Session Information
99 ERC SES 08 I, Histories of Education
Paper Session
Contribution
This abstract is based on a a PhD project to be conducted by three researchers from the KU Leuven. The PhD Project is interdisciplinary, bringing together the fields of Pedagogy, Arts and the Sciences. In doing so it hopes to make connections that go beyond just an enriched curriculum, and that are to be found in the very fiber of the different disciplines. It is this what a pragmatic view on STEAM entails, to avoid a bifurcation between the Sciences and the Arts and see them both as sensory ways of being in and getting to know the World.
The starting point of this research project is not to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of STEAM education as a vehicle for the acquisition of predefined learning outcomes. Rather this project aims to investigate how STEAM, as a composition of science and arts, carries the potential to reconsider it through the lens of an Education of the Senses (EoS). Approaching STEAM as an educational design that activates students' imaginative engagement with the world and with the future, and that allows the student and the teacher to get away from a predefined understanding of it. Theoretically, this project builds further onto the sociological approach of Bruno Latour (2018), starting from the claim that today’s environmental and social problems are a consequence of the irreversible destruction we ourselves have brought to the world we inhabit through our post-enlightenment endeavours. Hence, what we take away from Latour is that we will have to learn to relate to the world differently. Investigating this new form of learning is precisely what we want to perpetuate with our refashioning of STEAM.
As Dutch educationalist Gert Biesta (2006) asserts, to find sustainable pedagogical answers to these ecological and social issues, it is thus needed to look at educational practices through a different lens. To do so, we want to distance ourselves from education as being singularly associated with 'learning', as often happens, by rethinking ‘the school’ as a place where one is allowed to start relating to the world and society in the face of daring challenges. The school is then an intermediary space where efficiency logics are held at a (relative) distance to make way for questions such as "what is the subject under study trying to say to me?" (Vansieleghem, 2021). In this way students may develop a caring sensitivity to said world.
To realise such a world-oriented approach of education, this research project wants to look at a more general educational reconceptualization of pedagogy that goes beyond the limits of instrumentalist logic, on the basis of pragmatic ideas such as those of the educationalist scholar John Dewey and the importance he places on practice-bound learning through experiencing.
Drawing on pragmatic frameworks linked to experiential learning, particularly influenced by John Dewey, our focus extends beyond conventional socialization, emphasizing an education centered on familiarity with and sensitivity to significant matters. Building on this, our second objective [RO2] takes a practical turn, aiming to conceptualize education as an 'Education of the Senses' (EoS). This involves developing protocols and maxims, integrating the efficacy of lab and studio practices through an ArtScience co-creation. Such a convergence of scientific and artistic methods contributes to the formulation of a comprehensive EoS thinking framework. In pursuit of our third objective [RO3], we aim to devise a concrete curricular design for a radical reimagining of STEAM education rooted in EoS. This design, crafted collaboratively with field practitioners, aims to offer a practical and applicable STEAM solution for Flemish schools, with broader implications for addressing global environmental and social challenges.
Method
The main research methodology will follow a theoretical hourglass trajectory. Roughly summarised, this process will start from the current approach of STEAM, and conceptually address the model’s shortcomings. In this way, a new vision on education will be formulated as an Education of the Senses. Starting from that Education of the Senses, a new curricular implementation of STEAM packages can then be designed in line with the vision that was set out in EoS; from STEAM, to EoS, to STEAM, or in other words we are moving from STEAM, to STEAM, through a lens of an Education of the Senses. As stated, in order to genuinely stay true to concrete practices and to recognise the added value of practitioner expertise, this main research will moreover be underpinned by practitioner research. Concretely this practitioner research will take place in STEM project classes with pupils aged 16 or above during two school years with regular contact intervals . In this way, the design will be developed in collaboration with students and teachers from STEM fields as co-researchers qnd co-creators. The practitioners and doctoral researchers will together engage in investigating, discussing and designing lab and studio practices in several lessons during hours reserved by schools to work on STEM. More concretely - by taking into account the research data collected by the researchers in the primary research - they will together think about and develop both an Education of the Senses and, based on this, what a redesign of STEAM might look like in practice. This means that the teachers and students will actively be participating in the field study as well as the design of EoS, in line with the ethics of practitioner research (de Vugt et al., 2017). Our conception of what might indicate valuable STEAM practices are not only theoretically derived and practically tested, but are also deducted from observational fieldwork in artisitic studio practices and scientific laboratory environments. More specifically, through the analysis of these studio and lab practices, the researchers will then shape the framework for an Education of the Senses; by investigating what happens in these studio and lab practices, the researchers will stipulate protocols; which procedures, (hidden) rules and relationships are at the core of such practices that make them educational? These protocols in turn make it possible to formulate core maxims for an Education of the Senses to be realised.
Expected Outcomes
In this proposed research endeavor, we embark on a transformative journey to reimagine STEAM education beyond the conventional paradigms. Departing from the typical scrutiny of STEAM's efficiency, our project places a novel emphasis on Education of the Senses (EoS). The overarching objective is not merely to ascertain predetermined learning outcomes but to delve into the profound potential of STEAM as an immersive, imaginative experience that transcends traditional boundaries. The theoretical foundation, rooted in the sociological insights of Bruno Latour, propels us to confront the dire consequences of irreversible environmental degradation and social upheavals resulting from our post-enlightenment pursuits. In response to these challenges, we posit that education must cease to be a mere repository of predefined knowledge and embrace a paradigm shift. Gert Biesta's call for sustainable pedagogical answers prompts us to view education as an intermediary space—a realm where efficiency logics yield to profound questions about the subject under study and the world's entreaties. Practitioner research, a cornerstone of our approach, actively involves students and teachers in shaping an EoS and crafting a new STEAM curriculum. The interdisciplinary lens we adopt, transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries, seeks inspiration from studio and laboratory practices. This unique perspective encourages a cross-disciplinary pollination, challenging doctoral researchers to venture outside their comfort zones and discover innovative insights. As we weave together theoretical insights and real-world practices, this research envisions a future where STEAM emerges not as a rote pursuit of knowledge but as an immersive, transformative journey—an Education of the Senses that fosters a deep, caring sensitivity to the world and its challenges.
References
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