Music and mathematics: Key components and contributions of an integrated STEAM teaching approach

Abstract

The limited number of STEAM educational experiences in Spain was the motivation behind this study, whose goal was to identify the contributions and essential components of integrated STEAM teaching, specifically the approach that relates the arts (music) to science subjects (mathematics). To this end, a multiple case study was carried out in primary classrooms at three schools. The interviews carried out with teachers, students, and management teams, and the observation of the application of different activities provided a comprehensive vision of the keys to integrated STEAM teaching (co-teaching, coordination, and an interdisciplinary relationship between subjects). The data also brought to light the benefits of STEAM educational practice (procedural mimesis between subjects, student motivation, links between teachers, and professional growth) and also the difficulties encountered. All this, contrasted with the ideas expounded in the literature, enables us to propose lines of work that the educational community should find suggestive and inspiring since the combination of science with the arts, creativity, integration, and innovation has the potential to promote the necessary aptitudes for students in the 21st century.