Redefining STEAM to STEAM ∀H (STEAM for All Humanity) in Higher Education

Abstract

This article presents the revision of the STEAM model originally proposed by Yakman, in 2008, introducing the Human variable, as an extremely important element for the model, which was defined as STEAM ∀H, where ∀H is for all Humanity. This proposal is motivated by several factors. On the one hand, the evolution of industrial design from the 19th century to present, going from designing objects focused on facilitating industrialization and focused on the user, to design focused on the human being and humanity. On the other hand, since the formulation of the STEAM model, different improvements have been proposed in the literature in order to introduce humanistic disciplines into the model, also seeking to introduce society as a fundamental element. For example, the literature has proposed the STREAM model, where R is religion, or STEAM-ED, where -ED implies an approach based on the constructivist social theory. The STEAMS model, where S is Society, has also been proposed to try to improve training in understanding society and the implications of designing for it. Initially Yakman introduces the “A” in the STEM model as the sum of different disciplines that use the word “art” in their description: Fine Arts, Physical Arts, Manual Arts and Liberal Arts. The first three disciplines are associated with the practical and also creative part, while the Liberal Arts approach various disciplines in the humanities and social areas. Yakman’s definition of STEAM was quickly accepted and assimilated by the scientific community. However, for the purposes of application, the “A” is treated fundamentally as that creative and artistic component transversal to the rest of the model, relegating humanistic and social learning to the background. In the first section of this article the redefinition of the “A” in the STEAM model is proposed, which was originally defined by Yakman, by integrating the areas of Fine Arts, Physical Arts and Manual Arts; adding ∀H, as STEAM ∀H, which integrates the Liberal Arts, defining the model as: “the learning of Science and Technology interpreted through Engineering and Art based on the language of Mathematics and taking into account the implications of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math’ for all Humanity” The second section of this article proposes the implementation in detail of the STEAM ∀H model in higher education, specifically, in the first year of the Degree in Industrial Design Engineering and Product Development, where the STEAM areas represented by the subjects of Physics, Mathematics, Basic Design, Representation of Shapes, etc., must be integrated with the subject of Social Doctrine of the Church. The model has been tested in three consecutive courses. An empirical qualitative study, case study method was carried out thorugh multiple-question Likert scale questionnaries to analize the perpective and perception of the participants to the new method. The frequency of the results obtained are shown and analized at the end of the article.

1. Introduction

In the 1990s, the STEM methodology (Science, Technology Engineering, Maths) emerged. The idea of this methodology, as indicated in [1], is to educate students in the four specific disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics, using an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teaching the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications. However, as the term is widely used, there is no consensus about the nature and range of the concept. Some researchers and educators use the term STEM to refer to one or more of its components, others use it only in the integrated sense [2,3]. This concept in the integrated sense is well known as iSTEM (Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) [4]. More recently STEAM [5], in which A is art, is proposed. The reason was that the combination of seemingly opposing scientific and artistic disciplines provides, as indicated in [6], “the variety and diversity necessary for the design of innovative products” and these disciplines complement each other because “science provides a methodological tool in art and art provides a creative model in the development of science”. Art in STEAM deals mainly with creativity and creativity includes divergent thinking which leads to multiple solutions for a single problem [7]. Recently, methodologies are being published in order to extract STEAM projects from national curricula as a step prior to their formalisation [8]. In the last years, the literature starts to propose some components that are not being taken into account in STEAM projects. In [9] was proposed STEMM where the last M is Medicine. In [10] was recommended that humanities, arts, crafts and design (HACD) practices should be integrated with STEMM. In [11] was proposed STEAMS in which the history and social implications of science, the social sciences, are also considered [11]. Some educational institutions have added social services and/or multidimensional courses to their curricula. For example, the Pitzer College (Claremont, CA) requires all students to spend a semester living and/or working with a local community to better understand the realities and dilemmas faced by people in that community [11]. The concept of STEAMS is directly related to STEAM and the type of projects to be carried out as the projects should help students realize that they are part of social life [11]. This is a pragmatic view that promotes the idea that the concept must be promulgated in real life in order to see how it makes sense [12]. In [13] the STEAMS term was proposed to empower and grow the entrepreneurial spirit of students at Kebumen Elementary School in Indonesia.

Social life encompasses art as well as religion. Culture as part of art shows a powerful aspect in education, and religion also has a lot of importance in education [14]. There are some people that think that religion is something individual because religious beliefs can be very personal but religion is also reflected in multiple social institutions. Social scientists recognize that religion exists as an organized and integrated set of beliefs, behaviours and norms focused on basic social needs and values. In addition, religion is a set of cultural systems and beliefs, present in some way in all social groups [15]. We cannot understand the society around us without taking into account religion and its social implications. For this reason, it has recently been proposed to improve STEAM with STREAM in Indonesia, in which R is religion [14]. Religion has many essential parts in Indonesian education and therefore there has been a need to create a correlation between religion and science. Also recently in [16] was introduced STREAM using Smart Apps Creator 3 on students’ scientific literacy. As Einstein stated: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. Only when it merges with a secular worldview, science is against religion” [14,17].

In [18], the STEAM-ED is proposed, where a disciplinary approach is rejected and transdisciplinarity is promoted, emphasizing transdisciplinary skills within a sustainable worldview, based on learning by research and using an approach based on social constructivist theory within an “education through science” framework. In [18] it is proposed that science education should move from science and discipline education (SDE), science and technology education (STE) and even science, technology and social education (STSE), to a new vision of science and technology literacy. A transdisciplinary scientific and technological literacy is summarized in terms such as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), or even more, in recognition of social or artistic direction, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics), not forgetting that STEAM in relation to education, especially with a transdisciplinary vision, can lead to the realization of STEAM-ED as the new objective of STL (Scientific and Technological Literacy).

There are another branch of the literature critique of these STEM-based acronym models. For instance, in [19] used the word ’acronym wars’ to describe the approach that combining STEM with other disciplines. They conceptualised ’STEM’ as a Practice, which is not bounded by disciplines. This means ’STEM’ should encompass ways of thinking, values, and actions that can be applied to various disciplines, even to those not traditionally considered STEM-related. However, these ideas collides directly with the different disciplines that are needed to create an object. For instance in [20] defines the functions that an object should accomplish as, “The function that objects can fulfill does not have to be only practice. In fact, the designer must know what type of audience the object is aimed at and try to satisfy with it not only a practical utility, but other types of needs such as aesthetic or symbolic”. It means that Art, and may be others disciplines should to be added to STEM disciplines in order to achieve a global educational model.

