Building a head of STEAM: Opportunities and Challenges Surrounding the Implementation of STEM/STEM Programs

STEM and the more recently created STEAM are buzzwords heard frequently in education. School leaders and politicians alike are very eager to use these buzzwords, but when it comes to implementing actual change there can be disconnect between words and actions. In this round-table discussion, our panel, which includes three college professors, a middle school teacher, and a former middle school principal, will discuss issues surrounding the implementation of high-quality, student-centered STEM/STEAM programs. We will bring several examples into the conversation from our own experiences, focusing on our combined efforts to integrate hands-on computer science learning into middle school settings. Then, we will widen the conversation to include the experiences of our audience members and the issues they have faced when undergoing change within a school. Our goal is to identify successful strategies/models for the development and implementation of STEM/STEAM programs and initiatives across the K-16 spectrum