STEAM education as seen in the comprehensive study at Nagano Elementary School attached to the Faculty of Education, Shinshu University (Nagano Elementary School Comprehensive Study)

The Positioning of Art

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify what kind of learning in the comprehensive study of Nagano Elementary School constitutes STEAM education. In doing so, we clarified what STEAM education is, and examined and considered the comprehensive study of Nagano Elementary School from the perspectives of theme selection, content as STEAM education, the role of teachers, and the role of art. Based on the definition of STEAM education by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, this paper defines STEAM education as “① not being bound by the framework of subjects, ② based on the learning of each subject, ③ utilizing and integrating various information, and ④ discovering and solving problems that occur in daily life together.” The theme setting and content as STEAM education were recognized to be science content such as the production of seeds and cultivation of plants, the depiction of plants in art and craft class, and the content of Japanese language class composition in which students added a sentence to a picture of a depicted plant. Furthermore, the learning transcended the boundaries of subjects and was based on the learning of each subject, such as the content about working people in social studies, songwriting, composing, and singing in music, theatrical performances that do not fit into a particular subject, and arithmetic calculations in third-grade when selling dried corn at the market. It could be said that this learning involved students working together to discover and solve problems that arise in their daily lives by utilizing various information. The role of the teacher was to support the children engaged in comprehensive learning with deep insight and specialized knowledge. The role of art was at the core of observation, recording, expression, and creative activities in the comprehensive learning at Nagano Elementary School, and it played a role in enriching and deepening the diverse learning of the children. It could be said that through art, the children were able to hone their sensibilities, improve their expressiveness, and develop their own learning creatively.