1.1. Towards Humanity-Centred Design

Industrial design is a discipline that is responsible for the creation and development of products, starting with the conceptualization of an idea and continuing with the manufacturing and mass production process. In [21] was defined what is design’ as “all men are designers. All that we do, almost all the time, is design, for design is basic to all human activity”. Also in [20] is defined design as “It can be stated that design is born at the same time as the human, since from that human begins to make the first instruments, from a kitchen utensil to one of hunting, has given such objects a special configuration, a certain shape that serves to its specific function, but which is also the result of a personal choice of the individual who has built them or the people who have attempted to build them”.

In general, industrial design aims to identify a market opportunity or product development, improvement and innovation, as well as to define the problem it faces, develop an appropriate solution through its creation, and validate the solution before its mass and large-scale production. Industrial designers are usually part of work groups where other disciplines are integrated, mainly in the field of engineering such as mechanics, materials, electronics, computer science, etc., and which allow to finish developing the product defined by industrial designers.

The evolution of industrial design in recent centuries can be summarized in Figure 1.

During the 19th century, the design prospect was largely shaped by the Industrial Revolution and the ideals of modernism [22]. The main motivation of the design was to facilitate a successful industrialization, combined with producing beautiful and pleasant products, therefore design education focused on skills such as drawing and developing, see [22].

The 20th century witnessed a shift in design paradigms, mainly driven by technological advances and the lessons learned from World War II [22]. Design began to be heavily influenced by engineering and marketing. The focus of design shifted to creating products that offered an improved user experience. The main motivation was to succeed in the market through the design of beautiful and pleasant products, but also through useful and usable ones. Designers took on a more integral role involving both thought and doing and therefore design education started emphasizing reasoning, drawing and creating [22].

In the 21st century, design has continued to evolve, driven by growing environmental concerns and the emergence of advanced technologies [22]. Designers are now aiming to create products that convey intrinsic values and where the role of the designer is expanded to think, make and connect various aspects of design. Design education has adapted to this change by emphasizing reasoning, drawing, creating and effective communication. The ultimate goals of design include creating products that are beautiful, enjoyable, useful, usable, meaningful, and valuable [22].

As the importance of usability and user experience grows, we have seen the emergence of a user-centred design concept. However, this approach often fails to understand users as holistic human beings. Consequently, human-centred design emerges as the definitive guide for designers, focusing on a broader perspective, which considers the well-being of all humanity. Designers must address global issues with the intention of creating a better world for everyone. The goal is to protect human beings, dignity and human rights [23], which often collide with corporate and political greed [22].

Human-centred design, while a valuable approach, has its inherent limitations. In essence, it revolves around addressing the needs, preferences and experiences of human beings. However, this singular focus on the human perspective may not be enough to address the complex challenges we face in the 21st century. Most of the issues we see are the result of industry-centred and human-centred approaches [22]. However, humans are simply one piece of the intricate puzzle that is our planet. Serving only human interests does not take into account the broader ecosystem and the intricate interconnections between all elements of our world [22].

To overcome these limitations, a broader and more holistic approach is needed. The concept of human-centred design emerges as a response to these challenges [22,24]. The design transcends the limits of individual human needs and desires, seeking to address the well-being of the entire planet and all its inhabitants. It is based on the recognition that our actions, choices and designs have far-reaching impacts and that we have the responsibility to consider the common good [24].

Humanity-centred design is an approach that puts the well-being of all the parties involved at the forefront of the design process. This includes not only humans, but also the planet itself. Designers focused on humanity emphasize empathy, inclusion, sustainability and attention to the various needs and aspirations of individuals, communities and the entire environment.

Humanity-centred design not only affects product design but anything that humans create that interacts with the planet, such as in the design of public spaces, see [25], where the way humans and non-humans coexist in public spaces forces architects to establish a dialogue with other disciplines such as biology, ecology, zoology, etc., see [25].

Humanity-centred design is also an approach that has been empowered by governments. On 25 September 2015, world leaders adopted a set of global goals to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all, these goals were to be met by 2030, in what was termed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, see https://sdgs.un.org/es/goals (accessed on 2 August 2024). Among the goals, we can find zero hunger, sustainable cities and communities, affordable and non-polluting energy, responsible consumption, gender equality, etc.

1.2. The EXPLORIA Project: Previous Works

The EXPLORIA project is a proposal launched by the CEU Universities with the aim of improving the teaching methodologies that are currently applied in the university. The project started in the 2020/2021 academic year, in the first year of a few degrees such as Advertising, Political Science, Business Administration, Journalism and Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development. Of all those chosen, the degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development and the degree in Fundamentals of aArchitecture was perfect candidates for integrating STEAM learning.

In our previous work you can see the results obtained by using this methodology in the first year of the degree. In [26], it was demonstrated that by integrating the different subjects into a STEAM learning, most students have improved their beliefs about mathematics as well as understanding why it is necessary to learn mathematics. In [27] the same analysis was carried out but from the point of view of physics in showing how the activities, projects and challenges carried out, by integrating all the subjects, generated a significant improvement in the students’ learning. In [28], educational robotics are introduced with the aim of developing a new strategy for the application of mathematics and physics in an engineering degree. In particular, a transportation challenge using a LEGO EV3 is used in the teaching—learning process of the Bézier curves and their applications in physics. Recently, in [29] an activity called “The equilibrium challenge” has been proposed in order to bring together the STEAM areas in the architecture degree.

The implementation of STEAM learning in the degrees of CEU universities is a greater challenge, since, in addition to the subjects related to the STEAM areas, the subjects related to the areas of humanities, social and theological must be integrated. These are:

• Bioethics
• Ethics
• Great Books
• Introduction to Christianity
• Keys to Contemporary History
• The Church’s social doctrine
• World and modern man
• Anthropology
• History and Society

Specifically, in the Bachelor’s Degrees in Industrial Engineering and Product Development, and in the Bachelor’s Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture, the following subjects of the humanistic area are introduced:

• Person and Modern World
• History of Culture (Western)
• The Church’s Social Doctrine

2. Purpose of This Article

The evolution of STEAM models as well as the evolution of design in the 21st century have followed parallel paths driven by growing environmental concerns and the emergence of advanced technologies. On the one hand, designers have evolved from user-centred design to human-centred design and more recently into humanity-centred design, see [22], where the concept of humanity-centred design transcends the boundaries of individual human needs and desires, seeking to address the well-being of the entire planet and all its inhabitants [22,24].

