I like to keep myself in a place where I am motivated and engaged with new challenges in my professional practices. One education philosophy that I've always been vocal about is the integration of arts into STEM education. After watching these videos from Edutopia I realized I know art but little about arts integration. New challenge found, destination known.
I began simple and started my social studies year with my fifth graders observing a painting. I did not give any information about the painting; they only knew to write observations, wonders and give support to their conclusions. What I got from my students was remarkable and showed me a lot about their ability as observers, thinkers and prior knowledge of history. My next point of inquiry was asking how the people in the painting got to where they were, what could be so bad that they were this angry and with weapons. This turn around in approach was a keeper and worked well enough that I started integrating play performance as a method for assessment of science history.
Next in this plan is seeking out professional development and consistently asking myself how technology will play its role in all of this. Here's a list of resources I have found for arts integration, please feel free to add.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Educator
Whitney Museum of Art
Guggenheim Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art (follow teacher programs on right for more)
The Kennedy Center
Towson University, Post-Bac. Program
Google Art Project
Education Closet
Maryland Teachers Arts Integration Guide (pdf)
Arts Every Day
Edutopia
Wish me a stroke of luck.
The idea of incorporating art into the content areas makes so much sense. Your approach to have the students to make observations, create wonders and support with evidence is a real world skill.
ReplyDeleteThe art work you chose is very interesting and I'm sure when they were done they wanted to know more about it.
In our school we have a Docent program Fine Arts In and Out of the Classroom where the students view all kinds of artwork. But I see bringing it into our lessons makes even more sense.
Good luck with your challenge. Please keep us posted.
Thanks for posting, Nancy.
DeleteI've been going to art museums all my life and find so much comfort in them yet being artistic is not my comfort zone. I like that I'm pushing myself into a headspace that is not of first nature like technology is for me.
The docent program sounds fantastic. I've often wondered what would happen if a bridge between art museums and public schools happened where curriculum being taught was accentuated while students were engaged in an art museum. Perhaps you can make that bridge happen at your school :)
I will keep you posted and thanks for the post!
Diana,
ReplyDeleteI love your attention to the arts in relation to technology. Be sure and check out the Google Art Project. They have done some amazing things recently and continually add content and more "street views" of the actual museums.
Best of luck!
Jason
Hi Jason- The Google art project is incredible and just keeps growing into this incredible, beautiful resource. I have friends who use it as a tool to learn the brush strokes of the masters and their works. I've thought about using it as a geography tie in to build connection to far away places. Thanks for remind us of this incredible, blossoming resource!
DeleteHi Diana,
ReplyDeleteThis was great! You could at Learning Through Art from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The coordinators wrote two great books and all of their lessons and resources are available through their website. I've been trained on their curriculum and have sets of the prints (copies and electronically) in my classroom. Check it out. If you like it, you can request resources as a teacher to your school and they will mail them and pay for return shipping!!! It's great! Love your resources.
Shaina Glass (MEMTA)