to get them to do is, they’re sitting in groups, so not always
working in groups, but they are sitting in group, go to your peers first. I was going to say
technology enables more you giving like when I use Google Docs and I can see what the
students are doing, I can give them instant feedback on things that they’re doing. I don’t
have to wait for them to turn it in to me.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

108
Jim provided a similar perspective and added:
Well usually I will do that only when they work assignments on the Chrome books
[laptops] . . . . So like they’re all working and then you can discuss with only one student
and then you can discuss with the other student but those others are engaged . . . Because
you don’t want the whole class.
John also provided a one-on-one perspective and stated:
I think it’s a lot easier in math than the other subjects because most of the time the kids
are working on like worksheets or something because math is mostly [inaudible
00:29:30] uses more than memory. So, while they are working in pairs or free whatever
. . . We walk around and if someone, we always see someone that’s struggling or
something and you actually help him understand.
Gwen was ambivalent and expressed the following:
I used something called Nearpod.com, where the way I implemented it, it was
everybody’s work shown at the same time in the front of the room. When they responded,
I could go and see everybody’s struggles. It was blatantly obvious on the board for me as
the teacher to see everybody is there instantaneous. I could work with them one-on-one.
That’s probably the only time that I was able to target certain individual weaknesses and
address it instantaneously while they were having it, but it was because not everybody
was struggling.
Gwen also dissented and provided a student group’s perspective:
In an algebra class, it’s much more group-based. It’s much more wider lens for me to see
the majority of them moving along. It doesn’t need to be me focusing on each individual
understanding every single concept as we go. It’s satisfactory enough for me to have a
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

109
percent of them understand this one topic, as long as they’re changing, as long as the 80%
are different the next time around. But it would be really difficult to have 25 students on
average for me in a class with the 40 minutes and visit each one. It’s just not possible.
Jay supported Gwen’s student group perspective and noted:
Yeah, because we have 80 minutes, we’ll have double up or whatever. Science is a
double up. So there’s actually enough time for me to go around each group and for each
individual student. Sometimes I’ll tell them, “If you’re having problems, come to my own
table.” I have another table for them, so those who are having difficulties, and they’ll
come in small group.
Eight of the 12 teachers’ responses were aligned with the suggested scholarly claim.
Hence, 4 out of 12 teachers not knowing one-on-one metacognitive methodologies translates to a
33% gap (see Table 7).
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via use of the ‘third space’ in the classroom.
Increased academic engagement and learning gains occur when third spaces are built in
classrooms. It is the meeting of teacher and student, and is rich with interactions, culture,
discourse and dialogue and it is where knowledge is constructed. It enables other positions to
emerge and new knowledge to grow (Bhabha, 1994; Moje et al., 2004; Rousseau, 2015; Rueda,
2011).
In keeping with this construct, most teachers were unable to exhibit attribution via use of
the ‘third space’ in the classroom. Ben, appeared to be the only teacher to appreciate this third
space strategy, and emphasized:
Well, I can’t speak for other teachers, but I know for me, I do have one-on-ones with all
my students. After we have a . . . We have this things called a practice log, and after the
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

110
two weeks of practicing, I like to sit down with that student, whether in the morning or in
the afternoon when after class. Not during class time, but speak with them, and find out
what their struggles and difficulties are, so I can find a way to better suit the classroom
direction. If I find that there’s too many students that are having some similar issues, I
usually go back in the lesson, or I find a different way of approaching.
Eleven of the 12 teachers’ responses were aligned with the suggested scholarly claims.
Therefore, 1 of 12 teachers not knowing the ‘third space’ metacognitive methodologies translate
to an 8% gap (see Table 7).
Goal orientation. Goal Orientation Theory is a social-cognitive theory of ‘achievement
motivation’ that encompasses Mastery Goal or Mastery-Oriented and Performance Goal or
Performance-Oriented (Yough & Anderman, 2006).
Teachers will be able to integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum by
the year 2019. By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational
curriculum. Goal orientation or ‘achievement motivation’ encompasses Mastery Goal and
Performance Goal with focus on learning, mastering and self-improvement (Lazowski &
Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2015; school website, 2016; Yough & Anderman, 2006).
All of the teachers’ perspectives suggest there would not be an organized integration of
the Arts with STEM curriculum by the year 2019. Ben’s perspective on this question was, “In
terms of my integration with other subjects? Well, it’s not much, because we don’t really do
much, yeah.” Fay echoed a similar sentiment and added, “I would think that most teachers kind
of plan out their year, what they’re going to teach and how they’re going to teach it, at that time.”
None of the teachers’ responses were aligned with the suggested scholarly claims. None
of the teacher knowing metacognitive methodologies translates to a 100% gap, Table 8. This is a
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

111
significant outlier that suggests a misalignment between the teachers and the organization’s
goal/mission.

Table 8
Focus Group Results for Motivation Influence Gaps

Motivation Influences
Aligned
Responses/
Total
Respondents
Gap or
Misaligned
Percentage
(%)
AT*
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via feedback
communication modes (assignments, exams etc.) with
learners.
6/12 50
AT
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via one-on-
one conversations.
8/12 33
AT
Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via use of the
‘third space’ in the classroom.
11/12 8
GO
Teachers will be able to integrate the Arts with their
STEM educational curriculum by the year 2019.
0/12 100
* Indicate motivation type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (AT) Attribution
Theory; (GO) Goal Orientation.

Organization Influences
Scholarly literature is awash with definitions of organization influences in terms of
sociocultural theory, culture, cultural setting and cultural models (Clark & Estes, 2008;
Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011). Clark and Estes (2008) pointed out that
organizational culture is the most important ‘work process’ in all organizations because it
dictates how we work together to get our job done, and is present in our conscious and
unconscious understanding of who we are, what we value and how we do what we do as an
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

112
organization. Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) noted that culture is rendered more practically
useful in education when employed with two ‘keys’ — cultural model and cultural settings.
Cultural settings. According to Clark and Estes (2008) cultural settings can impact
behavior and are also shaped by individuals or groups. Cultural settings can be seen as the who,
what, when, where, why and how of the routines which constitute everyday life, and occur
wherever two or more people come together over time to accomplish something and is homely
and familiar (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
The organization will facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM curriculum, and
the organization will facilitate collaboration between the Arts and STEM teachers. Finding
ways to integrate and collaborate STEAM must become a high priority since the integration
produces students capable of creative participation, bridging of art and science or art-based
science activities founded on the belief that the critical thinking skills are enhanced, and learning
through the arts transcends across different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond
the arts (Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et al., 2013; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Strebel,
1996; Tillman et al., 2015).
Informed by this theory, all of the teachers’ perspectives suggest there was no organized
facilitation of integration or collaboration of the Arts with STEM. Responses that reflect this
perspective included that of Fay’s, who focused on the organization valuing the Arts and pre-
planning, and offered:
Again I don’t think they have up to this point. I think, again, I think the same way they’re
starting to take it more seriously and I think they, I think the organization and teachers
have to be educated on the value of the art. I think planning has to be done prior to the
school year, or at the end of the school year for the next year. Even if you had planning
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

113
groups during the school year, I know for myself, I’ve, I develop what I’m going to do
for the year prior to the year starting. I would think that most teachers kind of plan out
their year, what they’re going to teach and how they’re going to teach it, at that time. I
would say that pre-planning has to take place where you purposely say, “Okay,” you’re
going to collaborate together on a project.
Ben was in agreement with Fay’s perspective but indicated the organization’s focus on ‘teaching
to the test’ and the need for PLCs (Professional Learning Communities), added:
Not much. No, not much. There’s not a lot of cross-curriculum, or type of inter-
disciplinary type of research, or ideals floating around, in terms of how to incorporate
that. I think that has to do a lot more with teaching towards tests. And a culture of being
in an environment, where we do have standardized-based tests, that makes it difficult for
administration to have to deal with that as well. The creative aspects of wanting to teach,
and expanding the horizons, and really pushing the envelope, sometimes is inhibited by
the inability to go to the next phase, because you always have all these tests, or all these
things that are coming up. It is difficult sometimes for an administrator, I can imagine, to
have to deal with that. PLCs (can help you better integrate the arts into STEM
curriculum) . . . . Being able to have a time with other teachers, to sit down and find out
where other teachers are in their lessons . . . I think one of the things that’s strongly
missed in public education is professional development . . . It is strongly missed. It
happens, but it doesn’t happen usually for the arts, and how to integrate both aspects to
each other.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

114
Gwen voiced her perspective regarding collaboration priority and possibility via PLCs, and
commented:
We have a science professional learning communities in our schedule. During those
professional learning communities, we are meeting with our departments . . . . If we
really wanted to create an interdisciplinary group, that way with that time, we would be
allowed to. It’s, again, just not a priority. You would have to volunteer some extra time I
imagine to do that. Not (a priority) the collaboration at this point.
John’s opinion focused on the lack of organizational collaboration, a European perspective and
the possible use of ‘curriculum writers.’ John commented:
They say Europe especially has the best education right? If you look at like Russia, or
anywhere in Eastern Europe, the best in physics, the best in math, because they have the
application and they don’t leave it up to teachers to collaborate with other teachers. The
curriculum writers themselves do it . . . . They go hand in hand there. It makes life easier
for teachers and students. It makes life easier for everybody . . . . The curriculum writers
should be doing that not us. Wouldn’t it be easier if the curriculum writers got together
and before writing the curriculum in math they look at the curriculum of arts how can
they without us teachers having to go through all that. All I have to do is follow my
curriculum, the curriculum writer, collaborating with the curriculum writer of ours with
the curriculum writer of science, wouldn’t that be easier? At least its how we do it in
Europe. At the teacher level . . . So let’s say were sitting with other teachers right now so,
my curriculum, whatever I’m teaching has nothing to do with they are teaching right
now, that’s a possibility, because however made the curriculum has no idea what the
math person did. So again because whoever wrote this curriculum has or had no idea
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

115
what the guy who wrote my curriculum was doing, and vica-versa . . . . And when we
come here we have nothing in common . . . . I’ve been saying that since the start here the
top, they’re not you know collaborate, like the math department has no idea what’s going
on in the English department, has no idea what’s going on in the Science department,
they have no idea what’s going on in the other departments and everybody does it their
way. This is how we can learn math, this is the best way to learn physics, this is the best
way to learn science . . . . Yes, yes again the collaboration should begin on top, its easier,
its harder as you go down. Its easier if they do it at the very top, it’s a little bit harder if
our administration get together and do it, and it’s extremely harder for us to do it. So if
you’re going to do it the easy way, they have got do it.
Jim added a perspective in support of Gwen’s PLC idea, and touched on the lack of
organizational support, collaboration and appropriate resources, like text books, and stressed:
That’s the problem with the PLCs there’s nobody leading it, right? But I’m saying as far
as our meetings, there’s really no facilitators. The teachers come together talk about what
you want, I mean if they really want it true there would be a little bit of directive or some,
the guidelines in place. Like the PLC, that’s what I would think that you would say,
“Okay, lets plan this. What unit are we gonna do this month?” And everybody, “Okay
well I know I can support this with that. Or I have this part of my lesson or curriculum
goes with that, and matches up.” I think right now we are also still lacking the resources
from the publishers because like . . . We are using book, which maybe we were using 10
years ago . . . . Either we have to change the resources or the publishers should come with
something. It would be very helpful. There’s no way to do something when it’s not in
your schedule . . . . Well what they want to do here is not rocket science like he [John]
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

116
mentioned it exists all over the world . . . . So you cannot have chemistry only once, lets
say in the ninth grade or 10th grade, they had chemistry every year and physics. You
don’t have every day but it’s should be integrated with other subjects. That’s an issue . . .
No? I’ve never been to one [PLC meeting]. It’s usually by departments. See that’s the
thing the departments at the top, they do not cooperate, they do not collaborate. It has to
come from the top; it should be integrated with the scheduling . . . but again like they
have to do something with integrating the curriculum . . . it is not just the administration
or the top. It’s the issue like how the whole education is set up.
Beth, piggybacking on Jim’s perspective, added, “The curriculum is decided by the
administration. Yeah it’s not the school its downtown. The district level.” Rob, a STEM teacher,
noted the focus on the PARCC standardized test, and shared:
We had a construct here a few years ago. We had to switch it. Where our professional
learning communities were grade level based. You see, that structure helps incorporate
the arts more, combine them. Recently because of PARCC and other things, we’ve had to
go to more of a content organization. But one day I would like to bring back the other
because then you’d have the music teacher who’s teaching a grade level. And the math
teacher. There’s a place they would meet twice a week.
A sample of other teachers’ perspective included Beth who said, “They don’t, no art integration,
I’m sorry,” Mary added, “No.”
None of the teachers’ responses were aligned with the suggested scholarly claims
regarding organized facilitation of integration or collaboration of the Arts with STEM being in
place. Thus all of the 12 teachers’ perspectives on organized facilitation of integration or
collaboration of the Arts with STEM translate to a 100% gap (see Table 9).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

117
Table 9
Focus Group Results for Organization Influence Gaps

Organization Influences
Aligned
Responses/ Total
Respondents
Gap or
Misaligned
Percentage (%)
CS
The organization will facilitate the integration of
the Arts in a STEM curriculum.
0/12 100
CS
The organization will facilitate collaboration
between the Arts and STEM teachers.
0/12 100
CM
The organization will facilitate technology
integration throughout the school.
12/12 0
CM
The organization will facilitate collaborative work
settings.
0/12 100
* Indicate organization type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (CS) Cultural
Settings; (CM) Cultural Models.

