A growing educational initiative is reshaping how students learn at East Hill Elementary School in Montreal’s Rivière-des-Prairies, where a hands-on, problem-solving approach has become central to classroom life.
The STEAM model — integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics — is now fully embedded at the school following a three-year pilot project led by the English Montreal School Board (EMSB). The approach emphasizes collaboration, critical thinking and real-world application, marking a shift away from traditional teaching methods.
Originally introduced at the EMSB during the 2016–2017 school year, STEAM evolved from STEM education by incorporating the arts to address gaps in creativity, communication and design — skills increasingly seen as essential in the 21st century.
East Hill’s pilot project, launched in 2023, was designed to create lasting, systemic change. Teachers across all grade levels participated in professional development, curriculum mapping and the creation of interdisciplinary projects known as Learning and Evaluation Situations (LES).
These LES projects are grounded in problem-solving and often follow design thinking or engineering processes. Students are asked to tackle challenges such as building floating vessels, constructing towers or designing tools inspired by historical contexts.
Teacher Samantha Teti said the approach represents more than just a teaching strategy.
“It takes the five subjects and it brings it together so that we have cross-curricular connections,” she said. “We really encourage the students to explore what they’re doing, we ask them to problem solve, to think critically, to collaborate with each other and most importantly, in my opinion, is to take what they’ve learned and apply it in real life situations,” she said.
Teti said the program has been widely embraced across the school community and is implemented from the earliest levels.
“The children really, really love it. It’s been about three years that we’ve been implementing this in the school and it’s really great,” she said. “It’s not only for the upper levels, we also implemented with the younger children as well as early as pre-K, and they really, really enjoy it,” she said.
She added that the structure of each project is carefully planned through LES.
“We really think about the problem that we want the children to be faced with so that they can go out and solve the problem,” she said.
At the centre of it all is the school’s makerspace — a dedicated classroom filled with tools and materials where students design, build and test their ideas.
“It is really nice to have this makerspace room so that they can actually engage with all of the material that is available to them,” Teti said.
Students say the STEAM approach makes learning more engaging and meaningful, particularly through its emphasis on experimentation and creativity.
“I like that you can learn, make mistakes, and learn a lot of stuff and have fun,” said Grade 4 student Lorenzo Masella.
He described building a working gramophone using paper, Lego components and coding as one of his recent projects.
“I learned that making mistakes is normal,” he said.
Classmate Gianfranco Arcadi said the program encourages persistence and innovation.
“I like that you get to make awesome things, and you get to problem solve, and use the iPads and the computers,” he said. “I learned that some projects won’t work, some projects will work, and I learned from my mistakes, and I always continue trying to make it work,” he said.
Teachers say the model is particularly effective for students who struggle in traditional academic settings, offering alternative ways to stay engaged and succeed.
“For students who struggle a bit more in traditional subjects, who struggle in reading or writing or maybe staying engaged for a long period of time, STEAM really allows them a different way of learning, so they’re working with their hands, they’re able to stay engaged for a longer period of time, they’re working collaboratively with others, so I feel that STEAM really does help students who struggle in traditional learning,” said Grade 4 teacher Kristina Provost.
She emphasized that problem-solving is at the heart of each project.
“Students have learned how to problem solve because a big part of STEAM is that it is problem-based, so they are faced with a problem, they need to find solutions, they need to work collaboratively with others, they share their ideas, they listen to the ideas of others and they try to find solutions to the problem that they’re facing, and if it doesn’t work then they try again — it’s all trial and error,” she said.
At the EMSB level, consultants say the program has evolved significantly since its early days, moving beyond simple “making” activities to a more structured and intentional framework.
Pedagogical consultant Jason Bixby said the current model is guided by key principles, including interdisciplinary learning, collaboration and authenticity.
“We want the learning to be authentic and when we say authentic, we mean it needs to be student-oriented or student-directed. We also want it to be real world if possible,” he said. “The two I would say largest components is that it be problem-based and process-driven. The two processes that we employ are the design thinking process and the engineering design process,” he said.
He added that developing 21st-century competencies remains the program’s core purpose.
“The 21st century skills are the reason for being, I would say, for STEAM education. Those problem-solving learning skills and critical — we’ve heard of the four Cs — but also the perseverance and the stick-to-it kind of thing is very important. That’s the reason that STEAM exists, really,” he said.
Valerie Honig, also a pedagogical consultant with the EMSB, said the program helps students understand the relevance of what they are learning.
“When you present a context, a real world scenario, students are able then to see, okay, it’s not just important that I know what, it’s also important that I know how,” she said.
She added that this approach improves both engagement and retention.
“If I can see its application and it’s connected to my world as an eight year old, as a 12 year old, then I’m going to be more engaged in the application of said skills or said knowledge, and particularly because I’m collaborating with my peers as well,” she said. “So I think it’s mutually benefiting a pedagogical approach, for sure,” she said.
Since its introduction in just two schools, the STEAM initiative has expanded across the EMSB, supported by professional development, funding and the creation of makerspaces.
Bixby said the success at East Hill demonstrates the effectiveness of a whole-school model.
“When we started this initiative, we weren’t sure how it was going to go. It was the first time for us. It was a pilot project, and I can say unequivocally that it has been wildly successful for us,” he said.
“We now have in place a program that will exist at East Hill, regardless of the teacher that comes in or out or the principal that comes in or out. So that was what we intended to do, and I feel that we’ve achieved that,” he said.
With additional schools already participating in similar pilot projects and more expected to join, EMSB officials say the program reflects a broader evolution in education — one that prioritizes creativity, collaboration and problem-solving in an increasingly digital world.