On the other hand, since the formulation of the STEAM model in [5], different improvements have been proposed in the literature to introduce humanist disciplines into the model, such as, for example, the STREAM model where R is religion [14], or STEAM-ED, where-ED [18] implies an approach based on the constructivist social theory. The inclusion in [11] of STEAMS, where S is Society, has also been proposed to try to improve training in understanding society and the implications of designing for it. However, these new components added to the original STEAM model proposed in [5] are not working as a new discipline, they are a topic of an STEAM project or an extracurricular activity. For instance in the STEAMS model proposed in [11], educational institutions have added social services and/or multidimensional courses to their curricula. For example, the Pitzer College (Claremont, CA) requires all students to spend a semester living and/or working with a local community to better understand the realities and dilemmas faced by people in that community.

The initial STEAM model included the area of the Arts, “A” in all its dimensions, including the humanistic and social areas. While it is true that this has not been the case in its application, subsequent publications have associated the “A” with the practical and creative disciplines, focusing on the artistic disciplines in combination with Engineering in order to interpret Science and Technology, but not focusing on the Liberal Arts. Liberal Arts (Social), included the social sciences such as sociology, philosophy, psychology, theology, history, civic education and politics and where the field of education itself is also included [5]. These areas would be responsible for enhancing the humanist and social part in order to understand the human being and humanity and be able to make designs focused on humanity.

The first part of this article, Section 3 proposes to redefine the original STEAM model published in [5] into STEAM ∀H in which the ∀H (for all Humanity) is included. In this redefinition of the original model, the disciplines related to the artistic and creative part, Fine arts, Physical arts and Manual arts are maintained in the “A”, and in the “∀H”, we find the disciplines that make up the “Liberal Arts”. This new component takes into account the social implications of Science, Technology, Engineering and Art, which is demanded by the new educational models that have appeared in literature, STREAM, STEAM-ED, STEAMS as well as the new need in the design of products focused on humanity. Humanity-centered. ∀H (for all Humanity), or in other words, the context in which Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths are developed, is a fundamental element for the integration of the other disciplines and for generating contextualized learning associated with the understanding of the humanity and the world in which they are developed and applied.

The second part of this article, Section 4, will present the detailed implementation of the STEAM ∀H model in the Degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development. In particular, the development will be presented in the second semester where the subjects related to STEAM areas must be interrelated with the subject of Social Doctrine of the Church. The detailed sessions carried out, the subjects involved and how they are connected are shown in this section.

The third part of this article, Section 5, shows an empirical qualitative study, (a study carried out under the epistemological view of subjectivism or empirical works conducted from the participants perspective) is proposed in this section. The design of this study was carried out through multiple-question Likert scale questionnaires. The absolute and relative frequency of the answers are analyzed in Section 6.

The discussion and conclusions sections are shown at the end of the paper.

3. STEAM ∀H (for All Humanity) Definition

3.1. Definition of the Original STEAM Model

The STEAM learning is an educational model that seeks the integration and development of scientific-technical and artistic subjects in a single interdisciplinary framework [30]. The acronym arose in 2008 when Yakman, trying to promote interdisciplinarity, introduced the A of “Arts” within another existing acronym that included the initials in English of the disciplines of Science (S), Technology (T), Engineering (E) and Mathematics (M): STEM. “The Arts” become a multidisciplinary agent that allows connecting the sciences with artistic fields that facilitate communication, understanding of reality and bring out strategies and creative solutions [5].

Within the STEM field, Ref. [30] showed that the need for a certain degree of curricular integration and interdisciplinary learning had already been raised individually within each of the disciplines. This review also allowed her to classify what is specific to each discipline, what makes it unique and the difference from the rest of STEM fields and discover that art (A) provided an extra component of interdisciplinarity and creativity. In [30] the STEAM areas were defined as follows:

• Science (S): It deals with everything that exists naturally and how it is studied. In this way, physics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, Earth and space sciences and others close to technology, such as biotechnology or biomedicine, are considered areas of scientific education [30].
• Technology (T): This is responsible for studying everything that has been created and manufactured by humans [30]. As a school discipline, technology was the last to reach the educational plans and since it did the connections with mathematics and sciences became evident as they were existing disciplines that supported their appearance, technology being the most transversal subject of all the established disciplines [31].
• Engineering (E): According to [30] Engineering is understood as the “use of creativity and logic, based on mathematics and science which uses technology as an agent to create contributions to the world”. That is, engineering is the use of science and maths for designing new technology [32].
• Mathematics (M): Mathematics is the discipline that studies numbers and their operations, the handling of algebraic expressions, analytical geometry, the handling of measurements, data analysis, probability, problem solving, logical reasoning and their communication [30]. The essence of mathematics is problem solving and this subject is necessary to define, analyse and solve all kinds of real life problems. From an interdisciplinary perspective, mathematics in the STEM field is revealed as the common language to the rest of the fields, the language through which all communications are regulated, defined and understood [30].
• Art (A): According to cite Yakman08, this discipline can be divided into several types: language arts, fine arts or plastic arts, physical arts, manual arts, and liberal arts that encompass the social sciences. Several of these arts have been considered independent disciplines in educational systems, such as language arts, social sciences, plastic or physical arts through physical education [30]. From this point of view, the presence of “art” in the educational world is broad and would not be limited to the plastic and manual arts.

3.2. Redefining the Original STEAM Model in STEAM ∀H, (∀H, for All Humanity)

In the development of the STEAM theory, the role of each of the disciplines in learning is established in a very specific way, defining STEAM learning as the learning of Science and Technology interpreted through Engineering and Art based on the language of Mathematics [5,30].

In [30], the author defines the discipline “the arts” as the agglutination of different definitions and applications that use the word “art” in their definition. These are:

• Fine arts: Everything regarding topics traditionally covered in “art” classes, such as painting, sculpture, colour theory, and tangible creative expressions.
• Physical arts: Those topics that include personal or collective movement, sports, dance and performance.
• Manual arts: Topics related to particular physical or technical skills needed to manipulate objects.
• Liberal arts: This is the broadest category since it included the social sciences such as sociology, philosophy, psychology, theology, history, civics, politics and where the field of education itself is also included. Ref. [5] literally defines Liberal arts as Liberal arts (Social): Including Education, History, Phylosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology, Theology, Science Technology Society (STS) and more.

The definition of STEAM by [5,30] was quickly accepted and assimilated by the scientific community. The combination of seemingly opposing scientific and artistic disciplines provides, as indicated in [6], “the variety and diversity necessary for the design of innovative products” and these disciplines complement each other because “science provides a methodological tool in art and art provides a creative model in the development of science”. In [7], we find that art on STEAM deals primarily with creativity which includes divergent thinking that leads to multiple solutions to a single problem.