Cultural models. Cultural model is a shared mental schema or normative understanding
of how the world works, or ought to work, and it incorporates behavioral (activity) as well as
cognitive and affective components (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
The organization will facilitate technology integration throughout the school. To keep
up with the demands of preparing youth for the 21st century, technology is a core feature of the
arts including music, and music should be a core subject. In addition, technology could facilitate
collaborative work settings designed to improve teaching and learning steadily. The arts
educators should be interested in incorporation media arts into the schooling curriculum since
current conceptions of schooling envision new technologies being integrated across the
curriculum in all K-12 school (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Peppler, 2010; Welch, 2012).
Based on this construct, teachers’ perspectives suggest organizational facilitation of technology
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

118
integration was in place throughout the XDS school. Opinions included that of Fay, who
expressed a technology perspective that involved arts and barcodes, and noted:
So, like something that happened kind of spontaneously when we were doing the faces of
the scientists on the walls out there — one of the teachers suggested integrating
technology into the art by, through barcodes. Saying that you can put up bar codes,
people can scan the barcode and the barcode would then take him to a link about that
scientist. I think that’s purposeful because I think more and more they’re asking us to . . .
I mean we even, on our lesson plans, have a section that says, “Infusion of technology,
how are you using technology in your lessons?”
Samples of these illustrations are provided in Appendix G — Faces of Scientists Project. Rob
added his perspective on the organization’s support for technology and the Arts, and noted:
Technology just supports everything. We have software that will visualize things. There
is software that you can rotate the inside of a body and things like that so technology
supports visualization. It supports creativity. It supports communication. It supports
inquiry though access to the Internet.
Gwen’s perspective focused on pervasiveness of the technology aspects within the XDS school
and pointed out:
I don’t see any way to avoid technology at this point in time. If they’re not checking their
homework on the Internet, they have their phones on their desks. It is just blatantly in
your face. You can’t even remove it from your life if you really wanted to at this point. I
use it as a supportive tool for organization for them. I use it as a way to deliver the
instruction.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

119
This perspective was supported by this author’s observation during a classroom observation
session. The teacher used the Mobi View Handheld Interactive Whiteboard software application
to facilitate illustrations on a Smart board while walking around the classroom. A classroom that
was populated around the perimeter with desktop computers equipped with the latest Microsoft
Windows operating system. Fran added a scientific and collaborative technology perspective
and specified:
Yeah, definitely with technology. The models and simulations that we can do now . . . .
There is so much more that we can do even without having the materials available. Like
models that we wouldn’t otherwise have that exist on the computer. Like virtual labs.
You could do virtual genetics labs; you can look at the body, look at the bones and
actually rotate them and look inside. I did a lab the other day where students were sawing
bones in half in different planes. And so they were able to see the bones from different
angles. And that’s something material-wise I wouldn’t be able to do without technology.
We do dissections but it is now possible that you don’t the materials at your school but if
you have a computer you can do a virtual dissection. I think just in general if you want to
collaborate with teachers, especially from other subjects, you can also create now like
Google Docs.
Beth added a perspective with focus on websites and noted, “Abundant technology, for so, it just
works so well. I mean with the website.” Mary added, “I am seeing a lot extension for math.
Were they want kids to do recordings of them just explaining how they solved the problem like
on a white board.”
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

120
All of the teachers’ responses indicate organizational alignment with the suggested
scholarly claims regarding organizational facilitation of technology integration being in place.
Thus all of the 12 teachers’ perspectives translate to a 0% gap (see Table 9).
The organization will facilitate collaborative work settings. Finding ways to integrate
and collaborate STEAM must become a high priority since the integration produces students
capable of creative participation, bridging of art and science or art-based science activities
founded on the belief that the critical thinking skills are enhanced, and learning through the arts
transcends across different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond the arts
(Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et al., 2013; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Strebel, 1996;
Tillman et al., 2015).
Using this construct, teachers’ perspectives indicate there was no organizational
facilitation of collaborative work in place at the XDS school. Mary shared a perspective that is
representative of the group’s, with the comment:
We’re isolated like that. We don’t know what they do. Yeah I would say before our role
changed and we were tech things, one of our biggest things was to push in with teachers
and extend the lessons. Technology based, and people are very apprehensive about
coming out of their box and trying something new. Or meeting, or just, “Oh what are you
doing calculus, what are you doing integrals? Oh lets see can we make a spreadsheet.” Or
its just coming outside, you know of your comfort zone.
None of the 12 teachers’ responses indicated organizational facilitation of collaborative
work in place. Thus all 12 teachers perspectives translate to a 100% gap (see Table 9).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

121
Conclusion
For this qualitative evaluation study, the data collected has been presented in an effort to
develop understandings based on the two research questions (Kroger & Casey, 2009; Maxwell,
2013). The data gathered via three teacher focus groups interviews (four members per focus
group), two classroom observations and a sample of artifacts (see Appendices F and G), were
organized around Knowledge, Motivation and Organization influence categories.
Informed by Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO gap analysis conceptual framework that
indicates gaps are assessed between desired goals and actual performance. Misalignments
(percentage) between the teachers’ perspectives and the scholarly claims or constructs, were
considered as gaps. Tables 7 to 9 summarized the findings in terms of gaps organized around the
three KMO influence categories.
Chapter 5 provides detailed analyses of the KMO STEAM key findings and
recommendations.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

122
CHAPTER 5
RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
Kim and Bolger (2017) defined STEAM education simply as integrated curricula.
Another elegant definition suggests STEAM education is a transdisciplinary approach that
focuses on the collaboration and integration or connections between disciplines that should
include multiple content areas, synthesis across disciplines, connected ideas, multiple methods,
problem-solving and task specific approaches (Clemson University, 2017; Ghanbari, 2015;
Guyotte et al., 2014; Herro & Quigley, 2016; Tillman et al., 2015). The aim of this evaluation
study was to examine and understand STEAM education or the knowledge, motivation and
organizational (KMO) implications of integrating the Arts within a Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum, at XDS high school.
In an effort to develop STEAM education understandings or findings at XDS high school,
field data were collected and presented (Chapter 4) based on the two research questions and
Clark and Estes’s (2008) KMO gap analysis conceptual framework. The findings clustered
around KMO influences considered misalignment between the teachers’ responses or
perspectives and the scholarly claims or constructs as gaps in terms of percentage (see Tables 7
to 9).
Having presented the data in terms of gap findings based on KMO influences in Chapter
4, this chapter focuses on developing general understandings or key findings in the following
‘Discussion’ section. Further, given that STEAM education or integrated curricular
implementation efforts face several practical challenges (Kim & Bolger, 2017), a series of
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

123
recommendations have also been offered. According to Kim and Bolger (2017), STEAM
education challenges include:
1. The alignment between standards/policy/curricula/learning goals and the specifics of
lesson plans/text books.
2. Teachers’ training in STEAM theories and the practice of designing STEAM lesson
plans, since teachers who are the focus of any STEAM education implantation, could
lack the knowledge, confidence, and curricular supports to implement STEAM
changes.
The next section focuses on discussion of key findings based on the data.
Discussion
Guided by the two research questions, this section focuses on making meaning or
developing STEAM education understandings/key findings consistent with the data detailed in
Chapter 4. In an effort to avoid analytical bias that can weaken or even invalidate findings (Miles
et al., 2014), and hold true to ethical imperatives outlined in the ‘Ethics’ section, while being
cognizant of the limitations of data collection in regards to focus groups, observations and
artifacts detailed in Table 6, steps have been taken to be mindful and purposely avoid the
selection of data that fits this researcher’s existing theory, goals or preconceptions on STEAM
education in general.
Examining the ‘Focus Group Results for Knowledge Influence Gaps’ data detailed in
Table 7, the key findings are indicated by the two largest knowledge gaps (misalignments) of
100% for the following:
• Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s
STEM subjects via problem solving applications, crafts and designs.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

124
• Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate
infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into
STEAM subjects.
An 80% knowledge gap is also reflected in regards to teachers’ definition of STEAM
education. These findings are in concert with the claims of STEAM education teachers’
challenge being teachers’ training in STEAM theories and the practice of designing STEAM
lesson plans, since teachers who are the focus of any STEAM implementation, could lack the
knowledge, confidence and curricular supports to implement STEAM changes (Kim & Bolger,
2017).
Further analysis of the Knowledge gaps illustrates the smallest knowledge gaps
(alignment) of 0% for the following:
• Arts teachers will know and understand what are aesthetic inquiry and design
thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-based engineering topics.
• Teachers will know and understand varied forms of media, visual, performing and
theater arts for lesson planning and projects.
• Teachers will know and understand what the integration of music, and music with
technology mean and be able to use them in their lesson planning.
• Teachers will be able to understand the concept of integrating the arts and STEM with
lesson plans and projects.
It is instructive to note that despite the teachers’ perspective that indicates understanding the
concept of integrating the arts and STEM with lesson plans, there is the knowledge gap (100%)
regarding knowing and understanding how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s STEM
subjects.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

125
Pivoting to the ‘Focus Group Results for Motivation Influence Gaps’ data detailed in
Table 8, the key finding is indicated by the largest motivation gap (misalignments) of 100% for
the following:
• Teachers will be able to integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum
by the year 2019.
This motivation finding is in alignment with the prior finding of knowing how to integration of
the arts with STEM subjects. Additional analysis of the Motivation gaps illustrates the smallest
knowledge gaps (alignment) of 8% and 33%, for the following:
• Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via use of the ‘third space’ in the
classroom.
• Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via one-on-one conversations.
Based on analysis of the ‘Focus Group Results for Organization Influence Gaps’ data
detailed in Table 9, the key findings are indicated by the largest organizational gap
(misalignments) of 100% for the following:
• The organization will facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM curriculum.
• The organization will facilitate collaboration between the Arts and STEM teachers.
• The organization will facilitate collaborative work settings.
These findings, based on the teachers’ perspective and analyzed in aggregate, suggest the
organization does not facilitate collaboration in general, and in particular curriculum integration
and teacher collaboration of the Arts and STEM or STEAM education. However, further
examination of the organization influence gaps data reveals the XDS organization does facilitate
technology integration throughout the school.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

126
In summary, regarding the integration of the Arts with STEM or STEAM education at
XDS high school and based on the teachers’ perspectives, teachers do not know or understand
how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s STEM subjects. In addition, the teachers lack the
understanding of procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing artistic-inquiry, the
creative process and measures, and design thinking into STEAM subjects. It is also apparent that
the teachers at XDS exhibit ‘third space’ and a reasonable amount of ‘one-on-one’ behaviors that
are conducive to the construction of knowledge (Bhabha, 1994; Moje et al., 2004; Rousseau,
2015; Rueda, 2011), while being immersed in the integration of technology to facilitate teaching
at the XDS high school.
The next section details recommendation for practices to address the KMO influences
gaps.
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
Introduction. Human beings are made up of two very distinct yet competing
psychological systems — knowledge and motivation (Clark & Estes, 2008). Clark and Estes
added that knowledge tells us how to do things and is our storehouse of experiences, while
motivation gets us going, keeps us moving, and tells us how much effort to spend on work tasks.
Clark and Estes further clarified that people’s knowledge and skills determine whether people’s
know how — when, what, why, and where and who — to achieve their performance goals. This
section focuses on knowledge-related influences associated with this study’s stakeholders — the
teachers. A summary of the knowledge-related influences specific to this study is detailed in
Table 10 — Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

127
Table 10
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need,
or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
D — Factual: Teachers
will know and
understand what is
STEAM education.
HP Y STEAM education stresses
making connections
between disciplines the
collaboration and
integration or connections
between disciplines should
include multiple content
areas, synthesis across
disciplines, content areas,
connected ideas, multiple
methods and task specific
approaches (Guyotte et al.,
2014; Clemson University,
2017; Ghanbari, 2015;
Tillman et al. 2015).
Teachers will invest the
time in training to become
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).
D — Factual: Teachers
will know and
understand how to
integrate the Arts with
the curriculum’s STEM
subjects via problem
solving applications,
crafts and designs.
HP Y The Arts integration with
STEM (STEAM) stresses
making connections that
enhance creative thinking,
problem solving,
innovation, scientific ability
and enables an experience
rich in doing (Clemson
University, 2017; Clark &
Estes, 2008; Root-Bernstein
& Root-Bernstein, 2013;
Guyotte et al., 2014).
Teachers will invest the
time in training to become
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation. (AE).
D — Factual: Arts
teachers will know and
understand what are
aesthetic inquiry and
design thinking via
artistic/creative
processes and problem-
based engineering topics.
HP Y Works of art can help with
understanding more about
the artistic/creative process,
design thinking, and the
value of aesthetic inquiry
(Clark & Estes, 2008;
Bequette & Bequette,
2012).
Teachers will invest the
time in training to become
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

128
Table 10, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need,
or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
D — Factual: Teachers
will know and
understand varied forms
of media, visual,
performing and theater
arts for lesson planning
and projects.
HP Y The visual and performing
arts have the ability to
enhance learning in other
subjects, contribute to
STEM learning while
students in the theater arts
program outperformed their
control group counterparts
(Clark & Estes, 2008;
Ghanbari, 2015; Peppler,
2010; Inoa et al., 2014).
Teachers will invest the
time in training to become
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).
D — Factual: Teachers
will know and
understand what the
integration of music,
and music with
technology mean and be
able to use them in their
lesson planning.
HP Y There is an understanding
that music is important in
education for both its
pedagogical value and in
the ways in which music
can aid understanding of
musical and nonmusical
ideas for students (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Gershon &
Oded, 2014; Welch, 2012).
Teachers will invest the
time in training to become
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).
D — Conceptual:
Teachers will be able to
understand the concept
of integrating the arts
with STEM with lesson
plans and projects.
HP Y Organization will provide
training and job aids and
teachers will invest the
time in becoming
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

