The Art of Science Learning Innovation Curriculum is the world’s first comprehensive and systematic curriculum that uses the arts to teach the entire process of STEM innovation – from exploring opportunity through go-to-market – to learners and professionals.
The curriculum uses a wide range of skills, processes and experiences drawn from thevisual and performing arts to teach STEM innovation processes to adolescent and adult learners. Its’ experientially-based, cross disciplinary approach to STEM learning is intended to strengthen creative thinking skills, collaborative behaviors and innovation outputs, and to make the study of science and the practice of innovation more engaging to a wide range of learners.
We developed the curriculum over a two- year period, as a key component of our Phase 2 National Science Foundation- funded research and development project. This effort was led by John Reaves, our curriculum designer, who played a central role in the creation and development of all aspects of this body of work. Throughout the process, this work was guided and supported by our Curriculum Advisory team, which played an active and hands-on role from conceptual development to working prototype to iterative refinement:
Karen Bradley
Director, Laban Institute of Dance Notation
Ted Buswick
Boston Consulting Group Poetry Project
Michael Gold
Jazz Musician, Jazz Impact Founder/Director
Francisco Gomez
President, Executive Development Interactive
Todd Siler
Artist, Scientist and AOSL Artscientist in Residence
Paige Simpson (Faulkner)
Director, Balboa Park Learning Institute
Hamsa Thota
Chairman, Product Development Management Association
Frances Whitehead
Visual artist, Professor School of the Art Institute of Chicago
(titles and affiliations at the time of service on this team).
During the second year of the project, we implemented the curriculum in Incubators for Innovation, which we created specifically for that purpose, in partnership with three informal STEM institutions:
San Diego
Host Partner: Balboa Park Cultural Partnership
Chicago
Host Partner: Museum of Science and Industry
Worcester, Mass
Host Partner: Ecotarium
The incubators served as unique opportunities to test and iteratively refine the curriculum, thanks in large measure to the insights and contributions of the project’s three incubator directors:
- Nan Renner, San Diego
- Rene Roy, Chicago
- Joyce Kressler, Worcester
The curriculum consists of twelve modules:
- Module 1 – Introduction to innovation at the intersection of art, science and learning
- Module 2 – Opportunity identification
- Module 3 – Opportunity analysis and selection
- Module 4 – Idea generation and enrichment
- Module 5 – Idea refinement and selection
- Module 6 – Communication in innovation (also includes Gate 1)
- Module 7 – Collaboration in innovation Module 8 – Creativity in innovation Module 9 – Design and development
- Module 10 – Business planning
- Module 11 – Market testing (also includes Gate 2)
- Module 12 – Launch
For the complete curriculum – CLICK HERE