In [14] we find that social life encompasses both art and religion, as a fundamental part of what characterizes Society, but it does not only include this. Culture as part of art shows a powerful aspect in education, as well as religion, which shapes educational values. Religion could be considered an individual characteristic because religious beliefs can be very personal, but religion is fundamentally a collective and social trait, which is also reflected in social institutions and structures, shaping the way of understanding a Society. Social scientists recognize that religion exists as an organized and integrated set of beliefs, behaviours and norms focused on basic social needs and values. In addition, religion is a set of cultural systems and beliefs, present in some way in all social groups [15]. For all this, in [14,16] they propose an improvement of the STEAM model into STREAM in which R is religion. Actually [14,16] are not proposing a new model, but the STEAM model, in particular the “A”, has been developed in the Fine Arts, Physical Arts, Manual Arts, moving away from the Liberal Arts, leaving out of the model an essential part for its effectiveness in educational processes.

On 7 May 2018, the Board of Higher Education and Workforce of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (NASEM) published a report recommending that humanities, arts, crafts, and design (HACD) practices should be integrated with STEMM (where the latest M is Medicine [9]) in university and graduate curricula [10]. Again, the concept of humanities is related to the Liberal arts defined by [30] while arts, crafts and design are related to fine and manual arts, which are perfectly integrated into the STEAM model.

In [11,13] they proposed STEAMS (where the last S is Society) which considers the history and social implications of science, social sciences and entrepreneurship. Some educational institutions have added social services to their curricula. For example, Pitzer College (Claremont, CA) requires all students to spend a semester living and/or working with a local community to better understand the realities and dilemmas faced by people in that community [11]. The concept of STEAMS is directly related to STEAM and the type of projects to be carried out as these projects should help students realize that they are part of social life [11]. This is a pragmatic view that promotes the idea that the concept should be enacted in real life to see if it makes sense [12]. A similar approach is proposed in [18] with the STEAM-ED model, where transdisciplinarity is promoted, especially linked to society and within a sustainable worldview.

In general, the literature proposes the use of social implications as a tool that allows connecting the projects developed through STEAM disciplines with reality, but not as an extra discipline within STEAM. In [11] it was the first time that, according to the authors’ knowledge, the need to complete the STEAM model including the discipline Society was defined, with a strong orientation to its humanistic vision and transversal to the rest of the disciplines of the model, without which the others could not be understood. Textually, in [11] the author states that “there is an important component still missing. Society needs to be added to create a complete educational model (STEAMS) in which the history and social implications of science, social science and art are considered as well”. The evolution of STEAM models towards the need to include the implications that science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics have had on society has also been developed in the world of design. As is it well explained in the introduction, in the 19th century the design was focused originally on facilitating successful industrialization. In the 21st century, designers began to create products that carried intrinsic values, the user-centred design [22]. This concept failed to understand users as holistic human beings. Consequently, human-centered design emerges to consider the well-being of all humanity [22,23]. This singular focus on the human perspective may not be enough to address the complex challenges we face in the 21st century, appearing the actual perspective, humanity-centered design [22,24]. Humanity-centered design is a global concept that can be applied for all human activity [20,21].

3.3. Definition of the STEAM ∀H Model

In the STEAM ∀H Model, a redefinition of the “A” of the STEAM model is proposed, which was originally defined in [5,30], bringing together the following definitions:

• Fine arts: Everything regarding topics traditionally covered in “art” classes, such as painting, sculpture, colour theory, and tangible creative expressions.
• Physical arts: Those topics that include personal or collective movement, sports, dance and performance.
• Manual arts: Topics related to particular physical or technical skills needed to manipulate objects.

and “∀H” is added, which will consist of:

• Liberal arts: This category includes the social sciences such as sociology, philosophy, psychology, theology, history, civics, politics and where the field of education itself is also included.

In [30] the author define STEAM learning as the learning of Science and Technology interpreted through Engineering and Art based on the language of Mathematics. STEAM ∀H learning could be defined as the learning of Science and Technology interpreted through Engineering and Art based on the language of Mathematics and taking into account the implications of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math for all Humanity. Figure 2 shows the STEAM∀H model.

4. STEAM ∀H in EXPLORIA

This section will present the detailed implementation of the STEAM ∀H model in the Degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development. In particular, the development will be presented in the second semester where the subjects related to STEAM areas must be interrelated with the subject of Social Doctrine of the Church.

4.1. EXPLORIA Project in the Degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development

The EXPLORIA project for the first year of the Degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development was designed by the faculty of the first-year subjects, and by the management team of the Faculty including multidisciplinary profiles of mathematics, engineering, fine arts and designers. The subjects that make up the first year can be seen in

Table 1. First-year subjects of engineering degree in design.

Semester 1	Semester 2
Physics	Physics Extension course
Maths	Maths Extension course
Art History	Catholic Social Teaching
Basic design	Design Extension course
Shape representation	Descriptive geometry

.

The design was based on five concepts derived from the fundamental basics of basic design, these are: shape, volume, colour, space and structure. The itinerary was divided into two modules, corresponding to each of the semesters and these are:

MODULE I

• Act I: Shape
• Act II: Volume
• Act III: Colour

MODULE II

• Act IV: Space
• Act V: Structure
• Act VI: Project

The pilot project makes use of integrated learning between the subjects that make up each act and temporal sequences focused on different learning objectives linked to Bloom’s taxonomy, see [33]: understanding, application, experimentation and development. Each of the acts addresses these 4 objectives in this order through active methodologies and by promoting activities that involve at least two subjects.

At the end of each act, a milestone is introduced to reinforce the objective of each of the fundamentals worked in order to obtain a global vision of the related competencies of all the subjects, thus constituting the STEAM ∀H project. The milestone uses the methodology based on challenges in which students, actively and autonomously, propose solutions to solve problems for a specific topic such as travel, sport, etc. In their proposal, they must make use of what they have learned during the act. In particular, the present paper, as well as the STEAM ∀H milestone appears in the last two acts, where the Social Catholic Teaching learning outcomes should be applied in the problem solution proposal. In order to promote the soft skills that emanate from the transversal competencies of the degree, such as decision-making, communication, critical thinking, etc., the milestoness will be carried out as a team. These teams are changed in each act, allowing students to vary their role depending on the idiosyncrasy of the team so that they can get different experiences. The milestone lasts a week and at the end of this week the students must defend their ideas in a public presentation. The rest of the teams should value the work of the team that did the presentation, and this team must also do its own self-assessment. Both the assessment by the rest of the teams and the self-assessment will be part of the final evaluation of the milestone.

