Using Arts Education in STEM With the Science and Engineering Practice of Developing and Using Models

Since 2013 more than three-quarters of the United States has adopted science education standards based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Science education is often integrated with multiple disciplines including technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in more recent movements integrated with the arts (STEAM). This chapter examined preservice teachers' preconceptions about the practice of developing and using models in science education and practical integration of the arts through this central practice. The results of the study indicated preservice elementary preconception survey scores were higher when describing the practice as a social endeavor than any other aspect of the practice. Using social endeavors as a lever in elementary teacher education can help preservice teachers utilize this critical practice in more expansive ways (investigatory, sensemaking, critiquing). Examining the way the arts manifest in the practice of developing and using models within the NGSS serves as a first step to finding meaningful ways for integration.