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

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The International Journal of Education & the Arts currently serves as an open access platform for scholarly dialogue. Our commitment is to the highest forms of scholarship invested in the significances of the arts in education and the education within the arts. Read more about our mission…

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IJEA holds strong commitment to research in interdisciplinary arts education. Our editors are respected scholars from different arts fields working together to achieve our high standard. Read more about editors…