4.2. Catholic Social Teaching (CST)

The subject of Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is a subject of 6 ECTS taught in the second semester of the first year, see Table 1. Its specific purpose is to provide the student with a humanist formation according to the principles of Christian Humanism. Its content provides the student with the essential and indispensable bases for understanding the world and society. This subject is taught from the perspective of the principles of Christian anthropology in social issues of great social importance such as the person, human life, family, communication and the right to information, economy, development, environment, politics, international relations, human rights, justice, natural law and others. In addition, the teaching of this subject will seek to make students discover moral criteria and values that will help them to a reasoned, free and true moral assessment on the different issues and contexts in which their professional work will be carried out and make them mature in their attitude towards the life and profession for which they are preparing. Moreover, it is intended to introduce the student to the knowledge and critical analysis of the main documents and resources that articulate the modern Social Magisterium of the Church and to the analysis of the main ethical challenges in contemporary societies, in the light of the current documents of the Magisterium of the Church.

4.3. Activities and Sessions Carried Out during Module II

The activities related to the STEAM ∀H are divided into two types, theoretical sessions and work sessions in the classroom during each act of the different subjects that make up each STEAM ∀H discipline. At the end of each act, the milestone week is held and students must develop a STEAM ∀H project in teams based on a challenge or proposed theme. The milestone makes it possible to evaluate the skills acquired during the act, putting them into practice in the design of a product that corresponds to the challenge or theme raised by establishing a connection with the skills developed in the subjects.

The detailed sessions carried out and subjects involved are shown below:

• Session (mathematics). Maths session in which symmetry and proportions are discussed. In this session, students study the concept of symmetry and proportion in a theoretical way and subsequently by using the application exercises, they motivate the formal study on some artistic representations. These are related to the iconological content of it. The works of study are from the Muslim, Christian, Egyptian and contemporary periods. The study of rotational symmetries from the iconographic sense is very important, using the concept of vanishing point and repetition of motifs, in order to build the group of isometries, as well as to investigate in the iconological understanding of the work.
• Session (shape representation). Dedicated to discovering the proportions behind the human body, golden number, to draw it beautifully proportioned.
• Session (basic design): Here we will understand, analyse, apply and create the shape in two dimensions according to its size, proportion, visual weight, and how to compose on basic reticles and relate to others through various interrelations—intersection, overlapping, penetration, etc.—aiming to obtain a balanced and aesthetic result; for which the isometric transformations linked to mathematical calculations will be used in subsequent sessions.
• Session (physics). Physics session in which measurement units and errors are discussed. An experiment is performed to measure the golden number or divine proportion by measuring the proportions of the phalanges of the fingers and arm. The results obtained are pooled and the measurement and error of the whole class experiment is obtained.
• Session (shape representation). The human face, beautiful and well structured, is governed by a series of parameters, proportions and relationships, including the golden number, among the various elements that compose it. In this kind of drawing task they are discovered and applied.
• Session (basic design + shape representation). The link between identity and shape is transmitted. Whenever a two-dimensional form must convey a message, contain a meaning/s or represent a brand or person, its utility and aesthetic result -beauty- will lie in the simplicity and ease in which it integrates different concepts, characteristics or qualities. In this session the students analyse themselves to create a personal brand, a logo that identifies them, a shape justified with their personality and essence.
  In subsequent sessions and other subjects, the student will discover the style and characteristics of the person and work of Antonio Gaudí, and identity with shape will be linked again. The students will have to recognize the organic and geometric shapes that identify this author and they must also try to understand the balance, proportion and beauty resulting from the inspiration of the author in nature.
• Session (CST and basic design). After the initial learning about the elements that define a space, their organization and relationship, as well as the application of them in various practical exercises; in this two-day joint session (8 h in total), the student is shown the concept of universal accessibility (which includes physical and cognitive accessibility), as well as being shown the reality of diversity in society and vulnerabilities in youth to, from all this information, analyse the space of our school (The ESET Technical School of Engineering) and propose, through the design, improvements that allow the Universal Accessibility of our school for all users and visitors.
• Session (mathematics). Mathematics session in which we talk about Gaudí and the Holy Family where we can observe different geometries introduced by him.
• Session (history of art): The divine proportion in Art. In this session, one of the main questions of aesthetics is worked through case studies: what is beauty and what are its qualities and essence?
  The observation and imitation of nature has been essential in most of history of art. In addition, since classical Greece, an idea has been maintained regarding beauty, showing that it is intimately linked to proportion. If this is so, and that proportion has been observed in nature, then a suggestive question may arise in the classroom: Do you think that God, through the use of a relationship of proportions in nature itself, is giving an answer as a mathematical formula to the crucial question on beauty that philosophers and artists have been raising for centuries? [34].
  Through the proposed cases, works by artists such as M.C. Escher, Salvador Dalí or photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, students reflect on the concept of beauty and its observation in nature and its rules.
• Session (shape representation). Drawing as a tool for understanding Nature. In the first session of Act II: Volume, we analyse the conical perspective as the most realistic and natural technique for drawing what the human eye can see; this technique, far from the artifices of isometric perspectives and, above all, knightly.
• Session (shape representation). The leitmotiv of this session is the understanding of the behaviour of light in Nature, to then apply it in our drawings until achieving the feeling of volume in the elements represented.
• Session (CST). CST session in which we talk about Gaudí and the Holy Family.
• Session 4. Physics session in which we talk about Gaudí and the Holy Family. We talk about the importance of the shape of the arches, their height versus the lateral reinforcements, the friction columns and the double helix columns that Gaudí introduced. We will also study fractal structures and their physical properties. Much emphasis is placed on what was Gaudí’s main source of inspiration, nature. Famous is his phrase, “originality consists in the return to the origin; so, original is all that returns to the simplicity of the first solutions”.
• Session (descriptive geometry). In the descriptive geometry session we explain the warped ruled surfaces, including the hyperbolic paraboloid, its mathematical and physical properties. This session connects to The Pringles equilibrium challenge activity from our previous work [27].
• Session (physics). A master class in physics explaining Newton’s 3 Laws. Upon completion of the master lesson, students go out to the streets and select 4 applications of Newton’s laws in architecture, take a photo, and explain how laws work in that particular situation.
• Session (basic design). The concept of structure as an integral part of the project. Structure and design. In this session the student is given the definition and basic behaviour of the structure, as well as the possibilities in terms of its typology. According to its origin, we make a difference between technical structure (the one built by man) and natural structure (the one that comes from nature itself); being aware that for techniques, man is completely inspired by the natural world, both in the physical and aesthetic sphere. Science and technology arise from the exploration of nature. In it there are perfect structures like those of the radiolar ones, which are marine protozoa endowed with an internal skeleton with a very elaborate structure and of great beauty. We observe and analyse works by various designers who have been inspired by this type of natural structures.
• Session (physics). A master class in physics that explains the concepts of a free-body diagram and the equilibrium equations for a rigid body. After the conclusion, the students go out to the street and select 4 applications of the equilibrium equations in design products. They take a photo, draw the free-body diagram, and calculate the equilibrium equations in that particular application. This session is connected to The Pringles equilibrium challenge activity from our previous work [27].
• Session (CST). Master class on the existence of God from the Catholic point of view. We will talk about St. Thomas Aquinas’ 5 ways to defend the existence of God. Of the five ways, we will use the one that connects with the physics part. The First Way is deduced from the movement of objects. Thomas explains through the distinction of act and power, that the same entity cannot move and be moved at the moment, then everything that moves is done by virtue of another element. A series of movers is therefore initiated, and this series cannot be taken to infinity, because there would be no first mover, nor second (i.e., there would be no transmission of movement) therefore there must be a First Unmoved Mover that is identified with God, the beginning of everything. In addition, the thoughts of several scientists who have expressed the relationship between science and religion such as G. Mendel, Einstein, Newton, Faraday, Pasteur, Copernicus, Ada Lovelace or Florence Nightingale, among others, are studied.
• Session (physics). Theoretical session in which a review is made of the relationship between physicists and God throughout history and how physicists have tried to decipher “Who is God”. The session takes a historical journey from Aristotle to the most modern theories of quantum physics, the theory of everything, string theory, etc. Throughout the journey, there are several key moments that connect with learnings from other sessions, these are:

