What
is Arts in Education?
Arts
in education, also known as arts integration,
is a type of teaching and learning in which
educators and artists collaboratively use
the visual and performing arts as a tool to
teach other core subjects, such as reading,
writing, math, science, and social studies.
Projects focus on the integrated study of
the arts and non-arts subjects and use a co-teaching
method to mesh the arts content with the curriculum
content.
See
a glossary of arts-in-education
terms.
Why integrate?
Who can benefit from arts
in education?
How can my child benefit?
What about standards?
Will students be ready for tests?
How would using arts in
ed affect my teaching?
This sounds, good, but can
any of it be proven?
How can I find out more
Why
integrate?
Many educators believe that arts integration
helps educate the whole child and develops
a better-rounded individual. Integrating arts
into the curriculum fosters greater understanding
and more sustained knowledge. The arts help
learning to become meaningful and relevant
by tapping into the profound and complex intellectual
and emotional processes involved in learning
the arts.
Who
can benefit from arts in ed?
The arts have the capacity to reach students
who are not fully engaged by other school
subjects and experiences, and students who
typically have difficulty learning in school.
Because the arts draw on a variety of intelligences
(see more about Multiple Intelligences), students
have the opportunity to learn in ways that
work best for them. Of course, there is no
one "magic" approach that works
with every single child, but arts in education
offers many avenues to enhance learning, and
is adaptable to a wide variety of classroom
situations.
One of the great
strengths and joys of arts in ed is that everyone
learns – teachers, artists, and students.
How
can my child benefit?
The arts can foster critical thinking, creative
expression, cross-cultural understanding,
and academic achievement. The kinds of thinking
skills and capacities students develop in
the arts strengthen learning and development
in other areas of school and life. Recent
research shows that looking at art and hands-on
art making helps students build important
critical-thinking and literacy skills.
What
about Standards? Will students be ready for
tests?
Integrating arts into other subjects can create
a "whole" standards-based curriculum
by developing higher-level thinking skills
across the curriculum while also preparing
students for the challenges of state testing.
PAE-funded arts-in-ed partnerships are based
on the NYS State Standards, which are embedded
in both the arts and non-arts aspects of the
projects.
How
would using arts in ed affect my teaching?
Teachers report that teaching through the
arts increases their own satisfaction and
makes for more powerful learning in their
classrooms. Many teachers are pleasantly surprised
to see a different side of students than they
had seen before, and to gain a fuller understanding
of them and their unique abilities. It offers
the opportunity to develop new skills and
techniques to increase success for all students,
and for enriching life-long learning.
This
sounds good, but can any of it be proven?
There is much ongoing research on the effects
of the arts on children’s learning. Studies
show that there is a direct link between the
arts and student achievement. Students who
study the arts develop critical thinking skills,
problem-solving techniques, and a drive for
excellence. Read what the National PTA has
to say.
How
can I find out more?
Here are some arts-in-education resources:
Empire
State Partnerships
Arts
Education at Americans for the Arts
Arts
Education Partnership
Chicago
Arts Partnerships in Education
Arts
for Learning
The
Kennedy Center ArtsEdge:
Champions
of Change - the Impact of the Arts on Learning
(PDF)
Learning
Through Art at the Guggenheim Museum
Keep
Arts in Schools
This
material was developed by Partners for Arts
Education
Syracuse, NY.
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