Introduction

The world around us is changing and more open with every day. We have access to more information and educational tools than ever before. This handbook is composed to give an overview of different theoretical and practical approaches to STEAM education.

In the first part of the handbook we concentrate on explaining what STEM and STEAM stand for. What is the theoretical background in these pedagogical approaches, how do they differ from one another? Overview of the STEM and STEAM definitions and models are given in the first part.

In the second part we describe the different pillars of STEAM education: orchestration, problem solving, balancing skills and knowledge, and assessment. We explain the different pedagogical approaches that are in line with STEAM education and how to connect the already existing pedagogical approaches to the STEAM.

The practical tips and suggestions for tools and learning activities are introduced in the third part. The chapter gives recommendations on how to make the already existing activities more STEAM and how to use context and students’ questions as the basis for STEAM activities.

The fourth part is dedicated  to international STEAM activities. We introduce projects and activities that are held internationally and we also introduce STEAM approaches in different countries which have participated in the writing of this handbook.

To make the reading more easy, every chapter and section starts with the most important ideas from that part and guiding questions for the reader. Some chapters end with self reflection tasks which help to better understand and connect the information and personal experiences. The following color scheme is used to highlight important and interesting aspects: key take aways are highlighted in green, examples in purple, exercises, learning objectives and extra information in blue.