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This chapter presents a model of authentic approaches to cultivate STEAM teaching and learning through the arts and design. Its main components include (a) artistic behaviors, (b) interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary studies, (c) teacher and student choice, and (d) hands-on learning. Specifically, the artistic behaviors emphasize five habits: idea development, observation, imagination and wonderment, persistence, and making creative connections. Drawing examples from my book STEAM Teaching and Learning Through the Arts and Design: A Practical Guide for PK–12 Educators, I explain how this model of authentic approaches can benefit interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary STEAM studies in which the STEAM disciplines inform one another and can holistically expand beyond integrated subjects to form new understandings. Using historic and contemporary international artists’ and designers’ teaching and creative work as inspiration, I address the value of designing a choice-based STEAM curriculum and articulate the importance of hands-on learning in STEAM education.