129
Table 10, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need,
or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
D — Conceptual:
Science and art teachers
will be able to
understand the concept
that science can learn
from performing arts.
HP Y Art-based activities are a
means for conceptualizing,
understanding, and
expressing science and the
developing skills of art
make it ideal for the
development of critical
thinking (Clark & Estes,
2008; Gershon & Oded,
2014; Milkova et al., 2013).
Organization will provide
training and job aids and
teachers will invest the
time in becoming
proficient in more than one
academic discipline and
application of the
interdisciplinary pedagogy
that is realizable and
scalable: digital multimedia
(DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based
adaptive evaluation (AE).
D — Conceptual:
Teachers will be able to
understand the concept
of artistic inquiry.
HP Y Artistic inquiry enables an
instructor to teach in
multiple ways and also
promote rigor and
creativity, which in turn
creates more neural
pathways and a higher
probability of retaining
knowledge (Clark & Estes,
2008; Ghanbari, 2015).
Organization will provide
training and job aids and
teachers will invest the
time in becoming
proficient with authentic
problematic reviews,
formative and summative
evaluations via expertise
based exemplars and
demonstrations.
P — Procedural: Art
and STEM teachers will
know the procedures
and methodologies
enabling collaboration
among the STEAM
subjects.
HP Y STEAM teachers
collaborate and integrate
STEM lessons with arts-
themed activities to create
interdisciplinary STEAM
education (Bequette &
Bequette, 2012; Blackley &
Howell, 2015; Clark &
Estes, 2008; Clemson
University, 2017; Tillman
et al., 2015; Wynn &
Harris, 2012).
Organization will provide
training and job aids to
facilitate teachers
becoming proficient in
more than one academic
discipline and application
of the interdisciplinary
pedagogy that is realizable
and scalable: digital
multimedia (DM), design
tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluation.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

130
Table 10, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need,
or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
P — Procedural:
Teachers will know the
procedures and
methodologies that
facilitate infusing
technology and creative
thinking through art and
design.
HP Y Arts methodologies offer a
key resource to
conceptualize new practices
beyond traditional text
based literacy and
encourages innovation; in
addition engaging students
in hands-on STEAM
activities and technology to
promotes interest in
STEAM (Bequette &
Bequette, 2012; Clemson
University, 2017; Clark &
Estes, 2008; Gershon &
Oded, 2014; Maeda, 2013).
Organization will provide
training and job aids to
facilitate teachers
becoming proficient in
more than one academic
discipline and application
of the interdisciplinary
pedagogy that is realizable
and scalable: digital
multimedia (DM), design
tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluation.
P — Procedural: Art and
STEM teachers will
know the procedures and
methodologies that
facilitate infusing
artistic-inquiry, the
creative process and
measures, and design
thinking into STEAM
subjects.
HP Y The integration of arts and
sciences produces a unique
skill set that can improve
these transitional outcomes.
Progress comes from the
melding of technology and
creative thinking through
art and design (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Clemson
University, 2017; Land,
2013).
Organization will provide
training and job aids to
facilitate teachers
becoming proficient in
more than one academic
discipline and application
of the interdisciplinary
pedagogy that is realizable
and scalable: digital
multimedia (DM), design
tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluations.
P — Procedural:
Teachers will know the
procedures and practices
that allow for “down
time” and reflection.
HP Y Quiet reflection and
mindfulness produce
benefits especially for
social and emotional
functioning (Clark & Estes,
2008; Immordino-Yang et
al., 2012).
Organization will provide
training and teachers will
invest the time in becoming
proficient with authentic
assessment, embedded in
learning task. Regular
feedback and enabled
student reflection.
Awareness of student
context and experiences.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

131
Table 10, continued
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need,
or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability,
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
M — Metacognitive:
Teachers will be able to
implement metacognitive
methodologies that
facilitate social and
emotional functioning.
HP Y Quiet reflection and
mindfulness produce
benefits especially for
social and emotional
functioning (Clark & Estes,
2008; Immordino-Yang et
al., 2012).
Organization will provide
training and teachers will
invest the time in becoming
proficient with authentic
assessment embedded in
learning task, providing
regular feedback and
enabled student reflection,
and awareness of student
context and experiences.
M — Metacognitive:
Teachers will be able to
implement metacognitive
methodologies that
facilitate ways of
visualizing, critical and
process-oriented thinking
and learning via the arts.
HP Y The arts have the ability to
open up new ways of
seeing, thinking, and
learning, while hybrid
works of art can help young
people understand more
about the artistic/creative
process, design thinking,
and the value of aesthetic
inquiry (Bequette &
Bequette, 2012; Clark &
Estes, 2008; Ghanbari,
2015; Milkova et al., 2013).
Organization will provide
training and teachers will
invest the time in becoming
proficient with authentic
assessment embedded in
learning task, providing
regular feedback and
enabled student reflection,
and awareness of student
context and experiences.
* Indicate knowledge type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (D) Declarative;
(P) Procedural; (M) Metacognitive.

This study endorses, and is steeped in an organizational model that applies the KMO
analytic gap conceptual framework advanced by Clark and Estes (2008). Clark and Estes argue
that organizations need to be goal-driven with performance or work goal systems tied to an
organization’s business goals. Clark and Estes claim that gaps are assessed between desired goals
and actual performance and prescribe that KMO factors must be examined in a gap analysis
process. Current literature is replete with details on the knowledge dimension of KMO
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

132
(Krathwohl, 2002; Mayer, 2011; Rueda, 2011; Seli, 2015). Mayer, Rueda and Seli described a
taxonomy or schema of knowledge. According to Mayer and Rueda, declarative knowledge
consists of factual and conceptual knowledge that could be classified as the knowledge of
‘what.’ Seli noted that factual knowledge is about discrete and isolated content, while conceptual
knowledge is about complex things working together or organized forms of knowledge.
Krathwohl and Rueda provided updated details on the knowledge dimension. According to
Krathwohl and Rueda, there are four knowledge dimensions including:
• Declarative:
o Factual Knowledge: The basic elements that students know to be acquainted
with a discipline or solve problems in it.
o Conceptual Knowledge: The interrelationships among the basic elements
within a larger a larger structure that enable them to function together.
• Procedural Knowledge: How to do something, methods of inquiry, and criteria for
using skills, algorithms, techniques and methods.
• Metacognitive Knowledge: Knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness
and knowledge of one’s own cognition.
Based on some existing scholarly literature, a number of STEM and the Arts (STEAM)
based declarative (factual and conceptual), procedural and metacognitive influences resulted
(see Table 2). Prioritization and selection of influences to date have been informed primarily by a
combination of knowledge-based prescriptions as indicated by Clark and Estes (2008) and by
review of STEAM based scholarly literature.
The following section details the recommendations for practice to address the KMO
influences attendant with this evaluation study.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

133
Declarative knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. As suggested by
Clark and Estes (2008), Mayer (2011), Rueda (2011) and Seli (2015) declarative knowledge is
bimodal and consists of factual and conceptual knowledge classified as the knowledge of ‘what.’
As pointed out by Rueda (2011) and Mayer (2011) conceptual knowledge is knowledge about
categories, classifications and such. Factual knowledge is what is commonly known as the facts
and refers to knowledge that is basic to specific domains, contexts and disciplines (Clark &
Estes, 2008; Seli, 2015).
To the extent that there are teachers’ factual and conceptual knowledge gaps as indicated
in Table 2, in the XDS organization, there are some proposed recommendations to close the
declarative gaps as suggested by Tillman, An, Zhang, and Boren (2014) and researchers with the
University of Clemson College of Education (CCE) (Clemson University, 2017). Specifically, as
pointed out by Tillman et al. (2014), teachers should invest the time to achieve proficiency in
more than one academic discipline and the application of interdisciplinary pedagogy that is both
scalable and realizable. Tillman et al. (2014) added the convergence of three specific educational
technologies facilitate high-quality interdisciplinary pedagogy that is realizable and scalable. The
three suggested technologies are digital multimedia (DM), design tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluation (AE). Tillman et al. (2014) claimed that DM facilitates scalable
interdisciplinary education because it offers repeatable experiences. Tillman et al. (2014) added
DT could assist students’ transition from abstract interacting with STEAM subjects to creating
actual products. Tillman et al. (2014) offered that computer-based AE are
evaluations/assessments that enable self-pacing by students and that also allow teachers time to
complete additional student work. In regards to the specific declarative recommendation, the
combination of teachers investing the time to achieve inter and multidisciplinary proficiency and
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

134
the application of interdisciplinary pedagogy, with the aid of three technologies — DM, DT, AE
(Tillman et al., 2014) is apt.
The researchers at CCE offered a model comprised of components to understand
effective teaching (Clemson University, 2017). The model Steam Classroom Assessment of
Learning Experiences (SCALE) consists of instructional approaches, assessment strategies,
subject-matter alignment, problem solving skills, equitable participation and discipline
integration procedures (Clemson University, 2017).
Procedural knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Clark and Estes
(2008), Krathwohl (2002), Rueda (2011) and Seli (2015) prescribed specifics on procedural
knowledge. Krathwohl and Rueda claimed that procedural knowledge refers to knowing how to
do things and methods of inquiry or very specific skills, techniques and methodologies. Seli
along with Clark and Estes added that procedural knowledge pertains to ‘how’ we do things.
As indicated in Table 2, job aid and training are suggested to close the procedural gaps.
Specifically, according to Clark and Estes (2008) the job aids are recommended when the school
staff does not have enough relevant past experience but have related expertise, while training
would be applicable with staff that has no experience or related expertise — but knows routine
procedures. Clark and Estes (2008) approach combined with the implementation of Tillman et
al.’s (2014) DM scalable interdisciplinary education and its repeatable experiences offering,
could result in the closing of a potential procedural knowledge gap. The procedural
recommendation for organizational investment in time to provide training and job aids to
facilitate teachers becoming proficient (Clark & Estes, 2008; Tillman et al., 2014) in inter and
multidisciplinary pedagogy is fitting.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

135
Metacognitive knowledge solutions, or description of needs or assets. Some
prevailing scholarly literature claimed metacognitive knowledge is about cognition (Baker, 2006;
Clark & Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011; Seli, 2015). Seli argued metacognition is the awareness of
and knowledge about one’s own cognition. Baker pointed out metacognition is cognition about
cognition or thinking about thinking and metacognition growth is gradual throughout childhood,
adolescence and even into adulthood. Baker noted metacognition refers to learners’ need to have
awareness and control of their cognitive processes or higher-level cognition. Rueda added the
awareness of particular cognitive processes that allows one to know when and why to do
something, along with integrating key aspects of strategic behavior in solving problems. In
keeping with the need for awareness and control of cognitive processes, the metacognitive
recommendation for the organization to provide training and for teachers to invest the time in
becoming proficient with student context and experiences, authentic assessment, regular
feedback and enabled student reflection (Baker, 2006; Rueda, 2011) is apropos.
To augment the organizational recommendation to facilitate training and teachers
becoming proficient with authentic assessment and regular feedback (Baker, 2006; Clark &
Estes, 2008; Rueda, 2011; Seli, 2015), application of the SCALE classroom assessment model
(see Appendix E) with problem solving skills, and equitable participation as key procedures
(Clemson University, 2017) should also help to mitigate the gaps associated with metacognitive
knowledge. As recommended by Clemson University (2017), key criteria for the problem
solving dimension are cognitive skills and creativity, while equitable participation dimension
consist of:
• Responsiveness to student needs, abilities and interests.
• Awareness of students’ context and experiences.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

136
The next section details the recommendations for practice to address the motivation
influences associated with this evaluation study.
Motivation Recommendations
Introduction. Seli (2017) summarized motivation as that which moves us and keeps us
going. Clark, Howard, and Early (2006) added motivation is the process whereby goal-directed
activity is instigated and sustained. Other scholarly works by Clark and Estes (2008), Rueda
(2011) and Pintrich (2003) provided additional details on motivation. Pintrich claimed
motivation is derived from the Latin verb movere, which means to move, while Clark and Estes
claimed motivation as a root motive influencing all human behavior, a desire to be effective in
our lives. Rueda defined motivation as the process whereby goal-directed activity is integrated
and sustained. Rueda claimed that motivation especially ‘achievement or academic’ motivation,
emphasizes the beliefs that a person develops related to themselves as learners, to learning tasks
and activities and related factors. Clark and Estes along with Hirabayashi (2015b) stipulated that
motivated behavior is characterized by three specifics, including active choice — when people
choose or fail to choose to actively pursue a goal and intention to pursue a goal is replaced by
action, persistence — once started, one continues in the face of distractions, and mental effort -
people work smarter and develop novel solutions.
In regards to academia in general and teachers in particular, Anderman and Anderman
(2006), Hirabayashi (2015b) and Yough and Anderman (2006) argued compellingly that
Attribution Theory and Goal Orientation provide important methods for examining and
understanding motivation in academic settings. Anderman and Anderman claimed that
Attribution Theory examines individual beliefs about why certain events occur and correlates
these beliefs to subsequent motivation. Hirabayashi detailed the three dimensions of Attribution
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

137
Theory that include locus, stability and controllability. Yough and Anderman noted Goal
Orientation is a social-cognitive theory of ‘achievement motivation’ that encompasses Mastery
Goal or Mastery-Oriented and Performance Goal or Performance-Oriented.
Based on some current scholarly works, a number of STEAM-based motivation
(Attribution Theory and Goal Orientation) influences resulted (see Table 11).
The following section adds specific recommendations for practice to address the
motivation influences specific to Attribution Theory and Goal Orientation for this evaluation.
Attribution theory solutions, or description of needs or assets. Teachers will be able
to exhibit attribution via feedback communication modes (assignments, examinations, etc.) with
learners (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2011). As
indicated by Anderman and Anderman (2006), and Lazowski and Hulleman (2016) teachers
affect attributions on a daily basis via their communications to learners through the types of
praise they offer during classroom instruction and feedback on assignments and examinations,
and stress the process of learning. Strategies recommended to close potential attribution theory
gaps encompass retraining and education. Typically, in an attribution-retraining program,
teachers are given specific information about the attribution process (via actors and discussions,
etc.) in a variety of situations and understand the importance of feedback and its accuracy
(Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Hirabayashi, 2015b). Another recommendation to close the
attribution theory gap was offered by Rueda (2011) who prescribed self-awareness analysis of
learning strategies and outcomes via education. Thus it is reasonable to prescribe the
recommendation of an attribution-retraining program where teachers are given specific
information about the attribution process, the importance of feedback by teachers to students,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

138
one-on-one conversations via actor and the importance of feedback with parents (Anderman &
Anderman, 2006; Hirabayashi, 2015b; Rueda, 2011), via discussions and job aid.
Based on some of the prevailing scholarly literature on motivation and attribution theory
for teachers, the theory provides an important method for examining and understanding
motivation in academic settings (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016).
Lazowski and Hulleman (2016) argued compellingly that motivation interventions have
demonstrated promising results for enhancing educational outcomes. Anderman and Anderman
(2006) added Attribution theory examines individual beliefs about why certain events occur and
correlates these beliefs to subsequent motivation. Anderman and Anderman further detailed
specifics on Weiner’s Model of Attribution that indicate learners are affected by environmental
and personal factors. Further, Hirabayashi (2015b) elaborated on to the three dimensions of
Attribution Theory that include locus — refers to whether the cause of the event is perceived as
internal (own behavior) or external (outside control) to the individual, stability — refers to
whether the cause is stable (permanent factor) or unstable (temporary factor) across time and
situations, and controllability — refers to whether the cause of the event is perceived as being
under the control of the individual. In an effort to close the attribution theory gap, it would be
prudent to prescribe the recommendation of attribution-retraining and self-awareness programs
where teachers are given specific information about the attribution process, could develop
understandings of the importance of feedback and its accuracy, analysis of learning strategies
and outcomes (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2011).

