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LEE 4
RESEARCH PAPER
NIPOTI GISELA
11TH JULY, 2013
INCLUSION OF ARTS IN
SCHOOLS
The art is not a new idea in
the field of education. The integration of the Arts has benefited their
students through increased comprehension of the material, student
responsiveness, as well as student satisfaction with their class. Studies
on the topic of inclusion of the Arts in schools, when attempting to
establish an integrated arts program in schools. Where not all schools and
teachers are set up for an Arts program and some teachers may lack the
training to implement these changes.
Teachers can implement the
Arts in a class when they have no previous arts background. There are
resources that a teacher with no arts background can consult to enrich their
teaching with the arts. If a teacher with no arts background wishes to integrate
more arts into their education, one of the first things they can do at a
school level is to consult with colleagues who have a strong arts background.
If the school permits it and they are in a situation that it can be done, a
team teaching situation can assist a teacher in curriculum integration. Team
teaching can be done in a few different ways all of which revolve around a
partnership of two or more teachers in a school. This collaborative
environment can allow teachers to work together to reach a certain goal
within their teaching. Teachers will pair themselves based on strengths and
weaknesses and they can bounce off ideas. Teachers may also choose to consult
with professionals in the Art world to hold workshops with themselves and
with their classrooms. By inviting Artists into the classroom, the teacher
has the additional support to create an effective Arts program for their
classroom. Some of the studies that the Researcher consulted had an Artist in
Residence Program. An Artist in Residence can be simply defined as an
individual who is invited into the classroom to instruct the students and
teachers in one of the forms of Arts such as Drama, Music, Dance and Visual
Arts.
There are some effective
strategies or methods that can bring the Arts into the classroom; integrated
into the curriculum in a variety of ways. In Social Studies classes, for
example, the teacher can introduce Dramatic concepts to students for them to
demonstrate topics and events. For example, a group of students can
demonstrate and portray events by role play and taking on the people of the
relevant historical figures of the event. This activity can allow students to
work through the subject matter in an interactive manner which would improve
their retention of the information. Process drama is an effective tool that
can be brought into the classroom. Through Process Drama, a teacher can
utilize the basic concepts of a dramatic performance without the need for
preparation for public performance. Process Drama is intended for educational
purposes and teaches students the process behind the planning of a
performance. This form of Dramatic instruction allows the students to explore
possible ideas and to create their own versions of things they learn.
Arts integration is helpful to the instruction of the core curriculum subjects in elementary classroom because of the integration of art into the curriculum that students and teachers can utilize integration as a way that students can explore content from all subjects into a common root of art and that they can easily make connections to other things with this. Arts Integration, also benefits the teacher as well as the students. Arts Integration can profit both teachers and students in a variety of ways. Integration the arts can benefit students in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. As teachers, we can use the Arts a means to tap into previous learning in the student. For example, students can use role plays, and other dramatic techniques in the class to demonstrate understanding of the material that was taught. The teachers benefit from the integration of the Arts into their curriculum. The teachers who utilize the arts in their classroom can benefit as well as their students Technology can also be utilized in the development of Arts programs in schools. Amy Peterson Jensen examined the idea of multimodal literacy in combination with theater education. As result of that, students are becoming more technologically aware, it is prudent to develop instructional methods that include and use technology in order to explore different abilities or skill through the Arts.
To conclude, individual schools and
teachers that integrated the Arts all went about it in different approaches
but came to similar findings in that the Arts improved the overall learning
of their students. Arts Education can change frequently and techniques need
to be adapted to the students that the teacher has, and also as they are
variable. Arts is not new is education but it is a great tool to get students
engage as well as their satisfaction in the learning process.
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Sources
Lafee, S. (2007). Art
Smarts: Lessons Learned about investing in a well rounded education. California Schools Magazine
Whitney, Jason. “How to get a school grant?”
Jensen, Sharon. “Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.” 2008
