areas, including science, fine arts and social responsibility. Ask them to present a report or reflections on what took place and you’ve invited language arts into the mix. When students are invited to learn in this way, they are much more likely to retain what they have learned and be able to recall and apply it to more complex tasks at a later time. There are a number of reasons why this is an approach parents ought to be asking for in their child’s school. Here are three of the most important: Increased Motivation
When students have the opportunity to learn by engaging in an art form, it motivates them. Why? Because nothing activates learning styles and modalities like the arts can. Students are capable of operating from a number of intelligences across domains. There is no point in only activating one or two in the classroom on a regular basis through traditional teaching models. (In the early 80’s psychologist Howard Gardner began to suggest that we have at least seven distinct intelligences.) Simply put, the arts encourage students’ brains to fire on a lot of different cylinders because it places demands on us that require application and activation of all seven intelligences. This leads to engagement and excitement. When students reach a level of excitement about their learning, it motivates them to learn even more. When they feel motivated and start to have a say in their learning process, students start to enjoy the task of learning. They want to go deeper into the content, discover and experiment. Under these circumstances, if you ask them “What did you do at school today?” you are much more likely to get a candid and enthusiastic answer.
tion. Organizations such as ArtStarts in Schools (artstarts.com) are committed to providing opportunities for artists, teachers and parents to come together to promote the value of the arts in young lives through support and professional development. Visit artsinfusion.ca and join the online community of educators and artists to see some of the fantastic outcomes that are developing through arts infused learning across the province. You will learn more about arts integration, available resources and innovative programs that promote art and creativity in schools across BC and even have the opportunity to reach out to artists and educators already championing this approach to learning in their regions. All schools in BC are eligible for funding that supports arts based experiences for young people in schools. Start a dialogue with your child’s teacher or school principal to find out if they are taking advantage of these opportunities in their district. The truth is, when the project at hand is to cultivate student achievement and serve every student across all possible learning styles to the best of our ability, there is no single blueprint to follow. However, we now know that exposing young people to an arts infused approach can establish a sophisticated yet accessible framework for learning that is both inherently natural to them and complex enough to satisfy the rigor required in a first rate school system. When it comes to supporting a shift on perspectives on creativity in our schools, isn’t it time we all started building these opportunities, instead of tearing them down? Terri Anne Wilson is the Arts Integration Manager at ArtStarts in Schools. For more information on how you can help your child’s school access innovative programs for young people, visit artstarts.com
Enhanced Lived Experience
A good arts integration experience fosters opportunities for learners to construct meaning or interpret reality based upon their experiences. This means that an individual’s acquisition of knowledge becomes a function of their prior experiences, mental structures, and the beliefs that are used to interpret objects and events. Teaching can be structured to help students relate new knowledge to existing knowledge so that what is learned is meaningful for them. When this happens, recall and application of knowledge improves. Recent studies indicate that this results in improved and longer term retention of content.
Th original The i i l and d largest l gest network netwo of part-time performing arts schools in the world. Inspiring and enriching young people through the performing arts For 4-18 year olds, after school, at weekends and summer camps.
Development of Self-Expression
In his book, The Arts and the Creation of Mind, Elliot Eisner states that “the arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers can exhaust what we can know.” It is significant that through an arts based approach to learning, students are able to learn that small differences can have large effects, that the arts can provide a way for them to say what they may not be able to say otherwise (some students are able to demonstrate their mastery of concepts through the arts when they can’t through other channels) and that the arts help us to have experiences we cannot have through other sources. Become an Arts Champion In Your Child’s School
As a parent, it is possible to get involved in supporting an approach to teaching and learning where your child has the opportunity to meet evolving objectives in both the arts and other subject areas. Parent Advisory Committees are a great place to start the conversa-
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