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

139
Table 11
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Motivation
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability
or No,
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Attribution Theory:
Teachers will be able
to exhibit attribution
via feedback
communication
modes (assignments,
exams, etc.) with
learners.
HP Y Teachers affect attributions on a daily
basis via their communications to
learners through the types of praise
they offer during classroom
instruction and feedback on
assignments and examinations, and
stress the process of learning
(Anderman & Anderman, 2006;
Hirabayashi, 2015b; Lazowski &
Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2011).
Attribution retraining program
where teachers are given specific
information about the attribution
process (via actors and
discussions etc.) in a variety of
situations and understand the
importance of feedback and its
accuracy. Self-awareness
analysis of learning strategies
and outcomes via education.
Attribution Theory:
Teachers will be able
to exhibit attribution
via one-on-one
conversations.
HP Y One-on-one conversations might
provide insight to teachers and
provide opportunities for shaping
students’ beliefs about their
performance. Teachers should
remember the power they have in
shaping students’ attributions
(Anderman & Anderman, 2006;
Clemson University, 2017; Lazowski
& Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2011;
Shute, 2008)
Attribution retraining program
where teachers are given specific
information about one-on-one
conversations via actors,
discussions and job aids. The
sessions will stress the
importance of feedback by
teachers to students. Teachers
will also share the importance of
feedback with parents.
Attribution Theory:
Teachers will be able
to exhibit attribution
via use of the ‘third
space’ in the
classroom.
HP Y Increased academic engagement and
learning gains occur when third
spaces are built in classrooms. It is
the meeting of teacher and student,
and is rich with interactions, culture,
discourse and dialogue and it is
where knowledge is constructed. It
enables other positions to emerge and
new knowledge to grow (Bhabha,
1994; Clemson University, 2017;
Moje et al., 2004; Rousseau, 2015;
Rueda, 2011).
Attribution retraining program
where teachers are given specific
information about the use of the
‘third space in the classroom via
actors, discussions and job aids,
in a variety of situations, and
understand the importance of the
‘third space’ where knowledge is
constructed.
Goal Orientation:
Teachers will be able
to integrate the Arts
with their STEM
educational
curriculum by the
year 2019.
HP Y By the year 2019 the school will
integrate the Arts with their STEM
educational curriculum. Goal
orientation involves focus on
learning, mastering and self-
improvement (Lazowski &
Hulleman, 2016; Rueda, 2015; school
website, 2016; Yough & Anderman,
2006).
Goal orientation training with
focus on meaningful aspects of
learning and performance, along
with providing feedback that
focus on individual
improvement, learning, progress
and mastery.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

140
Goal orientation solutions, or description of needs or assets. Teachers will be able to
integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum by the year 2019 (school website,
2016). By the year 2019 the school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational
curriculum. Goal orientation involves focus on learning, mastering and self-improvement
(Rueda, 2015). Also, Lazowski and Hulleman (2016) prescribed that motivation interventions
have demonstrated promising results in regards to enhancing educational outcomes. Thus, the
strategy recommended to close potential Goal Orientation gaps encompasses retraining
(Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016). Particular emphasis will be on Goal orientation training of the
teachers with focus on meaningful aspects of learning and performance, along with providing
feedback that focus on individual improvement, learning, progress and mastery (Rueda, 2015).
Goal Orientation Theory is a social-cognitive theory of ‘achievement motivation’ that
encompasses Mastery Goal or Mastery-Oriented and Performance Goal or Performance-
Oriented (Yough & Anderman, 2006). From the teachers’ perspective, Yough and Anderman
advanced students as being master-oriented since the culture of the school focuses on learning
and improving task mastery. Yough and Anderman argued that mastery goal is to truly
understand or master the task at hand. Yough and Anderman also noted students regard schools
as performance-oriented, since the culture of schools focuses on grades, achievement,
competitiveness and learners out-performing others. Rueda (2015) suggested mastery goal could
be characterized by task-involved, task-focused, and intrinsic attributes. Rueda pointed out that
goal orientation involves focus on learning, mastering and self-improvement. To minimize, if not
eliminate, any potential goal-orientation theory gaps associated with the integration of the Arts
with their STEM by the year 2019, the teacher training recommendations including providing
feedback that focus on learning mastering, performance, self-improvement, intrinsic attributes
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

141
and task (focused and involved), offered by Rueda (2015) and Yough and Anderman (2006) are
prescribed.
The following section focuses on Organization Recommendations for practice to address
the organization influences specific to Cultural Model and Cultural Settings for this study.
Organization Recommendations
Introduction. There is a considerable and persuasive amount of research identifying
organization (Clark & Estes, 2008; Kezar, 2001; Perrow, 1973; Schein, 2004; Schneider et al.,
1996). Perrow’s (1973) seminal original literature suggested a mechanical school of organization
theory that treated the organization as a machine, this evolved to a human relations school of
thought that emphasized people rather than machines and eventually the definition stipulated that
organizations are cooperative systems and not the products of mechanical engineering, to a
simple definition of organizations as open systems. Schneider et al. (1996) focused on
organizations and culture with the offering that culture is an abstraction. Schein (2004) claimed
to fully understand what goes on inside an organization, it is necessary to understand both the
organization’s macro/micro contexts and the interplay of the organizations’ three generic
subcultures (operator, engineer/design and executive). Schein (2004) added the subcultures are
aligned toward shared organizational goals and they operate in one or more macro cultures, such
as ethnic groups and other larger cultural units.
There is a significant body of prevailing research literature that has documented
definitions of organization influences in terms of sociocultural theory, culture, cultural setting
and cultural models (Clark & Estes, 2008; Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Rueda, 2011; Schein,
2004; Scott & Palinscar, 2006; Seli, 2017). Scott and Palinscar (2006) argued convincingly that
sociocultural theory explains how individual mental functioning is related to cultural,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

142
instructional and historical contexts. Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) noted culture is rendered
more practically useful in education when employed with two constructs, cultural model and
cultural settings. Gallimore and Goldenberg argued cultural model is a shared mental schema or
normative understanding of how the world works, or ought to work, and it incorporates
behavioral (activity) as well as cognitive and affective components. Gallimore and Goldenberg
added cultural settings occur wherever two or more people come together over time to
accomplish something and is homely and familiar. Culture exists (and is created) in those
settings where people come together to carry out joint activity that accomplishes something they
value — homework time, watching television, sharing news and events (Gallimore &
Goldenberg, 2001). Seli (2017) offered that cultural settings are the things you see (policies,
plans and resources), and cultural models are invisible but important aspects of an organization
that encompass values and beliefs.
The following section adds specific recommendations for practice to address the
organization influences specific to Cultural Models and Cultural Settings for this evaluation.
Cultural settings. Based on current scholarly works, a number of STEAM based
organizational influence (cultural settings) are detailed in Table 12. The organizational influence
of focus is the cultural setting that stipulates the organization will facilitate the integration of the
Arts in a STEM curriculum – STEAM education. Finding ways to integrate STEAM must
become a high priority since the integration produces students capable of creative participation,
and the bridging of art and science or art-based science activities (Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et
al., 2013; Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2013; Tillman et al., 2014). The recommended
strategy is to close potential cultural setting gaps, and encompass administration establishing
personal compacts via policies and procedures that provide direction and guidelines to faculty
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

143
and staff (Kim & Bolger, 2017; Strebel, 1996). As prescribed by Strebel (1996), the formal
personal compact captures basic tasks and performance requirements for STEAM integration as
defined by school district’s documents. Strebel (1996) also noted administration/leaders could
initiate the STEAM integration process by drawing attention to the need to change, establishing
context for revising the compact, establishing the process such that employees are able to revise
and buy into the new compact, and locking in commitments with new formal and informal rules.
Rueda (2015) cautioned that it is absolutely essential that change should be targeted at specific
features that impede goals, and not just for its own sake. STEAM integration via the combination
of specific targeted changes and personal compacts as recommendations of Rueda (2015) and
Strebel (1996) respectively, could facilitate the closing of potential cultural settings gaps. Thus,
approaching the cultural settings gap associated with the integration and the bridging of the Arts
and STEM with a targeted STEAM based arts integration process and procedure systematically,
while creating personal compacts with explicit links between employees’ commitments and the
district’s change/student outcomes, could eliminate or minimize the cultural setting gap (Rueda,
2015; Strebel, 1996).
Focusing on the cultural setting influences, as detailed in Table 4, the organization will
facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM curriculum. Root-Bernstein and Root-Bernstein
(2013) and Milkova et al. (2013) claimed finding ways, process and procedures to integrate and
bridge the arts and sciences, would enhance critical-thinking skills promoted through art-based
activities, and therefore must become a high priority for any school that wants to produce
students capable of creative participation in a science-dominated society like ours. Ghanbari
added that studies have also suggested learning through the arts has the ability to transcend
across different disciplines and enrich learning in disciplines beyond the arts. The
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

144
recommendation to facilitate Arts integration with STEM was informed by Strebel (1996) and
Rueda (2015) who argued that approaching targeted STEAM based arts integration processes
and procedures systematically and creating explicit links between employees’ commitments and
the district’s change/student outcomes, dramatically improves the probability of hitting the
targeted outcome. Given the focus on ultimately improving the student’s outcomes the
systematic targeted STEAM based approach to the arts integration process and procedure via
personal compacts could be an effective recommendation.
Cultural models. Grounded in current scholarly works, a number of STEAM based
organizational influences — cultural models resulted (see Table 12). The arts educators should
be interested in incorporating media arts into the schooling curriculum since current conceptions
of schooling envision new technologies being integrated across the curriculum in all K-12
schools. To keep up with the demands of preparing youth for the 21st century, technology is a
core feature of the arts including music, and music should be a core subject (Gallimore &
Goldenberg, 2001; Peppler, 2010; Welch, 2012). A concomitant recommended strategy to close
potential cultural model gaps involves processes and procedures for acquisition of particular
organizational cultural model information. Rueda (2015) argued cultural models help gain some
understanding of the invisible aspects of schools and other educational organizations. Rueda
(2015) specifically, prescribed implementing a process and procedures to assess (via a survey),
to understand and gain insights in the organizational factors and dynamics that have important
influences on people’s behavior — why they think, behave and respond in the ways they do.
Rueda added that once the organizational models in an educational organization is clear, it is
easier to understand behaviors and shape future behaviors. Thus, with the technology integration
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

145
model as suggested by some of the STEAM based scholarly literature, Rueda’s implementation
process and procedure is sound.
In regards to schools, Rueda (2015) indicated cultural models specific to schools, shape
these organizations’ structure including values, policies, rewards and such. Kotter (2007) echoed
similar guidance on shaping an organization structure via an eight-step process that includes
planning for, and creating short term wins by recognizing and rewarding employees involved
with the improvement. Included in the eight step process are creating a vision to help direct the
change and using other options to facilitate communication of the vision ‘walk-the-talk’ (Kotter,
2007). Kotter concluded that the final step should enable institutionalization of the new
approaches by administration articulating the connections between the new behaviors and
corporate success. Together Rueda’s (2015) and Kotter’s (2007) suggestions about shaping the
organization’s value, policies and rewards via an eight-step transformation/change process, helps
to inform the recommendations for closing the integration and collaboration cultural model’s
performance gaps.
While this section focused on the KMO influences separately for convenience, all three
influences need to be looked at as a dynamic and unified whole since they interact in a complex
way (Rueda, 2015). The next section focuses on the integrated implementation and evaluation
plan.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

146
Table 12
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Org.
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset*
Validated —
Yes, High
Probability
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
— Yes,
No
(Y, N) Principle and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural Settings
Influence 1: The
organization will
facilitate the
integration of the
Arts in a STEM
curriculum.
Cultural Settings
Influence 2: The
organization will
facilitate
collaboration
between the Arts
and STEM
teachers.
HP Y Finding ways to collaborate
and integrate STEAM must
become a high priority since
the integration produces
students capable of creative
participation, bridging of art
and science or art-based
science activities founded on
the belief that the critical
thinking skills are enhanced,
and learning through the arts
transcends across different
disciplines and enrich learning
in disciplines beyond the arts
(Clemson University, 2017;
Ghanbari, 2015; Milkova et
al., 2013; Root-Bernstein &
Root-Bernstein, 2013; Strebel,
1996; Tillman et al., 2014).
Finding a process and
procedure to integrate and
bridge the Arts and STEM
(STEAM) — a targeted
STEAM based arts
integration process and
procedure, systematically
and creating personal
compacts with explicit links
between employees’
commitments and the
district’s change/student
outcomes.
Cultural Models
Influence 1: The
organization will
facilitate
technology
integration
throughout the
school.
Cultural Models
Influence 2: The
organization will
facilitate
collaborative work
settings.
HP Y To keep up with the demands
of preparing youth for the 21st
century technology is a core
feature of the arts including
music, and music should be a
core subject. In addition,
technology could facilitate
collaborative work settings
designed to improve teaching
and learning steadily. The arts
educators should be interested
in incorporation media arts
into the schooling curriculum
since current conceptions of
schooling envision new
technologies being integrated
across the curriculum in all K-
12 school (Gallimore &
Goldenberg, 2001; Peppler,
2010; Welch, 2012).
Implement a process and
procedures to assess (via a
survey) understand and gain
insights in the
organizational factors and
dynamics that have
important influences on
people’s behavior - why the
think, behave and respond in
the ways they do.
Shaping the organization’s
technology and
collaboration values,
policies and rewards via an
eight-step
transformation/change
process.
Collaboration should be
enabled and allowed to
become the normal process
and procedure within the
school.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

