The objective of our research is the implementation of STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) learning in the bachelor of Engineering in industrial design and product development at CEU Cardenal Herrera University through the EXPLORIA project. This article implements and develops the proposal for the first year of this bachelor, which includes 24 students aged 18–20. This article focuses on how to integrate STEAM learning within the EXPLORIA project for the improvement in the learning of the physics subject, and in particular, regarding the part of the syllabus related to mechanical engineering through different projects, challenges and milestones that allow the student to see the use in the design and development of products. The EXPLORIA project connects the competencies of the different STEAM subjects included in the bachelor, designing a learning process as a logical, sequential and incremental itinerary. Through concepts on which the fundamentals of design are based: shape, volume, color, space and structure. In particular, this article shows the adaptation made in the physical part to be able to teach the integrated mechanics part in this learning process. The complete learning was carried out through several challenges and two milestones the students had to overcome through the application of the physical knowledge learned in class. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, at the end of the paper, an ad hoc questionnaire is carried out showing the students’ assessment regarding the new teaching methodology.

Our society is immersed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution due to the fast evolution of the new technologies that are modifying the labor market. In the near future, technologies related to Industry 4.0 will produce totally new goods and services. Therefore, the educational systems should adapt their programs to the future needs of an uncertain labor market. In particular, mathematics will play a key role in future jobs and there is a strong need to connect its teaching methodologies to the new technological scene. This work uses the STEAM approach (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) along with active methodologies and educational robotics with the aim of developing a new strategy for the application of mathematics and physics in an engineering degree. In particular, a transportation challenge is posed to tackle the teaching–learning process of the Bézier curves and their applications in physics. A pilot project is developed using a LEGO EV3 robot and an active methodology, where students become the center of the learning process. The experimental results of the pilot study indicate an increase in the motivation due to the use of robots and the realistic context of the challenge.

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.

The main objective of this article has been to evaluate the effect that the implementation of the EXPLORIA project has had on the Engineering Degree in Industrial Design and Product Development. The EXPLORIA project aims to develop an integrated competence map of the learning process, where the subjects are no longer considered as isolated contents, by elaborating an integrated learning process where the competences and learning outcomes of the subjects are considered as a whole, global and comprehensive learning. The EXPLORIA project connects the competencies of the different STEAM subjects that make up the degree, designing a learning process as a logical, sequential and incremental itinerary. Through concepts on which the foundations of design are based—shape, volume, colour, space and structure—the competencies of the different subjects are defined in incremental learning levels: understanding, applying, experimenting and developing, all taken from Bloom’s taxonomy. Mathematics is linked to the rest of learning through active learning methodologies that make learning useful. This new methodology changes the student’s affective domain towards mathematics in which positive emotions are transformed into positive attitudes that will improve the learning result and therefore, the students’ academic results. To validate it, at the end of the paper, the academic results compared with previous years are shown, as well as an ad hoc survey of the students’ assessment of the new teaching methodology.