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  Aristotle: The first thing we talk about is the First Unmoved Mover. The first person to speak of the First Unmoved Mover was Aristotle, not Thomas Aquinas. The unmoved mover is a metaphysical concept described by Aristotle as the first cause of all motion in the universe, and which is therefore not moved by anything else. Aristotle speaks in his eighth book of Physics of an immaterial entity that is the physical principle of the world, and in Metaphysics, he referred to it as God.

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  Newton: Newton and his 3 fundamental laws are then discussed. Newton’s first law is directly related to the First Unmoved Mover since the first law dictates that: “every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force”. This first law is strictly necessary for Newton’s second and third Law to be fulfilled. In other words, Newton’s laws can be applied except at the origin of the universe as there had to be a first mover on which these rules were not applied. Newton spent much of his life seeking the answer to this question in religion, as he was an Arianist.

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  Einstein: In other part we talk about Einstein and who was God for him. Einstein was asked many times if he believed in God but he never used to answer that question. The few times he did answer by saying “I believe in Spinoza’s God that reveals himself in the regulated harmony of all that exists, but not in a God that is concerned with the destiny and acts of humanity”. Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the three great rationalists of seventeenth-century philosophy. He is considered an absolute rationalist because of his conception of the principle of sufficient reason: “for everything there is a cause, both for its existence, if it exists, and for its non-existence, if it does not exist”. As far as Einstein was concerned, God’s “ruled harmony” is established through the cosmos by strict adherence to the physical principles of cause and effect. Therefore, there is no room in Einstein’s philosophy for free will: “Everything is determined, the beginning as much as the end, by forces over which we have no control… we all dance a mysterious tune, intoned in a distance by an invisible musician”. Everything is governed by the rules of physics and there can be no higher entity that can bypass them.

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  Born and Einstein: Next we talk about Max Born. He was a German physicist and mathematician who played a decisive role in the development of quantum mechanics. On 4 December 1926, Einstein wrote in a letter to Born: “Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that this is not yet the real thing. ’The theory produces a good deal but hardly brings us closer to the secret of The Old One’, I, in any case, am convinced that “God” does not play dice.” Einstein was not a believer, but he used the metaphor of God to refer to the functioning of nature and its rules.

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  The Old One: At this point in the class two concepts are presented:

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  “The Old One”: As it was for Einstein, nature and its rules, and as these, the rules of nature have inspired works of art, architects as for example Gaudí, or product design. Geometric shapes of nature such as spirals, fractal growth patterns such as those of trees, symmetries, proportions (golden number), the concept of beauty (symmetry + proportion), and finally, the very laws of physics applied to the design of products, such as forces, gravity, etc.

  *

  “Playing the Old One”: This concept refers to the work of a designer who must propose creative ideas, “playing with the Old One’s rules”, that is, playing with the laws of physics and nature. Figure 3 shows a classic example in which the table on the left is a typical table with 4 legs while the other two tables are tables designed in which the designer has “played with the Old Man’s rules” to get an original table that complies with the rules of physics to ensure functionality.

  At the end of the class, students are presented with the work they must do on “Who is God?”. The work should contain the following points:

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  An introduction that includes a description explaining the Unmoved Mover theory, the five ways of St. Aquinas, Newton’s Laws, and the theory of everything.

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  A historical/bibliographic review of different physicists/philosophers who throughout history have studied the origin, both from the physical and religious point of view.

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  Who’s the Old One? It must include who “the Old One” is and the implications it has on product design based on examples of designers.

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  Who is God? Personal reflection on “Who is God?” from all points of view based on everything read/learned.

• Session (physics + basic design extension): In this combined session that had 3 sessions of 2 h between physics and basic design extension, the students were asked to select a famous designer and one of his/her products. After having begun to understand the concept of structure, as well as the basic elements of its behaviour, they investigated about different designers, studies and products—in particular furniture, to, among all of them, select a piece of furniture and analyse it to identify which elements integrate it and how its shape and volume are structured. In this way the objective is to understand that each product conforms to the human scale and has an adequate and proportional size to the function for which it is designed; integrating a structure that supports and conforms it.
  Regarding the basic design part, they are asked, after the research, first to select a piece of furniture whose structure has been used as a functional, aesthetic or differentiating element. Later, the analysis of the piece will consist of inquiring about his/her designer, his/her product line, the brand that produces it, the city where and year when it was launched, as well as the description of the furniture itself: concept, use, shape, finish and materials that integrate it, size—technical drawings-, components/parts that integrate it; and a final essay on the role of the structure in that design and why it is relevant.
  Regarding physics, they are asked to make the diagram of free bodies of the design and analyse how the “rules of the Old One” are applied and how the designer has “played to be the Old One”, that is, how he/she has played with the rules of physics and nature to transform the initial concept of design into a final product and what things he/she has had to assume to achieve it. For example, in Figure 4 you can see a design of the Italian design studio based in Milan Studiopepe called Verre Particulier where from the original design formed by simple figures, cylinders, the designer has made the decision to cut the base of the cylinder in order to improve the stability of the table and avoid vibrations when the table is used; as well as integrate, with that brief gesture, aesthetics and proportion in the whole of the furniture.

