Connected Curiousity
VALA2024 KEYNOTE SESSION 01
Tuesday 9th July 2024, 10.00-11.00am
Melissa Silk
- Head of Design, JMC Academy
- Co-Director of STEAMpop
Presentation
Abstract
Connected Curiosity keynote presents a visual treat and overview of creative practice steeped in transdisciplinarity. It tracks the development of innovative tasks and activities related to embedding the Arts in STEM, delivered in institutional education and general community contexts. Enter the fusion acronym: STEAM. We know that STEM represents science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and here, we are reminded that the arts include humanities, language, arts, dance, drama, music, visual arts, design and new media. However, beyond the acronym, STEAM is an experience. Connected Curiosity champions the notion of shifting ideas and perceptions of ‘learning’ into dynamic transformative experiences. Transcending discipline boundaries, STEAM integrates seemingly disparate practices. Root Bernstein (2019) advocates innovation being the result of taking transdisciplinary leaps of imagination by training scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians in and of the arts. Such integration is hard work and tricky. Hence, a significant aspect presented here is the consideration of personal and individual transformation through connected experiences, in which the dynamic contribution of dialectical emotions is appreciated and valued.
Biography
With over thirty years of creative practice, Melissa collaborates with many thinkers and makers to design experiences that embed the Arts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEAM). Melissa is co-director of STEAMpop.zone while also engaged in research contributing to learning ecologies spanning creative intelligence and innovation, transdisciplinary education, and designing for preferred futures. Melissa enjoys being part of a bold community of multipotentialities intent on developing and sharing unique learning experiences for everybody.
This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International.