ABSTRACT
Providing gifted students with suitable science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) programs is an essential task for educators and curriculum specialists, who must ensure that these students develop the skills that are necessary for creative production, problem solving, and discovery. This chapter provides a rationale for enhancing opportunities for students to develop creativity and spatial skills, as well as other higher-order process and thinking skills that are necessary for professionals in STEAM fields. The chapter then describes ways that STEAM can be appropriately integrated into pre-existing curriculum, one of which is to allow students to engage in robotics programs. Using principles and features of the Integrated Curriculum Model, including advanced content knowledge, complex design features, discussion facilitation involving student progress, and higher-order questioning strategies, the chapter concludes with ideas for helping teachers enhance their instruction related to STEAM subjects.
