| Volume 16 Number 15 | October 12, 2015 |
Collaborative Creativity in STEAM: Narratives of Art Education Students’ Experiences in Transdisciplinary Spaces
Kelly W. Guyotte
University of Alabama, USA
Nicola W. Sochacka
The University of Georgia, USA
Tracie E. Costantino
Rhode Island School of Design, USA
Nadia N. Kellam
Arizona State University, USA
Joachim Walther
The University of Georgia, USA
Citation: Guyotte, K. W., Sochacka, N. W., Costantino, T. E., Kellam, N., Kellam, N. N., & Walther, J. (2015). Collaborative creativity in STEAM: Narratives of art education students’ experiences in transdisciplinary spaces. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 16(15). Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v16n15/.
Abstract
Current efforts to promote STEAM (STEM + Arts) education focus predominantly on how partnering with the arts provides a range of benefits to STEM students. Here we take a different approach and focus on what art and art education students stand to gain from collaborating with STEM students. Drawing on a variety of student field texts, we present three visual-verbal, constructed narratives of art education students who, in the context of a transdisciplinary design studio, were challenged to experiment with collaborative forms of creative thinking. Their stories point to STEAM as an opportunity for art students to question the notion of the ‘lone artist,’ reflect upon the tension between product and process, and expand disciplinary-based understandings of creative thinking. These potential benefits align with contemporary visual arts practices that strive to move beyond the individual and embrace dialogue, collaborative action, and interdisciplinarity as vital aspects of the creative process.
Visual Abstract
