Torrance Journal for Applied Creativity

A Place of Their Own:
The Role of Makerspaces and STEAM Labs in
Developing the Talents of Creative Students
by Barbara A. Kerr & Nicole M. Farmer
Creative adolescents often have dual interests in arts and science/technology,
and may have strong potential for becoming innovators in crossover occupations
in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Profiling that takes
into account the characteristics of adult innovators when they were adolescents may
be the best way of finding students who can benefit from career development in
STEAM fields. The STEAM movement and the Maker Movement provide unique
opportunities for students with creative personalities, dual interests, and spatial-visual
ability to try out new methods and materials, learn paths to invention, and
find mentors and models.
The Need for Innovators
Innovation is the key to societal
progress, but creativity has been left
behind in today’s schools. Although
there have been many calls for increased
attention to creativity in the schools in
the popular media, few schools have
as their primary focus the nurturing of
creativity. In November 2007, The Conference
Board and Americans for the
Arts, in collaboration with the American
Association of School Administrators,
surveyed public school superintendents
and American business executives
to compare their views on creativity
(National Conference Board, 2007).
Overwhelmingly, both the superintendents
and employers agreed that creativity
is increasingly important in U.S.
workplaces; yet, there is a gap between
understanding this truth and putting it
into meaningful practice. Among the
key findings of this research was the fact
that 85 percent of employers concerned
with hiring creative people say they
can't find the applicants they seek.
In addition, many creative
people often turn away from creative
careers, particularly in Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM). Although few longitudinal
studies of exceptionally creative students
exist, 40-year follow-ups have shown
that many creative individuals chose
against public achievement in academic
and STEM fields and in favor of personal
achievement in arts, design, writing,
and social services. A report from the
President’s Council of Advisors on Science
and Technology (2012) found that
nearly half of science oriented students,
even the most creative, were not pursuing
STEM degrees to completion – and
it is very likely that many future innovators
prematurely leave STEM majors.
If this is the case, where can we
turn to fill our need for future STEM
innovators? Creative secondary students
are an untapped population of potential
STEM innovators. Creative students
who in adolescence have dual artistic
and scientific interests and who excel
in spatial-visual abilities may be prime
candidates for recruitment into STEM
fields. New methods of creativity assessment
make it possible to identify these
students practically and efficiently.
Finding Future Innovators
Most identification practices
for creative students have as their goal
the selection of students for a gifted
education program. These are focused
on cognitive abilities, as measured by
instruments such as the Torrance Tests
of Creative Thinking (1998) or creative
cognition, such as the Runco Ideational
Behavior Scale (2000-2001). There is
a disconnect, however, between these
identification practices and career
guidance. It is difficult for counselors
to identify those students with potential
for success in creative fields for the
specialized career counseling they need
because they often do not have access
to cognitive measures, portfolios, or
competition results.
In STEM fields, there has been
much emphasis on widening the pool of
potential scientists by attracting women,
minorities, and people who otherwise
might not have considered options in
science. Few efforts have been made to
identify those students who are likely to
be creative in STEM fields—a characteristic
that cuts across race, class, and
gender (Domino & Domino, 2006). It
is particularly important for counselors
to find and guide those people who are
most likely to be scientific innovators
into appropriate educational and career
paths.
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