Course Content
Introduction
Activities and exercises developed within this methodology aim to increase fundamental soft skills in female students who are currently attending STEM university courses. Following the introduction of "Arts" in STEM - i.e. implementation of creative and artistic thinking - we developed a methodology that helps mentoring students while elaborating different types of projects with the aim to empower their skills through an art thinking process. The proposed methodology follows an input-output process that leads students through the development of a project, where each output activity represents the input of the following activity.
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Technology & STEM
The methodology
WeSTEAM methodology
Useful links
Incubation
In the Incubation Phase the participants carry out research in relation to the topic of their interest and begin to put the foundations for a more concrete and precise idea.
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Creative visualisation
Connections and analogies
Conceptual reworking through photography
Learning questionnaire
Imagination
In the Imagination Phase participants begin to idealize and define the key steps for the development of the project. During this development phase, the first goals and objectives are set.
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Interactive mind map
Your project storyboard
Visual storytelling
Learning questionnaire
Creation
During the Creation Phase, participants begin to concretely develop their product, project, or idea. After a prototyping step, this phase is accompanied by testing moments, where participants begin to understand what works and what should be changed. The testing phase is accompanied by the collection of external feedback, crucial to implement transversal points of view useful for the finalization of the project.
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Shape your prototype
Collecting feedback
Art data visualization
Learning questionnaire
Evolution
During the last Evolution phase participants aim to complete the project and present it to the audience of experts and external auditors. The Evolution Phase is a finalization phase but also a phase that looks to the future, as participants can take the key decisions on what should be changed in order to make the project more successful and to plan potential follow up.
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Strengths and weaknesses towards the finalization
Pitch your project creatively
Wind and anchors of your project
WeSTEAM Methodology
About Lesson

ACTIONS

Discussing: deepening the topic through discussions with stakeholders (clients, experts on the topic), using structured tools (e.g., interviews), informal dialogues, or both. 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

This activity aims to stimulate general and specific connections through the use of visual images representing artworks and art installations. Through aesthetic and visual communication and through the analysis of the artworks, participants can broaden and modify their visions and can create new connections and stimuli regarding the concepts they want to analyze. 

In this case, this specific activity is linked to the previous exercise. The activity can be divided into two phases. In the first phase the participants have to try to connect the key concepts, which they have previously identified, to some artworks. Once they have connected these concepts to works that are meaningful to them, in the second phase they have to present these works in public and justify their choices. 

In concrete terms, the steps can be summarized as follows:

  1. Take each key word and concept identified in the previous exercise and associate it with a painting, sculpture or art installation. The concept you want to express must be associated with a work of art.  Try to find connections between the aesthetics of the artworks and the concepts you want to express in your project
  2. Analyze the artwork and read the information about it. 
  3. Then prepare a presentation and present why you have chosen those works of art to explain your main concept. 

TOOLS

tool for searching artworks, computer and projectors

SKILLS

Empathy: several phases of the creative process, from initial incubation to gathering feedback to final dissemination of the outcome, require the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes (clients, audiences, stakeholders): this means having respect for otherness, understanding other people’s feelings, experiences and values

Open-mindedness: During the creative process you must be able to welcome inputs from outside, in order to seize opportunities, prevent risks and solve problems: this means being receptive to novel ideas and willing to modify your opinions and actions, understanding the context and adapting yourself to it.

USEFUL LINKS

https://artsandculture.google.com/

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