The role of esports within schools grows, and one of the areas that shows real potential is the use of esports in STEAM education. Competitive video game playing has the potential to help students become more familiar with technology and develop scientific thought patterns.
Read on to learn more about the relationship between esports and STEAM education initiatives. Or explore ViewSonic’s range of professional gaming monitors.
The idea of esports in STEAM education continues to gain traction but relies on schools embracing both of those concepts. When they do, an esports club helps students take an interest in STEAM fields and develop the skills and abilities sought within those fields of study.
In this article, we explore the idea of using esports in STEAM education in more detail and explain how the two concepts combine to help prepare students for the careers of the future.
What is STEAM Education?
First, it is important to gain an understanding of what STEAM education refers to. Essentially, it is an education model that prioritizes science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. This explains the STEAM acronym, and each of those subject areas may be described as a STEAM field.
The STEAM model builds on an existing educational model known as STEM, and the only difference between the two is that STEAM includes the arts alongside original STEM fields. STEAM initiatives aim to provide students with the skills required to succeed in the workforce today and in the future.
Going further, STEAM initiatives also encourage greater integration between different STEAM subjects so that relevant skills are acquired collectively rather than individually.
Esports in STEAM Education: What is the Connection?
Before exploring how esports apply within STEAM education, we should look at the connection between the two concepts more broadly. One of the best ways of demonstrating this connection is by looking at the correlation between people in STEAM fields and esports participants.
As an article from Sport Techie highlights, there is a strong correlation between schools that are known for STEAM initiatives and the size of their esports clubs. The article also highlights the over-representation of STEAM majors in esports competitions.
When you take the time to think about it, this crossover appeal makes sense because video games rely on technology, use scientific and mathematical concepts, are an example of the arts, and are the product of software engineering and development. As a result, it stands to reason that esports plays a role in preparing students for STEAM fields.
How Esports Can Help Improve STEAM Education Initiatives
In terms of how schools and other academic institutions use esports to improve STEAM initiatives, it is worth breaking down the potential benefits, some of which are as follows:
Building STEAM Skills
Perhaps the most obvious way that esports help to improve STEAM initiatives is by helping participants develop relevant skills. As a Forbes article indicates, the process of figuring out a video game helps develop the kind of systematic problem-solving skills associated with scientific methods.
Meanwhile, a natural extension of playing games within esports clubs involves teaching students elements of video game design or how to make their own games. This can then help them to develop the kind of skills needed to successfully move into areas like programming, computer graphics, or other aspects of video game design.
Improving STEAM Awareness
Another key way in which esports helps boost STEAM initiatives is through improving overall awareness of relevant concepts. For instance, understanding of the technology component of STEAM can be improved by gaming PCs or consoles and their associated accessories, including controllers, headsets, and gaming monitors.
The technology used is not just going to be related to gaming computers or video game consoles. An esports club needs to familiarize itself with audiovisual recording and editing. Other vital skills include live streaming, social media, data analysis, photography, and graphics design.
Boosting Inclusion
Furthermore, esports have the potential to boost inclusion, and this ensures a more diverse group of students engage with STEAM concepts. One of the ways this can be achieved is through helping level the playing field when it comes to accessing the technology used to play video games.
Not all students have a gaming PC or a video games console at home, and an esports club helps keep these students from missing out. This is important because the video games industry offers a wide range of career options. Meanwhile, esports has become a viable career path.
The Challenges of Using Esports in STEAM Education
The two biggest challenges encountered by educators attempting to use esports in STEAM education are a lack of buy-in from school decision makers and a lack of enthusiasm from parents with negative perceptions of esports and video games in general.
Much of this skepticism comes from media stories about video game addiction or because people fail to understand how playing video games holds academic value. In both cases, the best ways to challenge these views are to highlight success stories from other schools and explain the benefits of esports for developing STEAM skills.
The other major challenge you may encounter relates to funding. After all, a competitive esports club is going to need high-quality equipment, including gaming computers, gaming monitors, headsets, controllers, and more. When making a case for funding, highlight the fact that esports is increasingly viewed as a real sport and that funding for traditional sporting activities in schools remains a priority.
How Esports Help Non-Gamers
Despite claims that 91 percent of American children aged between 2 and 17 play video games, the reality is that interest levels vary significantly. A lot of kids aren’t interested enough to play competitively against other schools. Nevertheless, they may still have a role in an esports club.
The esports club within a school or other academic institution may need a wide range of people with different skills and interests. Clubs need logo artists, uniform designers, and photographers. The club’s social media accounts can also potentially be placed under student control.
This is significant because it means that the various benefits associated with the esports club with regards to STEAM education are not limited to those interested in playing video games competitively.
Final Thoughts
Although esports still face skepticism within academic settings, they play a valuable role in helping students develop skills related to science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. Crucially, knowledge and understanding of those STEAM fields are in high demand among employers, which will continue to be the case.
Aside from building key skills, esports in STEAM education help a broader range of students become familiar with technology and techniques within the arts. It is also important to stress that the benefits of a school esports club extend beyond those actively playing video games. Students take on other roles of value thanks to esports.
Setting up an esports club at school brings a whole host of benefits other than encouraging STEAM education. Read about how competitive video gaming helps improve student performance. Or learn about ViewSonic’s gaming monitors for your esports club needs.
Frequently Aked Questions for Esports in STEAM
1. How does esports link with STEAM? – Students develop technical skills (hardware, software, networking, game-design) through set-ups and preparation.
– They practice strategic thinking, problem solving, and decision making under pressure, all skills vital in STEAM fields.
– Team-based play fosters communication, collaboration, and leadership, which are increasingly recognized as part of STEAM readiness.
– Esports can connect to curricula: e.g., using game analytics data in math or physics, or linking to game-design (arts/engineering) modules.
2. Why should a school consider implementing an esports program? Some of the benefits include:
– Engage students who might not otherwise be drawn into traditional STEAM activities.
– Boost interest in STEAM by providing relevant, contemporary context.
– Build soft skills (teamwork, perseverance, digital literacy) and hard skills (coding, tech setup).
– Present pathways to careers (game design, event management, broadcasting, data analytics) by linking with the esports industry.
3. What should a school think about when launching an esports program? – Define clear goals: what do you want the program to achieve (engagement, STEAM skills, competition, careers)?
– Secure resources: budget for equipment, space, software licenses, and staff supervision.
– Assign staff and coaches: people with interest and ability to guide, monitor, and link to curriculum.
– Consider policies: define acceptable gaming behavior, screen-time, safety, access right, and openness.
– Create link to curriculum: work with teachers to identify where esports can connect with STEAM lessons.
– Monitor and evaluate: track student engagement, academic impact, and skill development to make the case for program continuation.
4. What evidence is there that esports in education positively impacts students? Several studies and reports highlight positive impacts:
– Increased student engagement and interest in STEAM subjects when esports is used.
– Improvement in teamwork, communication, and leadership skills.
– Schools report fewer behavioral incidents and increased attendance when students are involved in esports programs.
– Provides a motivating context for digital literacy and technology use.