Learning Tools: Art in a Broader Context: Educational Extensions
Basics
Exploring the visual arts can be part of a dynamic process of understanding the natural world, history, and world cultures, as well as philosophical, aesthetic, and spiritual questions that are important to all individuals. Multifaceted approaches to art can hone critical thinking and other intellectual skills, instill self-confidence, and provide a means of self-expression.
Areas of education art can strengthen
How to start
For more on…
Educational Extensions
Visual information can strengthen the following areas of knowledge and skills:
Arts of the Period: Incorporating the drama, dance, music, and poetry of the artwork’s period can clarify and deepen our understanding of it.
Cultural History: Educators should stress that cultural heritage does not consist of art masterpieces alone. Integrating into art education familiar areas of daily life, such as furniture, food, fashion, lifestyles, medicines, jewelry, games, rites, and rituals, will help a student form a comprehensive image of a culture.
Identifying Personal Responses to Artworks: What is the emotional impact of this art? What does the student find attractive about this work of art or works by this artist? Does it provide him or her with an emotional or intellectual challenge or does it leave the student indifferent?
Critical Thinking: Discussion following an art experience can focus on developing critical thinking. Students can be asked to integrate their knowledge of cultural history and different art forms with their response to individual works of art, compare different works, or do a creative writing exercise.
Curriculum Integration Activities: Some of the skills that students learn by experiencing and discussing artworks—tactile exploration, critical thinking, language skills, and cooperative learning—are transferable to other curriculum areas, such as map-reading and mobility, history and social science, language and literature, science, and technology.
Art-Making Activities: Art making is a fun and interactive, if sometimes challenging, way for people to become familiar with the materials and creative processes used by artists. Some adult students will prefer to express themselves in an art form they are more familiar with, like journal or memoir writing.
How to Start
Museum Educators
Think about how you want to focus the students’ or other visitors’ experience in the gallery. What is appropriate for their age and cognitive abilities? If you are working with school-age students, familiarize yourself with their curriculum—talk to the classroom teacher.
Classroom Teachers
Research the art and history of a period. Many museum Web sites provide artist biographies, historical backgrounds, and curriculum-building activities, which can be adapted for your students. Brainstorm with educators in other disciplines.
Try It Yourself
- Role-play with figures from a painting.
- Write an imaginary interview with the artist.
- Read the examples of curriculum-integration activities from ABS’s Art History Through Touch and Sound: The Art of Ancient Egypt. You can use these models to develop your own curriculum-integration activities based on the works of art and architecture from other historical periods, such as Gothic, Renaissance, and contemporary art and design.
For More On...
...practical application of art in the classroom, see chapter 10, ABS’s Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment.
...museum programs for blind and visually impaired visitors, see chapter 11, ABS’s Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment.
...materials appropriate for blind and visually impaired students, see chapter 8, ABS’s Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment.
...how three teachers incorporated cultural expressions of the period in a discussion of the visual arts, see chapter 10, Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment.
...how to use art-making activities with adults, see Karen Spitzberg’s essay in chapter 10, Carol Wisker’s essay in chapter 8, and the description of the Cummer Museum program in chapter 11, Art Beyond Sight: A Resource Guide to Art, Creativity, and Visual Impairment.