Milestone

At the end of each act, a Milestone week is held in which students are divided into groups of 5 and a theme is given on which they must propose solutions and design them. The milestone is divided into 5 phases, one per day. These are:

• Phase 1—Definition of the challenge. The teams, based on the proposed theme, must define the challenge they intend to solve. The purpose at this stage is to state what they want to solve, without having yet formalized a specific element or object.
• Phase 2—Research. The teams investigate the challenge given looking for specific solutions, transferring the idea to a shaped solution, and sketching the solution to be proposed while working on its possibilities of volume, colour or structure.
• Phase 3—Performance This phase begins with an Elevator Pitch in which the team members explain their challenge and proposed idea in 2 min. The team of teachers advise/guide them in the project. Then the teams continue to work on the challenge.
• Phase 4—Documentation. In this phase the students document the project, prepare the model and presentation/defence for the next day.
• Phase 5—Presentation. The teams present their projects to the rest of the teams and teachers and are evaluated by both the teachers and the other teams.

Of the milestone achieved in the second semester, two of them have been related to issues linked to society. In milestone V, we proposed solutions that would help the community of Alfara del Patriarca, the town where the University is located, and in the second Milestone we proposed designs that would solve some of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Milestone VI, being the last one, had the characteristic of a project because the students in this final moment of the first year, have gathered the necessary learning results on the fundamentals of design: shape, volume, colour, space and structure. This combination of ingredients and knowledge is what allows the project they present to have a global character, the result of having previously included a basic methodology on the generation of a design project. It lasted two weeks and was performed individually.

• Milestone V. Community of Alfara The CEU Cardenal Herrera University and in particular the Technical School of Engineering (ESET) are located in a Valencian town called Alfara del Patriarca. It is a small town, the town size is 2 km² and is located in the area Huerta de Valencia, it has 3301 inhabitants (2021). The local economy has traditionally depended on agriculture with 100% of irrigated crops. The majority of its inhabitants are elderly people who live with students of the University. During Phase 1 of the Landmark, the students undertook a guided tour of the town to see first-hand how it is and the possible needs the community of Alfara may have. After that visit, the teams started developing their proposals. Figure 5 shows one of the projects presented in which a space was proposed where both elderly and young people, basically from the university, shared a space and conversations.
• Milestone VI. SDG Project (Sustainable Development Goal)
  The second value-related milestone was number VI. In this case, the students had to develop solutions that would improve some of the sustainable development goals. In this case, the project was carried out individually and had a duration of two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, a public presentation was held in which the students presented a panel and the model of their product, see Figure 6. The presentation was open to the general public and they could vote which of the products presented seemed best to them. In Figure 7 you can see the project that gathered the most votes, Depoocar, a system to transport water in the third world where, by using the physics present in the cars pulled by mules, large radius wheels full of water that are very easy to transport are designed.

5. Materials and Methods

5.1. Participants

The participants in the empirical qualitative study, case study method [35] were the students of the bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development from the academic year 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 at the University CEU Cardenal Herrera.

The empirical qualitative study, as it is defined in [35] are those studies that present original empirical data produced by the authors that start from the perspective and the subjectivist of the participants. The students for the different courses are treated as a single sample, case study method, as it is defined in [35].

The total number of students participating in the study was 38 in the academic year 2021/22, 32 in 2022/23 and 35 in 2023/24. Most students were Spanish but there were also students from South America (El Salvador, Colombia, Honduras, Venezuela, Mexico, etc.), and also students from northern Europe such as (Russia, Ukraine, Germany). The participants’ age ranged between 18 and 20 (similarly distributed).

5.2. Scope of Application

STEAM ∀H learning has been planned and applied to the first year in which the following subjects are included, see Table 1 in which all subjects have 6 ECTS. This article focuses on the second semester in which the CST subject is taught but it also establishes connections with sessions taught in the first semester.

5.3. Tools

An empirical qualitative study, (a study carried out under the epistemological view of subjectivism or empirical works conducted from the participants perspective) [35] is proposed in this paper. The design was carried out through multiple-question Likert scale questionnaires. In our empirical qualitative study, data collection was obtained through an ad hoc questionnaire, following other validated methods found in the scientific literature, such as [36]. Test are answered by the students when the course is finished, anonimously and following the rules marked by the ethic commite of the university. There are 9 items in the questionnaire.

Nine questions follow a Likert-type scale within a range of five points (from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree), two questions are an open-ended question. The questions are shown below in

Table 2. Questions asked in the students’ questionnaire.

ID	Question
1	With the EXPLORIA methodology it has been easier for me to connect the knowledge of mathematics with the design and development of products.
2	With the EXPLORIA methodology it has been easier for me to connect my knowledge of physics with the design and development of products.
3	With the EXPLORIA methodology it has been easier for me to connect the knowledge of the Social Doctrine of the Church with the design and development of products.
4	With the EXPLORIA methodology it has been easier for me to connect my knowledge of technical drawing with the design and development of products.
5	The milestones have allowed me to assess the importance of each of the subjects in the design and development of products.
6	The milestones, which has been related to Alfara del Patriarca and the SDG, allowed me to understand the importance of Society in the design and development of products.
7	The metaphor of “the rules of the Old One” and “playing at being the Old One” has allowed me to appreciate the importance of the technical part in the design and development of products.
8	The metaphor of “the rules of the Old One” and “playing at being the Old One” has allowed me to appreciate the importance of nature as a source of inspiration for the design and development of products.
9	The lessons of the different subjects that have followed the EXPLORIA methodology have allowed me to understand the basic concepts that the design and development of products must contain (aesthetics, technique, values).

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6. Results

Table 3. Student’s questionnaire responses. Absolut frequency of the Likert-type answers.

Question	SA	A	N	D	SD
1	27	33	7	3	1
2	32	29	8	1	1
3	24	24	20	2	1
4	35	22	12	2	0
5	45	21	4	1	0
6	21	33	13	4	0
7	28	27	15	1	0
8	40	27	4	0	0
9	18	40	40	20	3

shows the answers to the Likert-type questions.

