Tech-Savvy Girls: Learning 21st-Century Skills Through STEAM Digital Artmaking

Redefining the educational model of science, technology, engineering, and math curriculum (STEM) to also include art to become STEAM (Fournier, 2013 Fournier, R. (2013, February 24). The art of technology. National Journal. Retrieved from www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/the-art-of-technology-20130224 [Google Scholar]; Guyotte, Sochacka, Constantino, Walther, & Kellam, 2014 Guyotte, K. W., Sochacka, N. W., Constantino, T. E., Walther, J., & Kellam, N. N. (2014). STEAM as social practice: Cultivating creativity in transdisciplinary spaces. Art Education, 67(6), 12–19.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) is a current method to encourage students to actively participate in 21st-century learning (Saxena, 2014 Saxena, S. (2014, April 23). STEM to STEAM learning: Learning science in the 21st century. EdTechReview. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/1122-stem-to-steam-learning-learning-science-in-the-21st-century [Google Scholar]). The skills emphasized for 21st-century learning include critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and communication; and creativity and innovation (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007 Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2007). The road to the 21st century: A policymakers guide to 21st century skills. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20130117111652/http://p21.org/tools-and-resources/publications/925 [Google Scholar]). Encouraging students to pursue a STEM career has become an important U.S. educational policy that emphasizes teaching these 21st-century skills along with STEM knowledge in the discourse of future economic growth.