Empowering K-12 Learners for Global Challenges Through STEAM(M): Reflections from a Turkish Context

Abstract

STEM and STEAM practices in K-12 curriculums educate learners to be competent, adaptable, resilient, critical, and globally considerate and conscious individuals who use information from different sources as a necessity of the fast-paced digital and complex world. As an innovative approach, STEAM visibly combines school subjects, whereas media, which interconnects the world in this era, does so invisibly. It is essential to integrate media into STEAM (henceforth STEAM(M)) in K12 education so 21st-century learners can meet emerging global challenges. With this study, we aimed to highlight the need to integrate media into STEAM and stimulate interest among both teachers and students. In doing so, we share our reflections on STEAM practices emphasising the visibility of media in K-12 formal education with its drawbacks and potential benefits. The project followed the framework of a collaborative action research project with two researchers from a university and five K12 teachers and their 7th-grade learners from a secondary school in Turkey participating in the project. The results implicated that K-12 teachers must be provided with practical training on STEAM(M) applications and the resources needed to create appropriate environments for collaboration within the school. We conclude with reflective remarks concerning the integration of media and STEAM practices in the K-12 curriculum in Turkey.