The questionnaire was answered by 70% of the enrolled students. If we analyze the relative frequency of the Likert-type answers we can conclude that:

• 85% of students agree or strongly agree that the EXPLORIA methodology has allowed them to connect mathematics knowledge with product design and development.
• Regarding physics, 86% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the EXPLORIA methodology had allowed them to connect with product design.
• As for the Church Social Doctrine, 67% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that EXPLORIA had helped them connect with product design while 28% remained in a neutral position. Only 16% of the students disagreed and thought that EXPLORIA had not been able to connect CST with product design.
• For drawing, 80% of them agreed or strongly agreed on the usefulness of EXPLORIA to connect with the design.
• Regarding the Milestones, 93% of the students showed that they agreed or strongly agreed on their usefulness in connecting the subjects with the design of products.
• For the metaphors of “the rules of the Old One” or “playing at being the Old One”, 76% of students agree or strongly agree that it has helped them to value the technical part in the design and development of products. 18% are neutral while 6% disagree and cannot find it useful.
• As for whether the metaphors have been useful to assess the importance of nature as a source of inspiration, 77% agree or strongly agree, 21% are indifferent while only 2% cannot find it useful.
• Regarding question 9, if the lessons of the different subjects that have followed the EXPLORIA methodology have allowed me to understand the basic concepts that the design and development of products must contain, (aesthetics, technique, values); practically all the students agree or strongly agree, only one student has shown indifference and nobody has shown disagreement.

7. Discussion

The EXPLORIA project implemented in the first year of the Degree in Design has caused a great impact on students in their learning process. As seen in the results of the previous studies [26,27], it represents a great improvement in the basic subjects of physics and mathematics thanks to integration with the rest of subjects more related to the profession. In this article, it has been integrated with the subject of CST to develop a STEAM ∀H project, which allows even more integration of the STEAM project with humanity by giving it values, ethics and a conception of the existence of God, both religious and scientific. From this debate arises the connection with nature and how this can be a source of inspiration for designers. As you can see in the questionnaire, practically all students value the integration of all subjects very positively through the EXPLORIA project in order to be able to understand how the basic concepts of design, aesthetics, technique and values influence their design. This assessment is perhaps the most relevant since with the classical methodology in which the subjects were taught separately, the students did not have an integral perception of their profession and the social implications they had, something that they now do have.

The STEAM learning, as defined by [5,30] and the adaptation proposed in this article, STEAM ∀H, are educational models that seek the integration and development of scientific-technical, artistic, humanistic and social subjects in a single interdisciplinary framework. This interdisciplinary framework corresponds to reality, since everything is interrelated and all disciplines have an influence on each other. This is the main virtue of this methodology, since students can connect the interrelated learning between the subjects, which makes them better understand its purpose and application in the professions for which they are preparing. For the model to work, all subjects must be involved, with a true sense of interdisciplinarity, so that students can perceive the connections and sense of the totality of their learning. It therefore requires the involvement of all disciplines and teachers, with an important collective effort to understand the meaning and purpose of each of the subjects, with a global and connected vision of learning.

In the case developed in this article, reference is made to the first course of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development, which integrates the subjects of Physics, Mathematics, Basic Design, Representation of Shapes, Art, Social Doctrine of the Church and Descriptive Geometry. The subjects of Physics and Mathematics, given their affinity, are easily interrelated and connectable, using the learning from one to the other in a logical way. The rest of the subjects, both of an artistic nature, such as basic design and shape representation (Fine Arts), and of a more humanistic and historical nature (Liberal Arts), generate shared learning and interrelationships that will allow students to learn more solidly and understandably.

The difficulty lies in the connection between these two large blocks of learning, which require greater collective work and a joint vision of all teachers of the sequences and significant learning milestones, as well as the meaning and purpose of each of them, taking into account the general objectives of the course and the particular objectives of each subject, being able to integrate them. Section 4.3 shows in detail the sessions carried out, and the conclusions reached for the interrelation of the subjects. Connections between physics, Newton’s laws, and the Social Doctrine of the Church through the concept of “motionless motor” and the relationship of physicists and their religious beliefs. Connections between physics, basic design and social doctrine of the church through the concept of “the rules of the old man” and the work of designers through the concept “playing at being the old man”, where concepts such as symmetries and proportions appear, beauties typical of nature that also connect with the subject of shape representation. Connections of all subjects with the Social Doctrine of the Church and society in the Milestones by carrying out the proposal of solutions for the population of Alfara del Patriarca and in the last milestone, the projects design connected with the SDGs. One of the achievements of this interrelation allowed us to determine, indirectly, the logical sequence of transmitting knowledge to students, in a way that is more understandable and apprehensible, by conveying the purpose of learning. This work model logically required the modification of traditional work parameters. Firstly, the schedule could not maintain a stable and fixed structure throughout the semesters, since the learning sequence takes precedence over an established order in which each subject follows its program. In turn, the sequence may require several teachers to share classroom sessions in which the knowledge of several subjects is being transferred together. The results of this experience can be seen in our previous works [26,27]. This flexible schedule structure collides with the reality of universities where professors teach subjects in different degrees and have to coordinate, which would imply a change of model at a much deeper level. Currently, we work with a fixed schedule and the interrelation is carried out weekly, although within the week the sequence may not be the logical one.

The answers given by the students in the questionnaire reinforce the idea that STEAM-based learning improves the understanding of basic concepts through their integration with real-world problems, in this case, by seeking solutions for the Alfara community or by making designs focused on the SDGs.

8. Conclusions and Further Developments

This article shows the integration of the contents and learning outcomes of the CST subject within the STEAM projects promoted by the EXPLORIA project. For integration, we have proposed to use the scheme suggested in other scientific articles in which they put forward the need to integrate humanity in order to have a complete vision of STEAM projects applied to the real world. The strategy followed has been, on the one hand, a work named Who is God? in which the debate between the religious vision vs. the scientific vision is opened and we can show how through the different visions of God a connection with nature can be established. We have used Einstein’s metaphor of “The Old One” to refer to God (understood as nature and its rules). This metaphor is used in subsequent classes and connected to previous sessions of other subjects to refer to or reinforce the message of nature as a source of inspiration to artists, designers and architects such as Gaudí. On the other hand, the students are given themes in the milestones so that they can design objects made for use in society, for example, through the SDGs or designing for the Alfara community, trying to design objects that meet both individual human needs, human-centred design, as well as humanity-centred design through the development of products based on meeting any of the SDGs.

The final questionnaire carried out to the students shows the goodness of the STEAM ∀H proposal in which practically all the students agree or strongly agree that this methodology has allowed them to understand the basic concepts that must be included in the product design, that is, a combination of aesthetic part that makes the product attractive, a technical part that guarantees its functionality and a part of values that makes the designed product oriented to specific people.

As future work we would like to transfer these results to other university degrees.