147
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
Yates (2017) addressed the topics of integrated implementation and evaluation planning
with the construct that the two main criteria for implementation and planning are usefulness and
credibility. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) advanced the New World Kirkpatrick Model to
facilitate evaluation of training programs while maximizing and demonstrating their value to
organizations via four specific levels — reaction, learning, behavior and results. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick pointed out that the new world model could be differentiated from the original model
with the claim that the four levels are used not just to evaluate what happened as a result of a
training program, but are used as a tool to maximize implementation and outcomes. As posited
by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) the four levels include:
• Level 1 — Reaction: Focuses on formative methods to evaluate three specific
components that include engagement, relevance and customer satisfaction. This
formative evaluation should be completed immediately after the training program.
• Level 2 — Learning: Consisting of five components including knowledge, skills,
attitude, confidence and commitment. The timing for this formative evaluation is also
immediately following the program.
• Level 3 — Behavior: This is a comprehensive, continuous performance monitoring
and improvement initiative, with particular focus on the degree to which participants
apply what they learned, as a result of the training, upon return to their work
environment.
• Level 4 — Results: This level focuses on the degree to which targeted outcomes
occur as a result of the training, support and accountability package. This level is also
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

148
characterized by short-term observations and measurements of resultant critical
internal and external behaviors.
Yates (2017) added additional specifics on the four levels with the claim that results must
go beyond Level 1 (reactions) and Level 2 (learning) and needs to show behavior (Level 3) and
results (Level 4). The next section provides specifics on XDS’s purpose, needs and expectations.
Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations
A comprehensive and thorough understanding of the KMO elements related to adding the
Arts and associated electives to a STEM curriculum - STEAM education, is the expressed
purpose of this evaluation study. STEAM advocates claim that the arts hold great potential to
foster creativity and new ways of thinking that can help unleash STEM student achievement and
innovation (Dwyer, 2011; Robelen, 2011). Wynn and Harris (2012) argued persuasively that Art
and STEM are of equal importance and added the arts are being recognized as essential to
innovation, and innovation a hallmark of success in STEAM drives quantum advances in all
fields. The study with XDS high school also addressed research questions centered around the
perceived knowledge, motivation and organization elements related to integrating the Arts in a
STEM based curriculum and recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of
knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources.
Since 1974, XDS’s mission has been to support and prepare its students for successful
continuing study and careers in the fields of STEM (school website, 2016). The district
established an educational plan that focuses on the creation of a school whose mission is to
transform the teaching and learning of mathematics and science by developing ethical leaders
(school website, 2016). XDS further indicates that to meet the challenges of the 21st century,
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

149
students must be critical thinkers, problem solvers, computer literate, and committed to school
and community.
Given the purpose, research questions, and curricula the stakeholder of interest in this
case study is the teachers of XDS high school, who are responsible for the STEAM education.
As detailed in Table 1, the specific stakeholder’s performance goal is that by the year 2019 the
school will integrate the Arts with their STEM educational curriculum (school website, 2016).
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) results are the degrees to which targeted
outcomes occur as result of the training, support and accountability packages. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick added that leading indicators suggest critical behaviors, based on observations and
measurements, of stakeholders/participants are on track to positively impact desired results.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick clarified that leading indicators could also be categorized as internal
(individual, team department of organizational outcomes) or external (customer, client, industry
and/or market response). Table 13 shows the proposed Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
in the form of outcomes, metrics and methods for both external and internal outcomes for XDS
high school. The specific indicators are integration/collaboration on lesson plans and instruction,
along with the infusion of technology and creative thinking through art and design lesson plans
and instruction.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

150
Table 13
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
Leading Indicator (External Outcomes)
1. Increased interaction,
integration and collaboration on
lesson plans and instruction.
Summative assessments — Improved
final learners grades and standardized
scores for parents/other school
administrators.
Standardized
state and national
tests.
Leading Indicator (Internal Outcomes)
2. Increased infusion of
technology and creative thinking
through art and design lesson
plans and instruction.
Formative assessments — Improved
learners technology and artistic skills.
Classroom and homework/
weekly/semester scores.
Quizzes and tests.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The stakeholders of focus are the teachers of XDS high school. As
recommended by Yates (2017) and Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the behaviors in question
are the performance of stakeholders and the organizational support. Specifically, the behaviors
are that of the stakeholders applying the training, and the organization providing the appropriate
support to the staff. According to Yates, two critical components of behavior are critical
behavior — the key behaviors the primary group will consistently exhibit to bring about desired
results, and required drivers — processes and systems that reinforce, monitor, encourage and
reward performance of critical behaviors.
Table 14 shows the proposed Level 3 — critical behavior, metrics, methods and timing
for XDS high school. At this level, according to Yates (2017), the focus moves from individual
stakeholder’s accountability to the organization’s accountability and the facilitation of built-in
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

151
continuous support. In Table 14, the critical behaviors align with the outcomes detailed in Table
13.

Table 14
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Teachers
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
1. Art and STEM
teachers
interacting,
integrating and
collaborating on
lesson plans and
instruction.
Completed weekly
integrated and
collaborated lesson
plans and
instruction via
training and job
aids that are
realizable, scalable
and measurable.
Completed integrated and
collaborated lesson plans
and instruction via training
and job aids that are
realizable, scalable and
measurable via: digital
multimedia (DM), design
tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluation.
During first 90 days
after job aids and
training – monthly
observation or
walkthroughs.
Thereafter, semester
based observation and
walkthroughs, so long
as previously
successful.
2. Teachers
facilitate infusing
technology and
creative thinking
through art and
design.
Completed
technology infused
and creative
thinking based
lesson plans and
instruction via
training and job
aids that are
realizable, scalable
and measurable.
Completed technology
infused and creative
thinking based lesson plans
and instruction via training
and job aids that are
realizable, scalable and
measurable via:
multimedia (DM), design
tools (DT), and computer-
based adaptive evaluation
and art methodologies.
During first 90 days
after job aids and
training – monthly
observation or
walkthroughs.
Thereafter, semester
based observation and
walkthroughs, so long
as previously
successful.

Required drivers. In order to influence and evaluate level 3 — behaviors, Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick (2016) proposed the use of required driver package methods and systems of
monitoring, reinforcing, encouraging and rewarding the performance of critical behaviors at the
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

152
job site. Table 15 shows the proposed Level 3 — required drivers to support critical behavior,
metrics, methods and timing for XDS high school.

Table 15
Required Drivers to Support Teachers’ Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors
Supported 1, 2 etc.
Reinforcing
Team meetings with teachers and assistant principal to establish
collaboration and integration goals and time frames.
Weekly 1,2
Team meeting to troubleshoot collaboratively and to establish
technology/creative infusion goals and time frame and any
updated/additional training.
Weekly 1,2
Encouraging
Collaboration and peer modeling during team meetings. Teachers
sharing success stories
Weekly 1, 2
Feedback, acknowledge success stories and coaching from assistant
principal and or principal.
Ongoing 1, 2
Rewarding
Principal acknowledgement, at weekly teachers meetings, when
teachers’ collaboration and integration is exemplary.
Weekly 1, 2
Performance incentive when exemplary integration, collaboration,
technology infusion and creative thinking are exhibited consistently
by teachers over a semester.
Semester 1, 2
Monitor
Principal/assistant principal observe teachers integrating, interacting
and collaborating via lesson plans and instruction.
Weekly 1, 2
Observe teachers infusing technology and creative thinking via lesson
plans and instruction.
Weekly 1, 2

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

153
Monitoring. In order to appreciate the extent of the implementation of critical behaviors,
required driver performance and leading indicators a series of monitoring strategies should be
employed to ensure adoption by the teachers at XDS. As shown in Table 15, the monitoring
should include:
• Principal/assistant principal observing teachers integrating, interacting and
collaborating via lesson plans and classroom instruction or observing STEAM
education in progress via an integrated curricula (Kim & Bolger, 2017). To facilitate
STEAM education, according to Clemson University (2017) and Tillman et al.
(2014), the integration should include multiple content areas, synthesis across
disciplines, content areas, connected ideas, multiple methods and task specific
approaches.
• The observation of teachers infusing technology and creative thinking via lesson
plans and classroom instruction.
Organizational support. The critical behaviors, required driver performance, leading
indicators, technology infusion that are monitored for the extent of performance implementation
assume that the recommendations at the organizational level are in place. To facilitate the
stakeholders (teachers) achieving the organizational goals, the organization should provide the
requisite amount of resources the training program warrants (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) New World Model indicates that
learning associated with Level 2 is the degree to which participants acquire the intended
knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence and commitment, based on participation in training. Yates
(2017) noted at Level 2, there is a need to focus on measurement of the knowledge, skills and
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

154
attitude components, along with introducing activities that build confidence and commitment of
the participants. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) added evaluation of the learning
components could include knowledge tests, quizzes, post-tests, surveys, interviews, focus group
interviews, teach-back and action planning. The timing of these measurements could be via
formative assessments and occur immediately following the training program (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). Following completion of the recommended solutions via the training and job
aids program the stakeholders (teachers), in order to perform the critical behaviors listed in Table
15, need to know and should be able to do the following at the XDS school:
1. Demonstrate proficiency in more than one academic discipline and the application of
the interdisciplinary pedagogy that is realizable and scalable, including digital
multimedia (DM), design tools (DT), and computer-based adaptive evaluation. (AE).
2. Demonstrate proficiency with authentic problematic reviews, formative and
summative evaluations via expertise based exemplars and demonstrations.
3. Demonstrate proficiency with authentic assessment embedded in learning task,
providing regular feedback and enabling student reflection, and awareness of student
context and experiences.
4. Demonstrate proficiency with attribution for a variety of situations and understand the
importance of feedback and its accuracy, and become proficient with self-awareness
analysis of learning strategies and outcomes via education.
5. Demonstrate proficiency with one-on-one conversations, the importance of feedback
by teachers to students and sharing the importance of feedback with parents.
6. Demonstrate proficiency with the use of the ‘third space in the classroom and
understand the importance of the ‘third space.’
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

155
7. Demonstrate proficiency with goal orientation and focus on meaningful aspects of
learning and performance, along with providing feedback that focuses on individual
improvement, learning, progress and mastery.
Program. The seven learning goals listed in the previous learning section, will be
achieved with a training and job aids program that ensures the following:
1. Teachers will know and understand how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s
STEM subjects via problem solving applications, crafts and designs.
2. Arts teachers will know and understand what are aesthetic inquiry and design
thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-based engineering topics.
3. Teachers will know and understand varied forms of media, visual, performing and
theater arts for lesson planning and projects.
4. Teachers will know and understand what the integration of music, and music with
technology mean and be able to use them in their lesson planning.
5. Teachers will be able to understand the concept of integrating the arts with STEM
with lesson plans and projects.
6. Science and art teachers will be able to understand the concept that science can learn
from performing arts.
7. Teachers will be able to understand the concept of artistic inquiry.
8. Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies enabling
collaboration among the STEAM subjects.
9. Teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate infusing
technology and creative thinking through art and design.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

156
10. Art and STEM teachers will know the procedures and methodologies that facilitate
infusing artistic-inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into
STEAM subjects.
11. Teachers will know the procedures and practices that allow for “down time” and
reflection.
12. Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that facilitate social
and emotional functioning.
13. Teachers will be able to implement metacognitive methodologies that facilitate ways
of visualizing, critical and process-oriented thinking and learning via the arts.
14. Completed integrated and collaborated lesson plans and instruction that are realizable,
scalable and measurable with the aid of digital multimedia (DM), design tools (DT),
and computer-based adaptive evaluations.
15. Completed technology infused and creative thinking based lesson plans and
instruction that are realizable, scalable and measurable with the aid of digital
multimedia (DM), design tools (DT), and computer-based adaptive evaluation and art
methodologies.
16. Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via feedback communication modes
(assignments, exams, etc.) with learners.
17. Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via one-on-one conversations.
18. Teachers will be able to exhibit attribution via use of the ‘third space’ in the
classroom.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

157
Components of learning. Demonstrating declarative knowledge is often necessary as a
precursor to applying the knowledge to solve problems. Thus, it is important to evaluate learning
for both the declarative and procedural knowledge being taught. Table 16 lists the evaluation
methods and timing for these components of learning.

