As Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley marks its 40th anniversary, education coordinator Stephanie Stewart and her staff became inspired to create an expanded curriculum.
The center, at 200 Broad St., introduced changes to its 2015 class roster in response to the growing trend of STEAM education, which stresses science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.
“We've always been the A in STEAM,” Stewart said. “So seeing that this STEAM method of learning has been out in the media and in our own community, we just really thought that it would be a nice way to show our community that for arts and enrichment, we're really the place to be.”
All classes being offered within the STEAM curriculum have a basis in the arts, but class attendees will know how their class fits into 10 learning-impact tracks that were created as part of the STEAM initiative.
New classes are being offered with an increased emphasis on science and technology — such as metalsmithing and the science of cooking — but the majority of the classes are returning from past years with a clearer explanation of how they fit into the impact tracks.
The staff at Sweetwater wants the focus of their classes to remain art for art's sake, Stewart said.
They said that an art education helps promote lifelong learning in other subjects.
“We believe that art is the key to creativity, and you need to be creative to innovate,” Sweetwater marketing and development coordinator Gretchen Fatula said. “That's something we really want people to know about us, that you can become an innovative thinker if you come to our classes, whether they're new classes that we're offering, or they might just be our staple classes that we offer every semester.”
The STEAM curriculum was introduced in the winter semester, which began in January, and will continue at least through the rest of the year, Stewart said.
Sweetwater has yet to receive enough feedback to determine how STEAM learning will fit into the long-term goals of the center because the first semester still is underway.
Early signs point to the program having staying power, Fatula said. Overall class enrollment is up 15 percent from last winter.
“I feel like the numbers speak for themselves,” Fatula said. “But we do send out surveys to get feedback because we're always looking for ways to improve our programming, and we've gotten great feedback on them.”
It will be important for Sweetwater to gather feedback locally, as there is not yet much completed research into the effectiveness of STEAM education on a national level, said Christian Schunn, a professor of psychology, learning sciences and intelligent systems at the University of Pittsburgh.
“I'm not sure much is yet known about the value of STEAM education,” Schunn said. “Kids broadly seem to like it. It appears to be a current emphasis of funding at the local and national levels, and many different approaches are being tried. The actual impact research is currently being conducted.”
Perhaps more than any other, the culinary program at Sweetwater has seen positive impact from the STEAM curriculum, Fatula said. The kitchen at the center holds a maximum of 10 students, and most classes have seven students enrolled.
“For us, for a culinary program, that's a good amount,” Fatula said. “We get excited about those numbers, as boring as that sounds.”
Fatula and Stewart say the enrollment boost reflects an increase in quality, starting with the class instructors, who have been supportive of the STEAM curriculum.
“As we move forward, we would love to bring in people with different backgrounds that are appropriate for new programing, especially if we get some new technology into the center one day,” Stewart said. “I think that would go hand in hand.”
Gary Horvath is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at ghorvath@tribweb.com or via Twitter @GHorvath_Trib.
