Publications

Nowadays, ensuring the learning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) skills allows young people to participate fully in the social life in terms of employability, productivity and social cohesion. However, on the basis of the international surveys, such as PISA and TIMSS, maths and science mean scores obtained by an essential part of European students, are below the OECD average.
Although the national educational systems try to promote the interactive teaching of sciences belonging to the STEM field, they fail when compared to the American, because the scientific subjects presented seem to be opposed to the humanities ones. The risk to consider here is that such an approach favors the lost of a great part of an analytical and critical ways of thinking inherent to humanities.
 
In this context, a new educational method, based on a proper balance between humanities and scientific disciplines would allow a more effective development of the logical and critical skills and tools by improving study performance and increasing the mind potential in young people. This point is of absolute importance especially for the children of 5 years old when the natural continuous interactions between the two brain hemispheres determines the predominance of one over the other, i.e. the functional asymmetry which causes a brain to work as a pair of opposites.
 
In the work a new pedagogical approach to the STEM education is presented. As the unifying element, that may assist the harmonious development of both hemispheres, the Art is considered. Authors show, how being a purely intuitive and stimulating the creativity from one side, together with an enormous informational capacity that may encode the vast variety of scientific concepts from the other, Art may be used as an effective educational mean, that aids the development of young student abilities thanks to the simultaneous stimulation of both brain hemispheres with suitable exercises designed.

Keywords: STEM education, Teaching, Learning.

How to cite this paper:
Tramonti, L., & Tramonti, M. (2017, May). Enhancing STEM skills through the Art. In Conference Proceedings. The Future of Education (p. 114). libreriauniversitaria. it Edizioni.