Table 16
Components of Learning for the XDS Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge checks using multiple choice. In portions of the course during and
after training and job aids
program/workshops.
Knowledge checks through discussions, “pair, think,
share” and other individual/group activities.
Periodically during the in person
workshops and documented via
observation notes.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
During the asynchronous portions of the course using
scenarios with multiple-choice items.
In the asynchronous portions of the
course at the end of each
module/lesson/unit.
Demonstration in teams of two and individually of
using the job aids to successfully perform the skills.
During the workshops.
Quality of the feedback from peers during group sharing During the workshops.
Team/individual application of the STEAM integration
and collaboration skills.
At the end of the workshop.
Team/individual application of the technology infusion
integration and creative thinking skills.
At the end of the workshop.
Retrospective pre- and post-test assessment survey
asking participants about their level of proficiency
before and after the training.
At the end of the workshop.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

158

Table 16, continued
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Instructor’s observation of participants’ statements and
actions demonstrating that they see the benefit of what
they are being asked to do on the job.
During the workshop
Discussions of the value of what they are being asked to
do on the job.
During the workshop.
Prior knowledge (pre-test) assessment and post-test
assessment after the course.
After the workshop.
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Survey items using scaled items following each
module/lesson/unit in the asynchronous portions of the
course.
Survey items using scaled items
Following each module/lesson/unit
in the asynchronous portions of the
course.
Discussions following practice and feedback. During the workshop.
Prior knowledge (pre-test) assessment and post-test
assessment item after the course.
After the course.
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Discussions following practice and feedback. During the workshop.
Create an individual action plan. During the workshop.
Prior knowledge (pre-test) assessment and post-test
assessment item after the course.
After the course.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

159
Level 1: Reaction
The New World Model offered by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) claimed that
reaction associated with Level 1 focuses on formative methods to evaluate the three components
that include engagement, relevance and customer satisfaction. Table 17 details specifics on
methods, tools and timing to measure components of Level 1.

Table 17
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Completion of online modules/lessons/units Ongoing during asynchronous portion
of the course
Observation by instructor/facilitator During the workshop
Observation by principal/assistant principal During the workshop
Attendance During the workshop
Course evaluation Two weeks after the training program.
Relevance
Brief pulse-check with participants via thumbs
up/down, observations, formative assessment, survey
(online) and discussion (ongoing)
After every module/lesson/unit and the
workshop
Course evaluation Two weeks after the training program
is completed.
Customer Satisfaction
Brief pulse-check with participants via thumbs
up/down, survey (online) and discussion (ongoing)
After every module/lesson/unit and the
workshop.
Course evaluation Two weeks after the training program
is completed.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

160
Evaluation Tools
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) and Yates (2017) addressed the topic of training
program evaluations. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) offered that all intervention programs
require some form of evaluation in order to ensure that value is being created and demonstrated.
Yates (2017) elaborated that the reasons for training program evaluations are not just to
demonstrate value to the organization but also to gauge the quality, improve the program, and to
increase the transfer of learning to behavior. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) noted that all
evaluation tools should be blended, and in order to maximize data while minimizing resources,
an approach in which multiple levels are evaluated from numerous perspectives, is apropos.
Immediately following the program implementation. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
(2016) suggested that immediately after a training program a blended evaluation tool should be
created. The program should consist of questions related to Level 1 reaction (relevance,
engagement and satisfaction), and to application of what was learned on the job (Level 2 —
learning) by the teachers at XDS high school. For Level 1 the facilitator will conduct intermittent
checks with the participants via questions about their reaction to their work and the organization,
delivery, and learning environment. For Level 2, Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) noted the
facilitator should complete checks with the participants for understanding via questions and
scenarios drawn from the content (see Appendix H).
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. With regards to delayed
evaluation after a training program, all levels should be evaluated, however, focus should be on
how participants applied what they learned, what kind of support the participants are receiving
on the job (Level 3 — behavior), and what kind of results (Level 4) they have accomplished
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick, delayed
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

161
evaluations could also include items that measure all four levels of the New World Kirkpatrick
Model including reaction, learning, behavior and results.
Approximately six weeks after the implementation of the training, and then again at 15
weeks, leadership will administer a survey containing open-ended and Likert scaled questions
(see Appendix I — Blended Evaluation Tools).
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) argued the purpose of evaluation is to create tools
with items and instructions that are clear, unambiguous, compelling and provide responses that
could be interpreted exactly as intended (credible data). These authors summarized, however,
that a standardized evaluation form that works in all circumstance does not exist. The next
section focuses on analysis of the data and reporting of the results/findings.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Both Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) and Yates (2017) provided valuable insights on
data analysis and decisions associated with the New World Model program implementation.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick advised gathering and analyzing data along the way in order to
influence and maximize program results/outcomes. Yates (2017) stressed the need to focus on
the three key questions for data analysis metrics as recommended by the New World Model.
Specifically:
1. Does the level of the metrics (reaction, learning, behavior and results) meet
expectations?
2. If not, why not?
3. If so, then why?
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick suggested implementers should be mindful of the high
‘signal-to-noise ratio’ associated with gathering large amounts of evaluation data, and filter out
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

162
the useless and unimportant or ‘noise’ data. Yates noted the instructor should collect data
formatively during implementation for Levels 1 and 2. Yates added that the instructor should
also collect summative data from the stakeholders (teachers) after implementation for all levels,
especially Levels 3 and 4. Yates stressed the importance of presenting findings/results using
dashboards and brief graphical presentations that is creative, engaging, accessible, clear, and
quickly understood by the stakeholders (teachers). Yates argued without widespread support for
implementing and evaluating recommendations, not much will change. Kirkpatrick and
Kirkpatrick summarized data analysis resources should be concentrated on Levels 3 and 4, with
particular focus on:
• A clear, data-based business case for managers to support training initiatives;
• Based on a key principle that we can learn a lot from inquiring about the extreme
trainee groups (achievers of great results with training or not using their training at
all);
• Uncovers and pinpoints all the major factors that make or break training success, so
implementers can build on and leverage knowledge into recommendations;
• Integrating the positive extreme successes (via a brief survey) and understanding the
training related factors (particular tools of the training, supervisory assistance,
feedback) that enable recommendation and create highly powerful and useful
information for helping subsequent trainees and improved results for later versions of
the training.
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) argued persuasively about the necessity to approach
program evaluation from the business perspective that ensures the needs of the customers of the
training program, administrators and business managers, are met. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

163
prescribed presentation to administrators and business managers, focus on the answer to two
questions:
1. So what? What was learned from the training initiative?
2. Now what? What should be done in the future?
The authors claimed business managers judge evaluation outcomes using criteria including
relevant, credible, compelling and efficient, and stipulated that all four must be met. Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick added that typical manager’s valuable outcomes verbiage includes increased
customer satisfaction, reduction in employee turnover, reduced waste and higher output. Higher
output could translate to improved student outcomes at XDS.
The ultimate goal of a successful training initiative is the extent to which performance
was improved and whether the outcomes were worth the investment (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2016). Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick indicated that the fundamental concept of continuous process
improvement is the Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) Cycle, with the Act or approach portion
disaggregated to expanded, continued, modified, or abandoned. Simplified, the fundamental
concept of process improvement of any business improvement process is to obtain actionable
information for improvement. The (PDCA) cycle aligns well with another transformational
organizational change process — Action Mapping, and its six steps process including Goals
(Plan), Assemblage (Do), Knowledge/Wisdom (Check), Actions and Resources (Act) and
Storytelling (Plan) (Matsui, 1997, 2016). Action Mapping is also a transformational change
model that embraces the New World Model and is the recommended improvement process of
choice associated with this XDS evaluation study.
Sharing and reporting the training outcomes associated with XDS’s potential process
improvement will embrace and be guided by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016)
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

164
recommendations. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick suggested the dashboard construct for process
improvement monitoring and advised the use of the ‘dashboard’ to visualize current program
status, enhance monitoring in terms of program progress or potential problems, provide a clear
picture and drive performance and results. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick advised the use of a
dashboard for interim program progress focused on Levels 3 and 4 elements including critical
behavior, required driver performance and leading indicator status and one key Level 2 element
— learning. In order to visualize the extent of the implementation of critical behavior, required
driver performance and leading indicators (see Table 15), a recommended exemplar dashboard is
illustrated in Table 18.

Table 18
Implementation Progress
Action/Results
Target
(%)
Actual
(%)
Previous
Month (%)
Percentage
Increase/Decrease
(%)
Discipline integration or integrated
curricula (content areas, multiple
methods, synthesis across disciplines)
100 25 10 40
Collaboration (Lesson planning) 100 50 25 50
Collaboration (Classroom Instruction) 100 30 30 0
Third space and one-on-one
conversations
100 90 60 33
Technology Infusion 100 75 50 -33

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

165
The overall final results/outcomes report will be driven by the notion that less is more
and focused on creating a brief graphical presentation that the training has improved
performance (STEAM student outcomes) and targeted organizational outcomes (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). As recommended by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), Matsui (2016) and
Yates (2017) the presentation of the final results will be guided by the following:
• Initiate the presentation with a success story and where possible bring a graduate to
share a personal success story or Storytelling (Matsui, 2016);
• Provide numeric data that is illustrated and or supported by a testimonial or graduate
story;
• Most stakeholders are satisfied with evidence;
• Deliver in person a brief graphical presentation of results adapted to meet the
stakeholders request;
• Start with a gentle reminder of the program’s purpose and problem of practice;
• Recap the program methodology;
• Focus on sharing Levels 3 and 4 findings;
• Highlight the success factors that contributed to results/outcomes;
• Share some of the barriers encountered and how they were resolved.
The essence of a training program initiative is demonstrating its value to the organization
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016; Matsui, 2016; Yates, 2017). However, according to
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick there are a number of pitfalls that could negatively impact a training
program, including:
• Addressing evaluation requirements after a program has launched;
• Spending the majority of the training resources on Levels 1 and 2;
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

166
• Relying solely on standardized surveys;
• Asking data that does not generate useful data;
• Not using collected data;
• Reception of the program by the stakeholders;
• Making evaluations too complicated or academic.
Ultimately, resources invested based on a common-sense integrated program approach could
result in meaningful data useful in maximizing and demonstrating value (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The next section summarizes the study’s recommendation, implementation and
evaluation.
Summary Recommendations and Evaluation Plan
Guided by initiatives that encompass the XDS organization providing some combination
of training, education and jobs aids, in conjunction with teachers investing the time in becoming
proficient in more than one academic discipline, suggested for interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary
pedagogy or STEAM education (Clark & Estes, 2008; Clemson University, 2017; Ghanbari,
2015; Guyotte et al., 2014; Kim & Bolger, 2017; Herro & Quigley, 2016; Tillman et al., 2014),
the following recommendations to close potential gaps resulted:
1. For declarative knowledge (factual and conceptual) gaps, the combination of teachers
investing the time to achieve inter and multidisciplinary proficiency, and the
application of interdisciplinary pedagogy with the aid of three technologies — DM,
DT, AE is apt. (Tillman et al., 2014).
2. To address the procedural gaps, the organization providing training and job aids to
facilitate teachers becoming proficient in inter and transdisciplinary pedagogy via
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

167
application of the SCALE classroom assessment model (see Appendix E) is suitable
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Tillman et al., 2014).
3. Regarding metacognitive gaps, the organization should provide training while
teachers should invest the time in becoming proficient with student context and
experiences, authentic assessment, regular feedback and enabled student reflection
(Clemson University, 2017; Baker, 2006; Rueda, 2011) is apropos.
4. Focusing on motivation (attribution) gaps, retraining programs where teachers are
given specific information about the attribution-retraining and self-awareness
programs could develop understandings of the importance of feedback (to students
and parents) and its accuracy, analysis of learning strategies and outcomes, one-on-
one conversations via actor discussions and job aids, are recommended (Anderman &
Anderman, 2006; Hirabayashi, 2015b; Rueda, 2011).
5. In regards to Goal-orientation theory gaps associated with STEAM education by the
year 2019, the teacher training recommendations including providing feedback that
focus on learning mastering, performance, self-improvement, intrinsic attributes and
task (focused and involved), are prescribed (Rueda, 2015; Yough & Anderman,
2006).
6. To enhance the organization’s Cultural Settings, the focus on ultimately improving
the student’s outcomes, the systematic targeted STEAM based approach to STEAM
integration process via personal compacts, is recommendation. Focus on Cultural
models, shaping the organization’s value, policies and rewards via an eight-step
transformation/change process, helps to inform the recommendations for closing
cultural model’s performance gaps (Rueda, 2015; Kotter, 2007).
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

168
An integrated implementation and evaluation plan was proposed based on
recommendations informed by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) and Matsui’s (2016)
framework and plans. Outcomes (internal and external), and critical behaviors (metrics, methods
and timing), along with required drivers to support critical behaviors for teachers were
documented. In order to appreciate critical behaviors, required driver performance and leading
indicators associated with a training program, evaluation tools immediately following the
program implementation, and blended evaluation tools (delayed) for a period after the program
implementation (see Appendix H), along with monitoring via a dashboard were suggested.
Finally, recommendation for demonstrating progress (via dashboard), reporting program results,
and the value of the training program were offered.
Given that a standardized evaluation form that works for all training program does not
exist (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), it is hoped that this recommended training program,
blended evaluation and the intermittent monitoring of the implementation progress via the
suggested dashboard (see Table 10), will yield meaningful data and demonstrate the value
STEAM education at XDS.
Conclusion
Scholarly literature is extensive on STEM trending upward, the Arts and its electives
being marginalized, the worrying downward trend in STEM achievement and ultimately the
decline of the nation’s competitiveness (Bailey, 1990; Carnevale et al., 2011; Dwyer, 2011;
Kuenzi et al., 2006; Land, 2013; Maguire et al., 2012). Noting that the arts ultimately spur
advances in all fields (Wynn & Harris, 2012), the aim of this qualitative evaluation study was to
examine and understand the KMO implications of integrating the Arts within a STEM
curriculum or STEAM education. For the purposes of this study STEAM education was referred
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

