This study explores the effect of the STEAM teaching method on college music education and its impact on students' audio-visual aesthetics. The research was conducted over one semester with 60 undergraduate students in China, randomly divided into two groups: a traditional music appreciation course (n=30) and a STEAM-integrated course (n=30). The traditional course followed the original curriculum, while the STEAM course involved a collaborative approach with teachers from multiple disciplines, who tailored the curriculum based on the music creation context and song lyrics. Using the folk song Chengdu as a case study, the study assessed students’ abilities, learning methods, disciplinary engagement, and teachers’ perceptions through observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The findings indicate that, compared to the traditional course students, those in the STEAM course were better able to engage with interdisciplinary knowledge, adopt diverse learning strategies, deepen their understanding of the material, and enhance their aesthetic appreciation. Teacher interviews revealed high satisfaction with the performance of students in the STEAM course. Additionally, the study offers strategic insights into the role of audio-visual aesthetics in music education. The multi-disciplinary STEAM approach significantly enhanced classroom participation, improved music learning outcomes, broadened students’ knowledge base, and fostered greater aesthetic development, making it a promising model for future music education.

Ziyang Zhang. The Teaching Method of STEAM Education-based Audio-visual Aesthetics in College Vocal Music Teaching. Frontiers in Educational Research (2025) Vol. 8, Issue 2: 105-115. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2025.080216.

[1] Khine, M., & Areepattamannil, S. (2019). Steam education. Springer, 10, 978-983.

[2] Perignat, E., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). STEAM in practice and research: An integrative literature review. Thinking skills and creativity, 31, 31-43.

[3] Aguilera, D., & Ortiz-Revilla, J. (2021). STEM vs. STEAM education and student creativity: A systematic literature review. Education Sciences, 11(7), 331.

[4] MacDonald, A., Hunter, J., Wise, K., & Fraser, S. (2019). STEM and STEAM and the spaces between: An overview of education agendas pertaining to ‘disciplinarity’ across three Australian states. Journal of Research in STEM Education, 5(1), 75-92.

[5] Shen, S., Wang, S., Qi, Y., Wang, Y., & Yan, X. (2021). Teacher Suggestion Feedback Facilitates Creativity of Students in STEAM Education. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 723171. 

[6] Wang, X., Xu, W., & Guo, L. (2018). The status quo and ways of STEAM education promoting China’s future social sustainable development. Sustainability, 10(12), 4417.

[7] Fan, Y., Yang, Y., Li, W., Gong, C., & Xie, L. (2020). Exploring STEAM Education Activities Based on Project Production—A Case Study on “the Changeable Road” Project. Research in Education Assessment and Learning, 5(1), 1-14. 

[8] Mengmeng, Z., Xiantong, Y., & Xinghua, W. (2019). Construction of STEAM curriculum model and Case Design in kindergarten. American Journal of Educational Research, 7(7), 485-490.

[9] Anisimova, T., Sabirova, F., & Shatunova, O. (2020). Formation of design and research competencies in future teachers in the framework of STEAM education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(2), 204-217.

[10] Newman, J. L., Dantzler, J., & Coleman, A. N. (2015). Science in action: How middle school students are changing their world through STEM service-learning projects. Theory Into Practice, 54(1), 47-54. 

[11] Liao, C. (2016). From interdisciplinary to transdisciplinary: An arts-integrated approach to STEAM education. Art Education, 69(6), 44-49. 

[12] Herro, D., & Quigley, C. (2017). Exploring teachers’ perceptions of STEAM teaching through professional development: implications for teacher educators. Professional Development in Education, 43(3), 416-438. 

[13] Kim, O. J. (2018). The effects of music lesson applying the blended learning-based STEAM education on the musical knowledge and STEAM literacy of pre-service kindergarten teachers. Journal of the Korea Convergence Society, 9(2), 217-227.

[14] Bell, J. & Bell, T. (2018). Integrating computational thinking with a music education context. Informatics in Education, 17(2), 151-166.

[15] Howlin, C., Vicary, S., & Orgs, G. (2020). Audiovisual aesthetics of sound and movement in contemporary dance. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 38(2), 191-211.

[16] Millea, J. (2020). Transmedia Directors: Artistry, Industry and New Audiovisual Aesthetics: edited by Carol Vernallis, Holly Rogers, and Lisa Perrott, New Approaches to Sound, Music, and Media, Carol Vernallis, Holly Rogers, and Lisa Perrott, series editors, New York, NY, Bloomsbury, 2020, xvii, 509 pp., $34.95 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-1-5013-4100-7.

[17] Liu, H. (2022). THE INTEGRATION OF PSYCHOLOGY AND ART APPRECIATION IN AESTHETIC EDUCATION IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. Psychiatria Danubina, 34(suppl 1), 488-489.

[18] Baladehi, A. S., & Shirazi, A. (2016). Study of the appropriate and inappropriate methods of visual arts education in the primary schools according to the types of multiple intelligences. Journal of History Culture and Art Research, 5(4), 501-513. 

[19] Sochacka, N. W., Guyotte, K. W., & Walther, J. (2016). Learning together: A collaborative autoethnographic exploration of STEAM (STEM+ the Arts) education. Journal of Engineering Education, 105(1), 15-42. 

[20] Yuldasheva, N. I. (2021). Formation of art and aesthetic competence in future fine art teachers. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 11(3), 1465-1471.

[21] Berk, S. (2016). Designing for the future of education requires design education. Art Education, 69(6), 16-20.

[22] Harris, A., & de Bruin, L. (2017). STEAM Education: Fostering creativity in and beyond secondary schools. Australian art education, 38(1), 54-75. 

[23] Vishio, A. (2015). Empathies of Musical Performance and Understanding. Empirical Musicology Review, 10(1-2), 116-120. 

[24] Redman, D. J., & Bugos, J. A. (2019). Motivational factors in adult, auditioned community choirs: The power of aesthetic experiences. Psychology of Music, 47(5), 694-705.

[25] Ng, D. T., Ng, E. H., & Chu, S. K. (2022). Engaging students in creative music making with musical instrument application in an online flipped classroom. Education and information Technologies, 27(1), 45-64. 

[26] Borisova, E. N., & Letkina, N. V. (2019). English for professional communication: a project-based approach to teaching university students (a case study of music students). Интеграция образования, 23(4), 607-627. 

[27] Ng, S. F. E., & Ng, C. H. (2021). Reports from the Field: Secondary School in Hong Kong Integrating the Spirit of Humanities into STEAM Education. Journal of Learning for Development, 8(2), 456-464.

[28] Katsouros, V. (2018). iMuSciCA-Interactive Music Science Collaborative Activities. Impact, 2018(9), 47-49.

[29] Andreotti, E., & Frans, R. (2019). The connection between physics, engineering and music as an example of STEAM education. Physics Education, 54(4), 045016.

[30] Acan, SC, & Acan, LA (2019). Music Notes To Amino Acid Sequence: A STEAMApproach Tostudy Protein Structure. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.47 (6), 669-671.

[31] Mun, K. (2022). Aesthetics and STEAM education: the case of Korean STEAM curricula at the art high school. International Journal of Science Education, 44(5), 854-872.