STEAM Towards Equity

The College of New Rochelle and The Maxine Greene Center for Aesthetic Education and Social Imagination hosted the third annual Imagination, Inquiry and Innovation Institute (I-4) conference on October 3, 2015. This year's theme, “STEAM Towards Equity,” exemplified best practices in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts/aesthetics, and mathematics) that support equity in race and culture, economics, gender, and accessibility.

More than 100 artists, social workers, and educators — including CNR alumni — attended the conference, which featured panels, presentations, interactive workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits. Georgette Yakman, founding researcher and creator of STEAM education, delivered the keynote address, “STEAM Education for an Equitable and Sustainable World.”

The I-4 conference is influenced by the teachings of education theorist Maxine Greene, who promoted the arts as a fundamental learning tool during a 50-year career at Teachers College, Columbia University. “The connection to Maxine Greene was a huge draw for people interested in aesthetics,” noted Dr. Ruth Zealand, professor and chair of education in the School of Arts & Sciences. Zealand, who chaired the conference planning committee, added, “Pockets throughout the US are moving toward this educational philosophy and we feel like we’re really at the forefront.”

Holly Fairbank, executive director of the Maxine Greene Center, noted, “People like Steve Jobs realized the importance of arts and aesthetics in technology. He believed that if we’re thinking in 21st-century terms, we’ve got to include the arts in our work.”

Workshops reflected the influence of STEAM education on a wide range of fields, as well as its great potential. Popular sessions included “Hip-Hop, Technology, and Today”; “Turning Students into Social Inequality Change Agents: An Innovative Approach”; “The Art of Making Books”; and “Storytelling and Narrative: Combining Aesthetics and Healthcare.” The day ended with a comic performance titled “Wild Hare/Hair: Research with a Foolish Flair,” which tied the day’s learning together in a humorous way.

“One of the reasons this year’s theme was ‘towards equity,’ is because we’re seeing ways in which the sciences can be embraced by new ways of thinking,” said Fairbank. “This helps level the playing field for people who are not always invited into the modern workforce.”

“Everyone who attended found the conference to be a very rich, very inspiring day,” said Zealand. “It served as a reminder of all the intelligent, passionate, and creative people working in the world.”

Ruth Zealand, Ph.D.

Chair, Education Department

School of Arts and Sciences

The College of New Rochelle

(914) 654-5581

(914) 654-5903 (fax)

rzealand@cnr.edu

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