169
to as integrated curricula, or an interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach, that focuses on the
collaboration and integration or connections between disciplines that should include multiple
content areas, synthesis across disciplines, connected ideas, multiple methods, problem-solving
and task specific approaches (Clemson University, 2017; Ghanbari, 2015; Guyotte et al., 2014;
Herro & Quigley, 2016; Kim & Bolger, 2017; Tillman et al., 2014).
An organizational model that applies a KMO gap analysis conceptual framework
advanced by Clark and Estes (2008) served to inform this study. The specific research questions
aligned with the purpose of this case study were as follows:
1. What are the perceived KMO elements related to integrating the Arts in a STEM
based curriculum from the high school teachers’ perspective at XDS high school?
2. What are the recommendations for STEAM organizational practice in the areas of
KMO resources?
In an effort to develop understandings based on the two research questions, the data
gathered via three teacher focus groups interviews (four members per focus group), two
classroom observations and a sample of artifacts were organized around KMO influence
categories. Misalignments between the teachers’ perspectives and the scholarly STEAM claims
or constructs, were considered as gaps. Subsequent KMO based gap analysis, informed by the
teachers’ perspectives regarding the integration of the Arts with STEM or STEAM education at
XDS high school, revealed the following understandings or findings:
1. Teachers do not know or understand how to integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s
STEM subjects – STEAM education.
2. Teachers lack understanding of procedures and methodologies that facilitate STEAM
education.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

170
3. The organization does not facilitate collaboration in general, and in particular,
curriculum integration of, and teacher collaboration on, STEAM education.
4. Achieving STEAM education via the current educational curriculum, by the year
2019 could be problematic.
5. Teachers exhibit ‘third space’ and a significant amount of ‘one-on-one’ behaviors that
are conducive to the construction of knowledge.
6. The organization does facilitate technology integration throughout the school and
teachers are immersed in the integration of technology to facilitate teaching.
7. Teachers understand the concepts of aesthetic inquiry and design thinking, the varied
forms of media, visual, and performing arts, integration of music, and music with
technology with lesson plans and projects.
A number of these findings are in concert with Kim and Bolger’s (2017) claims of
STEAM education teachers’ challenge being teachers’ training in STEAM theories and the
practice of designing STEAM lesson plans, along with misalignments between
standards/curricula/goals and text books/lessons plans. As stipulated by Kim and Bolger (2017),
STEAM education challenges include:
1. Teachers’ training in STEAM theories and the practice of designing STEAM lesson
plans, since teachers who are the focus of any STEAM education implementation,
could lack the knowledge, confidence, and curricular supports to implement STEAM
changes.
2. The alignment between standards/policy/curricula/learning goals and the specifics of
lesson plans/text books.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

171
Given the organizational performance goal for the teachers at XDS to integrate the Arts
with their STEM educational curriculum (school website, 2016), a concomitant set of influences
and recommendations for practice to address KMO gap were detailed. Informed by Kirkpatrick
and Kirkpatrick’s (2016b) New World Model and Matsui’s (2016) action plan, a set of
recommendations and an integrated implementation and evaluation plan to close the gaps were
proposed, As suggested by Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) a standardized implementation
and evaluation plan that works for all training program does not exist, however it is hoped that
this study’s recommended training program, blended evaluation and the intermittent monitoring
of the implementation progress, will yield meaningful results and demonstrate the value of
STEAM education at XDS.
Recommendations for Implementation
Going forward, it is my opinion that implementing STEAM education in the K-12
domain could be accomplished with the aid of a value proposition that starts with STEAM
education success stories, and goes on to articulate the benefits of STEAM education versus its
associated costs.
Despite the fact that today’s education resources are facing drastic cuts in funding,
including $9.2 billion from public education, $2.1 billion from teacher training, $27 million from
art education (Johnson, Campbell, Spicklemire, & Partelow, 2017), a value proposition that
stresses the benefits of STEAM education including a solution to educational gaps like low
student outcomes, and improved students’ achievement outcomes (Tillman et al., 2015), might
prove compelling to education business managers. There are a number of trending success stories
at various levels ranging from STEAM education being implemented countrywide as in Korea
(Kim & Bolger, 2017), to public schools in states including California with STEAM education
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

172
programs in Contra Costa County School District (Contra Costa County Office of Education,
2017), to Atlanta’s Fulton Science Academy High School (Fulton Science Academy, 2017), and
New York’s Blue School for K-8 graders (Blue School, 2017).
STEAM education comes with costs in terms of challenges and resources. As argued by
Kim and Bolger (2017), STEAM education comes with a series of challenges. The challenges
including the alignment between standards/policy/curricula/learning goals and the specifics of
lesson plans/text books; along with organizations investment in teachers’ training in STEAM
theories and the practice of designing STEAM lesson plans. From an organizational perspective,
STEAM education would require new approaches with administration articulating the
connections between the new STEAM behaviors (teachers’ collaborating), integrated or
interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary curricula and corporate success. Organizations should also
focus on creating a mission and vision to help direct the change and use recourses to facilitate
communication of the STEAM education vision.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

173
REFERENCES
Anderman, E., & Anderman, L. (2006). Attribution theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/attribution-theory/
Bailey, R. (1990). Mathematics for the millions, science for the people: Comments on black
students and the mathematics, science, and technology pipeline. Journal of Negro
Education, 59(3), 239-245.
Baker, L. (2006). Metacognition. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/metacognition/
Bequette, J. B., & Bequette, M. M. (2012). A place for art and design education in the STEM
conversation. Art Education, 65(2), 40-47.
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. New York, NY: Routledge.
Blackley, S., & Howell, J. (2015). A STEM narrative: 15 years in the making. Australian
Journal of Teacher Education, 40(7), 102-112.
Blue School. (2017, June). Welcome from our Head of School. New York, NY: Author.
Retrieved from http://www.blueschool.org/welcome/
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to
theories and methods (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., & Melton, M. (2011). STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce.
Catmull, E., & Wallace, A. (2014). Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the unseen forces that stand in
the way of true inspiration. New York, NY: Random House.
Charette, R. N. (2015). STEM sense and nonsense. Educational Leadership, 72(4), 79-83.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

174
Childress, S., Elmore, R., & Grossman, A. (2006, November). How to manage urban school
districts. Harvard Business Review, 84(11), 55-68.
Clark, R., & Estes, F. (2008). Turning research into results. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Clark, R. E., Howard, K., & Early, S. (2006). Motivational challenges experienced in highly
complex learning environments. In J. Elen & R. Clark (Eds.), Handling complexity in
learning environments: Theory and research (pp. 27-43). Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science.
Clemson University. (2017, January). STEAM Classroom Assessment of Learning Experiences.
Clemson, SC: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.clemson.edu/steam/ecosystem/research.html
Contra Costa County Office of Education. (2017, June). Contra Costa County Office of
Education's STEAM initiative. Pleasant Hill, CA: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.cccoe.k12.ca.us/edsvcs/stem.html
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dwyer, M. C. (2011, May). Reinvesting in arts education: Winning America’s future through
creative schools. Washington, D.C.: President’s Committee on the Arts and the
Humanities.
Dyer, J., Gregersen, H., & Christensen, C. (2011). Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the five skills of
disruptive innovators. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Filback, R. (2015). Overview of course concepts, Part 1: Definitions [Video file]. Los Angeles,
CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Fink, A. (2013). How to conduct surveys: A step-by-step guide (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

175
Fulton Science Academy. (2017, June). Our mission & vision. Alpharetta, GA: Author.
Retrieved from http://fultonscienceacademy.org/our-mission-vision/
Gallimore, R., & Goldenberg, C. (2001). Analyzing cultural models and settings to connect
minority achievement and school improvement research. Educational Psychologist,
36(1), 45-56.
Gershon, W. S., & Oded, B. H. (2014). Deepening inquiry: What processes of making music can
teach us about creativity and ontology for inquiry based science education. International
Journal of Education & the Arts, 15(19), n19.
Ghanbari, S. (2015). Learning across disciplines: A collective case study of two university
programs that integrate the arts with STEM. International Journal of Education & the
Arts, 16(7), 1-21.
Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson.
Grossman, R., & Salas, E. (2011). The transfer of training: What really matters. International
Journal of Training and Development, 15(2), 103-120.
Guyotte, K. W., Sochacka, N. W., Costantino, T. E., Walther, J., & Kellam, N. N. (2014).
STEAM as social practice: Cultivating creativity in transdisciplinary spaces. Art
Education, 67(6), 12-19.
Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. (2002). What do you call people with vision? The role of vision,
mission and goals in school leadership and improvement. In K. Leithwood & P. Hallinger
(Eds.), Second international handbook of research in educational leadership and
administration (pp. 9-40). The Netherlands: Kluwer.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

176
Herro, D., & Quigley, C. (2016). Innovating with STEAM in middle school classrooms:
Remixing education. On the Horizon, 24(3), 190-204.
Hirabayashi, K. (2015a, August). Four types of dissertations [Video file]. Los Angeles, CA:
University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Hirabayashi, K. (2015b, October). How do expectancies for success and value influence
motivation? [Video file]. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, Rossier
School of Education.
Huber, A., Dinham, J., & Chalk, B. (2015). Responding to the call: Arts methodologies
informing 21st century literacies. Literacy, 49(1), 45-54.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., Christodoulou, J. A., & Singh, V. (2012). Rest is not idleness:
Implications of the brain’s default mode for human development and education.
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(4) 352-364.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612447308
Inoa, R., Weltsek, G., & Tabone, C. (2014). A study on the relationship between theater arts and
student literacy and mathematics achievement. Journal for Learning through the Arts,
10(1), n.p.
Johnson, S., Campbell, N., Spicklemire, K., & Partelow, L. (2017, March 17). The Trump-DeVos
budget would dismantle public education, hurting vulnerable kids, working families, and
teachers. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/news/2017/03/17/428598/trump-
devos-budget-dismantle-public-education-hurting-vulnerable-kids-working-families-
teachers/
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

177
Kezar, A. (2001). Theories and models of organizational change. Understanding and facilitating
organizational change in the 21st century: Recent research and conceptualizations.
ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 28(4), 25-58.
Kim, H. (2015). The effect of a climate change monitoring program on students’ knowledge and
perceptions of STEAM education in Korea. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science &
Technology Education, 11(6), 1321-1338.
Kim, D., & Bolger, M. (2017). Analysis of Korean elementary pre-service teachers’ changing
attitudes about integrated STEAM pedagogy through developing lesson plans.
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 15(4), 587-605.
Kirkpatrick, J. D., & Kirkpatrick, W. K. (2016). Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation.
Alexandria, VA: ATD Press.
Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review,
85(1), 96-103.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An overview. Theory Into Practice,
41(4), 212-218.
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2009). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research
(4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kuenzi, J. J., Matthews, C. M., & Mangan, B. F. (2006, July). Science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) education issues and legislative options. Washington, D.C.:
Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
Land, M. H. (2013). Full STEAM ahead: The benefits of integrating the arts into STEM.
Procedia Computer Science, 20, 547-552.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

178
Lazowski, R. A., & Hulleman, C. S. (2016). Motivation interventions in education: A meta-
analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 602-611.
Lewis, L. K. (2011). Organizational change: Creating change through strategic communication
(Vol. 4). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Lipton, M. (1996). Demystifying the development of an organizational vision. Sloan
Management Review, 37(4), 83-92.
Maeda, J. (2013). “STEM + Art = STEAM.” The STEAM Journal, 1(1), Article 34.
https://doi.org/10.5642/steam.201301.34
Maguire, C., Donovan, C., Mishook, J., Gaillande, G. D., & Garcia, I. (2012). Choosing a life
one has reason to value: The role of the arts in fostering capability development in four
small urban high schools. Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(3), 367-390.
Matsui, B. I. (1997). Action mapping: A planning tool for change. Honolulu, HI: Pacific
Resources for Education and Learning.
Matsui, B. I. (2016, July). Systems approach to communication and organizational change
[Video file]. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of
Education.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mayer, R. E. (2011). Applying the science of learning. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
McEwan, E. K., & McEwan, P. J. (2003). Making sense of research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

179
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods
sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Milkova, L., Crossman, C., Wiles, S., & Allen, T. (2013). Engagement and skill development in
biology students through analysis of art. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(4), 687-700.
Moje, E. B., Ciechanowski, K. M., Kramer, K., Ellis, L., Carrillo, R., & Collazo, T. (2004).
Working toward third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds
of knowledge and discourse. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(1), 38-70.
Moriwaki, K., Brucker-Cohen, J., Campbell, L., Saavedra, J., Stark, L., & Taylor, L. (2012,
March). Scrapyard challenge Jr.: Adapting an art and design workshop to support STEM
to STEAM learning experiences. Paper presented at ISEC ‘12: Integrated STEM
Education Conference (ISEC), Ewing, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISECon.2012.6204175
Patton, M. Q. (1987). How to use qualitative methods in evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Peppler, K. (2010). Media arts: Arts education for a digital age. Teachers College Record,
112(8), 2118-2153.
Perrow, C. (1973) The short and glorious history of organizational theory. Organizational
Dynamics, 2(1), 2-15.
Pintrich, P. R. (2003). A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in
learning and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 667-686.
Planck, M. (2014). Scientific autobiography and other papers. New York, NY: Open Road
Media.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

180
Robelen, E. W. (2011). STEAM: Experts make case for adding arts to STEM. Education Week,
31(13), 8.
Rocco, T. S., & Plakhotnik, M. S. (2009). Literature reviews, conceptual frameworks, and
theoretical frameworks: Terms, functions, and distinctions. Human Resource
Development Review, 8(1), 120-130.
Root-Bernstein, R., & Root-Bernstein, M. (2013). The art and craft of science. Educational
Leadership, 70(5), 16-21.
Rousseau, S. (2015, September). Effects of stereotyping on performance [Video file]. Los
Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Rueda, R. (2011). The 3 dimensions of improving student performance. New York, NY:
Teachers College Press.
Rueda, R. (2015, October). How does goal-orientation influence motivation? [Video file]. Los
Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Samkian, A. (2016a, January). What is research? [Video file]. Los Angeles, CA: University of
Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Samkian, A. (2016b, February). Conceptual/theoretical frameworks [Video file]. Los Angeles,
CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Samkian, A., & Slayton, J. (2016, June). Sampling pitfalls and consideration [Video file]. Los
Angeles, CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

