Characteristics of a STEAM Teacher

Teachers in a STEAM classroom act as facilitators and collaborators, guiding students through inquiry-driven projects that integrate multiple disciplines (Yakman, 2008; Kennedy Center, 2024). They provide opportunities for students to engage in technical and artistic activities while aligning lessons with curriculum standards. Co-teaching models are especially effective in STEAM education, where arts and STEM teachers collaborate to enrich the learning experience and foster interdisciplinary thinking (Sanz-Camarero et al., 2023). Teachers must also focus on promoting inclusivity, ensuring that marginalized students have access to STEAM learning, and encouraging diversity in participation (Palid et al., 2023).

STEAM Teacher Characteristics & Dispositions List

In response to our final list of outcomes to embracing a STEAM educational approach and a list of potential roadblocks to STEAM instruction, we developed the following list of teacher dispositions necessary to achieve positive student outcomes while mitigating roadblocks for STEAM teachers. We developed this list while mapping teacher dispositions to related student skills, outcomes, and potential barriers.

· Facilitator – including allowing students to lead and shine

· Understanding of diverse student abilities and needs

· Independent agency of the teacher (taking initiative, planning for contingencies, needing minimal supervision, self-reflective perseverance, iterative thinking)

· Flexible and high tolerance of ambiguity 

Reflection

As a teacher who uses the engineering design process daily with her students, my strengths include all 4 of the above categories.  I continue to learn as I work with students and engage them in classroom projects and challenges.  I struggle to keep up with new technologies and use them in an integrative manner.  For example, our school received 14 Z-Space laptops and while I have had training on them, the logistics of using them in an integrative manner needs to be further examined. 

My short terms goal is to increase the use of ISTEAM in my 6th grade Career Awareness course and eventually offer 3 ISTEAM projects for students over a 9 week period that will include using the CTAE pathways offered at both Milton and Cambridge High Schools.