Across the United States, political leaders, educators, and business persons are issuing an urgent call for reform in STEM education (NGSS Lead States 2013). One important response to this call is Integrated STEM, which the National Governor's Association (2007, p. 7) says involves, "... an emphasis on design and problem solving in…

Along with inquiry-based teaching, exploring the elements of art can guide students to view and represent objects realistically. Understanding line, shape, color, value, form, space, and texture helps bridge the gap between what students actually observe and what their preconceived ideas about the object may be. This type of explicit instruction…