181
Sanders, M. E. (2015, March 17). The original “Integrative STEM Education” definition:
Explained. Retrieved from
https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/51624/OriginalISTEMEdDefExplai
nedMES.pdf
Sawyer, R. K. (2012). Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation (2nd ed.). London,
UK: Oxford University Press.
Schein, E. H. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Schneider, B., Brief, A., & Guzzo, R. (1996). Creating a culture and climate for sustainable
organizational change. Organizational Dynamics, 24(4), 7-19.
Scott, S., & Palinscar, A. (2006). Sociocultural theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/ reference/article/sociocultural-theory/
Seli, H. (2015, October). What are the different types of knowledge? [Video file]. Los Angeles,
CA: University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Seli, H. (2017, February). Building organizational capacity in the organization domain:
Recommendations for organization influences [Video file]. Los Angeles, CA: University
of Southern California, Rossier School of Education.
Shute, V. J. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 153-
189.
Strebel, P. (May-June, 1996). Why do employees resist change? Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1996/05/why-do-employees-resist-change
Taylor, M., Klein, E. J., & Abrams, L. (2014). Tensions of reimagining our roles as teacher
educators in a third space: Revisiting a co/auto-ethnography through a faculty lens.
Studying Teacher Education, 10(1), 3-19.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

182
Tillman, D. A., An, S. A., & Boren, R. L. (2015). Assessment of creativity in arts and STEM
integrated pedagogy by pre-service elementary teachers. Journal of Technology and
Teacher Education, 23(3), 301-327.
Tillman, D. A., An, S. A., Zhang, M., & Boren, R. L. (2014). Three keys to fusing STEAM
education: Digital multimedia, design tools, and computer-based adaptive evaluation. In
B. Parsons (Ed.), Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the American Evaluation
Association (pp. 1-4). Washington, D.C.: AEA Public Library.
Welch, G. F. (2012). The arts and humanities, technology and the ‘English Baccalaureate’:
STEAM not STEM. Journal of Music, Technology & Education, 4(2-3), 245-250.
Wheeler, D., & Sillanpa’a, M. (1998). Including the stakeholders: The business case. Long
Range Planning, 31(2), 201-210.
Wynn, T. T., & Harris, J. J. (2012). Toward a STEM + arts curriculum: Creating the teacher
team. Art Education, 65(5), 42-47.
Yates, K. (2017, March). The integrated implementation and evaluation plan using the
Kirkpatrick Level 4 and Level 3 [Video file]. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern
California, Rossier School of Education.
Yough, M., & Anderman, E. (2006). Goal orientation theory. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/goal-orientation-theory/

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

183
APPENDIX A
INFORMATION/FACT SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

The Implications of the Arts on a STEM Based Curriculum

You are invited to participate in a research study conducted by Louis D’Anjou - MBA, MSc. and
Dr. E. Mora-Flores of the Rossier School of Education – USC. You are eligible to participate in
this study because you are a teacher, principal or administrator of this high school. Your
participation is voluntary. This document explains information about this study. Please ask
questions about anything that is unclear to you.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the Arts on a STEM based curriculum.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Focus groups’ participants will be asked to participate in a semi-structured interview lasting
approximately 1/2 hour. Guiding questions will be asked but the interview will be conversational
and follow-up questions will be asked as well. The focus groups’ conversations will be audio
recorded. You do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to. If you don’t want to be
taped, you will not be able to participate in the study.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There are no anticipated risks to the participants in this study.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO PARTICIPANTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY
It is hoped that this evaluation study could help the school become a successful fully integrated
STEAM high school with the kind of students who will demonstrate the creativity and
innovation the research suggests. In regards to benefits to society, the arts plus STEM advocates
emphasize that the arts hold great potential to foster creativity and new ways of thinking that can
help unleash STEM students’ achievement and innovation, and ultimately the nation’s
competitiveness with the rest of the world. Given that this a research study, the aforementioned
anticipated benefits are contingent upon the results.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
All focus groups participants will receive a $10 gift certificate.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

184
ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
Your alternative is to not participate. Your relationship with your school will not be affected
whether you participate or not in this study.

CONFIDENTIALITY
For all participants, you will not be asked to identify yourself. Any identifiable information
obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential. Your responses will be coded
with a false name and maintained separately. The researcher who is not affiliated with the school
district will facilitate the focus groups. For the focus group participants, you will have the right
to review and edit the audio recordings or transcripts. Only the professional transcriber or the
researcher will have access to the audio recordings. Personal identities will be shielded and the
audio recordings will be destroyed once they have been transcribed. The data and transcripts will
be stored on a separate secured USB drive for three years after the study has been completed and
then destroyed. Only the researcher and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research
studies to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects. When the results of the research
are published or discussed in conferences, no identifiable information will be used.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions or concerns about this study, please contact the following individual:

Principal Investigator
Louis D’Anjou
danjou@usc.edu
732-768-8683

Faculty Advisor
Dr. E. Mora-Flores
moraflor@rossier.usc.edu

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

185
APPENDIX B
RECRUITMENT LETTER — TEACHERS
As a Doctor of Education student at the University of Southern California (USC), I invite you to
participate in gathering data about your Arts and STEM experiences and their impact on your
professional practice at this high school. You are eligible to participate in this study because you
are a member of the teaching staff of this school. The purpose of this study is to understand the
knowledge, motivation and organizational elements of integrating the Arts in a STEM based
curriculum.

Your participation is voluntary and the alternative is not to participate. Any identifiable
information obtained in connection with this study will remain strictly confidential. The
participants will be made up of 4-member focus groups. Should you decide to participate, focus
group members will be asked to participate in a semi-structured interview lasting approximately
90 minutes. All participants will receive a $10 gift certificate at the end of the fieldwork.
Thanking you in advance for your participation.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

186
APPENDIX C
TEACHER FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
1. What does STEAM education mean to you?
2. What do you think about the STEAM approach?
3. What does the integration of the Arts in STEM mean or look like?
4. Can you share an example of how you are integrating the arts in your curriculum?
5. How do you maintain the integrity of the different content areas being addressed?
6. Is the integration of STEAM the best approach for teaching math and science?
7. What elements of the Arts support a STEM curriculum?
8. In what ways, if any, do teachers integrate the Arts with the curriculum’s STEM subjects via
problem-solving applications, crafts and/or designs?
9. To the Art teachers what does aesthetic inquiry mean and what role does it serve in STEM?
10. To the Art teachers what does design thinking mean and what role does it serve in STEM?
11. In what ways, if any, do Arts teachers integrate aesthetic inquiry and design thinking via
artistic/creative processes and problem-based engineering topics.
12. What role can media, visual and performing Arts play in STEM lesson planning and
projects?
13. What role can performing Arts play in science lesson planning and projects?
14. In what ways, if any, do teachers integrate media, visual, performing and theater arts for
lesson planning and projects?
15. In what ways can music play a role in STEM lesson planning and projects?
16. How does technology integration support STEM lesson planning and projects?
17. In what ways, if any, do teachers integrate music, and music with technology in their lesson
planning?
18. What procedures and methodologies, if any, do Art and STEM teachers use to enable
collaboration among the STEAM subjects?
19. What procedures and methodologies, if any, do teachers use to infuse technology and
creative thinking through art and design?
20. What methodologies, if any, do teachers use to facilitate ways of visualizing, critical and
process-oriented thinking and learning via the arts?
21. What procedures and methodologies, if any, do teachers use to facilitate infusing artistic-
inquiry, the creative process and measures, and design thinking into STEAM subjects?
22. What procedures and practices, if any, do teachers use to facilitate “down time” and
reflection.
INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

187
23. What procedures and practices, if any, do teachers use to conduct one-on-one conversations
and feedback communications in the classroom?
24. In what ways, if any, does the organization facilitate collaboration between the Arts and
STEM teachers?
25. In what ways, if any, does the organization facilitate the integration of the Arts in a STEM
curriculum?
26. Any suggestions that can help you better integrate the Arts into a STEM curriculum?
27. What has helped you with the Arts integration?
28. What Arts integration needs do you have?
29. How can the school’s administration help with Art integration?
30. Any additional comments or concerns regarding integration of the Arts and STEM.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

188
APPENDIX D
OBSERVATION PROTOCOLS

Elements Yes No Example
• Classroom setting and how teacher organize class into groups or
subgroups.

• Integration of the Arts in a STEM curriculum (integrated lesson
plans, projects).

• Collaboration between Art and STEM teachers.
• Teachers’ one-on-one or ‘third space’ conversations.
• Teachers’ communication modes (feedback on exams, assignments,
etc).

• Technology integration within the classroom.
• Collaboration between students.
• What does not happen - absence of occurrence.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

189
APPENDIX E
STEAM CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT MODEL

University of Clemson College of Education (CCE) (Clemson University, 2017)

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

190
APPENDIX F
XDS ARTIFACTS 1

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

191
APPENDIX G
FACES OF THE SCIENTISTS PROJECT

Albert Einstein Benjamin Banneker

Chien-Shiung Wu Mario J. Molina-Pasquel

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

192
APPENDIX H
EVALUATION TOOLS

Level 2 - During and immediately following the program implementation
Declarative Knowledge Item
Teachers know what integration of the
arts with STEM subjects.
I can define the integration of the arts with STEM.
Arts teachers know and understand
what are aesthetic inquiry and design
thinking via artistic/creative processes
and problem-based engineering topics.
I can define what are aesthetic inquiry and design
thinking via artistic/creative processes and problem-
based engineering topics.
Procedural Knowledge
STEAM teachers know how to
integrate the arts with STEM.
Observe and ascertain, via a survey question, the
participants practicing integration of the Arts with
STEM via lesson plans and simulated projects.
STEAM teachers know the procedures
and methodologies that enable
collaboration among the STEAM
subjects.
Observe the participant practicing collaborating on
the Arts with STEM via lesson plans and simulated
projects.
Level 1 - During and immediately following the program implementation
Relevance The information in this training program is applicable
to my work
Engagement I am clear about what is expected of me on the job as
a result of taking this course.
Satisfaction I am happy with how the training program
progressed.

INTEGRATING THE ARTS WITH A STEM CURRICULUM

193
APPENDIX I
BLENDED EVALUATION TOOLS

Level 1 thru 4 - Delayed for a period after the program implementation
Evaluation level Item - Scale Highly Disagree > Highly Agree
L1 - Reaction • What I learned in this course will help me on the job.
• I am clear about what is expected of me when I get back to the job.
L2 - Learning • I was able to apply what I learned following training.
• I received the necessary support to successfully apply what I have
learned.
L3- Behavior • I have been able to apply on the job what I learned in class.
• I have successfully applied on the job what I learned in training.
L4 - Results • This program has positively impacted my school.
• My efforts have contributed to achieving the mission of this school.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Scholarly literature is extensive on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) trending upward, the Arts and its electives being marginalized, the worrying downward trend in STEM achievement and ultimately the decline of the nation’s competitiveness. Noting that the arts ultimately spur advances in all fields, the aim of this qualitative evaluation study was to examine and understand the knowledge, motivation and organization (KMO) implications of integrating the Arts within a (STEM) curriculum — STEAM education. In this study STEAM education is referred to as integrated curricula, or an interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach. A (KMO) gap analysis conceptual framework informed this study which focused on research questions: (1) what are the perceived KMO elements related to integrating the Arts in a STEM based curriculum from the high school teachers’ perspective at XDS high school?, and (2) what are the recommendations for STEAM organizational practice in the areas of KMO resources? The field data information was gathered with the aid of teachers (stakeholders) focus groups, classroom observations and artifacts. Organized around KMO influence categories, coding of teachers’ perspectives in regard to the implementation of STEAM education at XDS high school, revealed KMO gaps that led to seven major findings. Informed by Kirkpatrick’s New World Model and Matsui’s action plan, a set of recommendations and an integrated implementation and evaluation plan to close the gaps were proposed.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

STEM teacher education: An evaluation study

PDF

The moderating role of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on employee turnover: A gap analysis

PDF

Factors contributing to student attrition at a healthcare university: a gap analysis

PDF

Building teacher competency to work with middle school long-term English language learners: an improvement model

PDF

Girls in cybersecurity: an evaluation study

PDF

Leadership for K-12 STEM integration: how superintendents champion the advancement of effective integrated STEM education within their districts

PDF

Integration of STEM and gardening for urban elementary youth

PDF

A gap analysis of homeless student school attendance in a large urban school district

PDF

Closing the achievement gap for students with disabilities: a focus on instructional differentiation - an evaluation study

PDF

College and career readiness through high school STEM programs: an evaluation study

PDF

Explicit instruction’s impact on the student achievement gap in K-12 English language learners

PDF

Factors impacting the effectiveness of mentor teachers in a national teacher residency

PDF

Teaching academic and behavioral skills through arts-based programming: an evaluation study

PDF

Integrating STEM instruction through identifying interest and identity in STEM professionals

PDF

Knowledge, motivation and organizational influences impacting recruiting practices addressing the gender gap in the technology industry: an evaluation study

PDF

The cyclic lack of female engineers in computer science: an evaluation study

PDF

A needs assessment for Hillview Middle School's STEM education program

PDF

Promoting STEM integration, interest and identity among elementary school students

PDF

Educator professional development for technology in the classroom: an evaluation study

PDF

The academic implications of providing social emotional learning in K-12: an evaluation study

Asset Metadata

Creator D'Anjou, Louis O. (author)

Core Title A knowledge, motivation and organizational gap analysis for integrating the arts with a STEM curriculum

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 07/10/2017

Defense Date 07/10/2017

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Arts,gap analysis,integrated curricula,New World Model,OAI-PMH Harvest,STEAM education,STEM,transdisciplinary curricula

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Mora-Flores, Eugenia (committee chair), Freking, Frederick (committee member), Hasan, Angela (committee member)

Creator Email danjou@usc.edu,ldanjou@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-397480

Unique identifier UC11263891

Identifier etd-DAnjouLoui-5496.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-397480 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-DAnjouLoui-5496.pdf

Dmrecord 397480

Document Type Dissertation

Rights D'Anjou, Louis O.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA