Cultivating Design Thinking of Middle School Girls through an Origami STEAM Project
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Cultivating Design Thinking of Middle School Girls through an Origami STEAM Project Norma J. Boakes 1 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract This paper presents results from an exploratory case study on the use of Origami for developing design thinking with a group of 22 middle school girls participating in a summer STEM program. The case study combines the process of design thinking, common in STEM-based exploration, and aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) with the art of Origami as a tool for encouraging innovation and creative thinking. Student teams were challenged to design and build a three-dimensional Origami structure made of business cards that could withstand the weight of a typical middle school age student. Data in the form of observation during the design process and follow up interviews were utilized to determine the impact of the art-infused STEM approach. Overall, participants found the open-ended, exploratory nature of design thinking to be challenging though Origami engaged students, providing them with a familiar and approachable method to use for their designs. Initial findings provide support to a STEAM-based approach with consideration for structures that are best for collaboration and exploration. Keywords STEAM . Design thinking . Origami . Middle school
Introduction Origami has a long history as a tool of instruction in the K-12 classroom. From the work of Friedrich Froebel (Brosterman 2003) in his concept of early childhood education to the modern exploration of mathematical concepts at the secondary level through books like Project Origami (Hull 2013). Application varies with Origami linking to many academic subjects but is frequently used within the context of math, science, and technology (Hull 2015; Lang 2011; Wang-Iverson et al. 2011). The acronym STEM stands for the interconnected nature of math, science, technology, and engineering. The United States has sought to nurture STEM studies and careers to * Norma J. Boakes [email protected]
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School of Education, Stockton University, 101 Vera King Farris Drive, Galloway, NJ, USA
Journal for STEM Education Research
develop society and compete in a global economy (Office of Innovation and Improvement 2015; United States Department of Education [USDOE] n.d.). With this priority setting, school systems have implemented STEM programming to build skills such as crossdisciplinary thinking, creativity, and innovation with the hope that learners later pursue advanced study in STEM (English 2017). These efforts have met with some success though there remains a call for more STEM workers (Noonan 2017; USDOE 2016). This need extends to women who are unrepresented in STEM fields (Beed et al. 2011; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2010). While the connections between math, science, and technology are common, a newer acronym has begun to crop up among conversations called STEAM. STEAM uses the acronym STEM and adds an “A” to represent art within the study of STEM. The “A” does not mean
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