5 studies that prove art education improves student learning!

For years there have been speculations on the benefits art has on education and student development. In recent years many studies have proven that there is a strong correlation between students who participate in the art and their overall academic achievement, the development of problem-solving skills, and personal competencies; studies also find that art education helps students from low-SES backgrounds. Although these studies do not prove that art education is the sole causes these improvements, they do show there is

a strong correlation.

In a report done by Scheuler (2010), data submit it to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by the state's public school district showed that participation in the arts benefits academic achievement. Fine Arts education significantly correlates to higher attendance rates; out of 171 schools, low arts participating schools had an average attendance of 94.1% and higher participating schools had an average attendance of 95.1%. Higher participating schools also had less serious infractions per 100 students at about .69% while lower participating schools had an average of 1.26%. The improved attendance and behavior led to improved test scores as well, lower participating schools had an average measure of academic progress (MAP) math score of 683 and communication arts score of 674, comparatively higher participating schools had an average MAP math score of 687 and communication arts score of 677. accumulatively , the arts correlates to higher graduation rates, with higher participating schools averaging 91.2% and lower participating schools averaging 87.9%.

A study was done by the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and the Randy Korn and Associates Inc (2010) suggests the arts improve problem-solving skills. The study “the art of problem solving” was a four-year study that evaluated the impact of the Learning Through Arts (LTA) program. The results showed that students who received LTA instructions did better in three of the six skills of problem-solving. The skills outlined in tested were as followed: imagination, which is where the child can place themselves within the task to the extent where they can envision the problem beyond the assignment including opportunities and constraints. Experimentation is where students try several materials and tools to create their projects. flexibility is where the students approach accidents difficulties and frustrations with focus patients in further exploration. resource recognition is where students pay attention to the resources provided and seek out resources appropriate for the tasks. Connection of ends and aims is where students describe deliberate decisions and choices made in creating art. finally there is self-reflection which means students express explicitly in thoughtful opinions or critiques of their projects and identify difficulties and or problems. The LTA receiving students scored significantly higher in flexibility, resource recognition, and connections of ends and aims.

Another study that can be found in the Champions of change collection is entitled “ learning in and through the arts: curriculum implications" in this study a group of researchers from teachers college Columbia University conducted a study of over 2000 students 4th through 8th grade and found “ … significant relationships between rich in-school arts programs in creative cognitive and personal competence is needed for academic success.”, (Burton…) Burton, et al, (1999) … Found that young people in high arts groups perform better than those in low arts groups on measures of creativity, fluency, originality, elaboration, and resistance to closure… we're also strong in their abilities to express thoughts and ideas, exercise your imagination and take risks and Learning. in addition, they were described by their teachers as more cooperative and willing to display their learning abilities publicly. (p.36) the collective efforts of the researchers in Champions of change agreed upon the following findings:

• The arts reach students who are not otherwise being reached.

• The arts reach students in ways they are not otherwise being reached

• The arts connect students to themselves and each other.

• The arts transform the environment for learning.

• The arts provide learning opportunities for the adults in the lives of young people.

• The arts provide new challenges for those students already considered successful.

According to Fiske (1999), art allows students to engage in multiple skills and abilities which create meaningful learning experiences that develop a student’s cognitive, social, and personal competencies (p.ix). Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development (Deasy, 2002) is a body of work consisting of 62 peer-reviewed studies and essays, this study “links” arts education with a variety of academic and social skills including reading and language, mathematics, thinking skills, motivation, social behaviors, and school environment. Deasy (2003) writes,

"Of great importance to schools struggling to close achievement gaps are indications that for certain students – most notably young children, those from economically disadvantaged circumstances, and those needing remedial instruction – learning in the arts may be particularly helpful. For instance, studies show that some students who are encouraged to dramatize reading materials significantly improve their comprehension of the text and their ability to read new and unfamiliar material" (p. 16-17).

The Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE) partnered with artists and teachers to design a curriculum where a visual art form was integrated into reading or social studies lessons (Catterall and Waldorf, 2002). They compared student performances of the students in the CAPE against a control group of students not participating in CAPE, based on standardized test scores (p.72). They found that “The low- SES children in arts-integrated schools performed better than those in comparison schools in terms of test scores. The results were significant at the elementary level, but not at the high school level” (p.72).

Further research is needed to discern the direct effect art has on educational development, but, according to past research, the correlations are strong enough to support the integration of art education in the curriculum and in your classroom. The benefits and skills learned from art education help students solve problems and comprehend more clearly. The next time you go to make a lesson plan think of how you can integrate art into your plan and reach students who are not being reached and in ways they are not being reached. Improve the learning experience in your classroom with art!

Sources:

Burton, J., Horowitz, R., & Abeles, H., (1999). Learning in and through the arts: Curriculum implications. In Fiske, E.B. (Ed.), Champions of change: The impact of the arts on learning. Retrieved from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/champsreport.pdf

Catterall, J.S., Waldorf, L., (2002). Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE): Evaluation summary. In Deasy, R. J. (Ed.), Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Retrieved from http://www.artsed411.org/files/critical%20links.pdf

Deasy, R. J., & Arts, E. P. (2002). Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Retrieved from http://www.artsed411.org/files/critical%20links.pdf

Fiske, E. B., President's Committee on the Arts and, the Humanities, & Arts, E. P. (1999). Champions of change: The impact of the arts on learning. Retrieved from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/champsreport.pdf

Guggenheim Museum, The Randi Korn and Associates, Inc (2010, March) “Educational Research: The Art of problem Solving” Retrieved from https://www.guggenheim.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/11/guggenheim-research-aps-executivesummary.pdf

Leslie Scheuler (2010, March) “Art Education Makes a Difference in Missouri Schools.” Retrieved from https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/graphics/assets/documents/b657d9f1adfc.pdf

four fun art styles for the classroom

Pop Art

Pop art is an art style that everyone is familiar with. The pop-art movement began around 1950, it is based on simple bold images painted in bright colors. when you hear pop art you may thing of Andy Warhol who is known for the painting of Campbell's soup and many other pop-art styled pieces. he is probably one of the most well-known pop artists. Another popular pop artist is Ray Lichtenstein. His pop art was a comic book style, with hard edges and bold colors. Pieces like the drowning girl are very popular for showing this comic book style. pop art is a very fun style to practice in the classroom, self portraits are a good way to practice the pop art style given that many pop artists painted celebrities.

*Just remember that is you give the pop art style a try, use bold lines, bright colors, and if you feel like it add in some Ben-Day dots.

Andy Warhol Campbell's panting

Roy Lichtenstein Drowning girl

Photo Realism

photorealism like pop art became popular as a counter to Abstract Expressionism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Photorealism is probably the hardest style to execute, it takes a lot of skill and knowledge of not only your subject but your materials in order to create a realistic piece. Photorealism is when the artist will study a picture and then try to recreate it as realistic as possible within other media such as painting or drawing. One of the most popular photorealism artists is Tjalf Sparnaay. He is very well known and recognized for his phenomenal photo-realistic paintings of food.

Cubism

Cubism was invented around 1907-1908 by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They would bring different views of subjects together to make a very abstract piece. Picasso’s very celebrated painting 'Demoiselles D'avgnon' has been credited with the beginning of Cubism in 1907. The name Cubism, on the other hand, came from a comment made by the critic Louis Vauxcelles who seen some of Georges Braque’s work and pointed out how everything was reduced to geometric outlines or cubes. By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas – or planes – the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their three-dimensional form.

Demoiselles D'avgnon Pablo Picasso

Bottle and fishes- Georges Braque

Arte Nucleare

This style seems most fun to practice because you have to put yourself in the mindset the artist were in, during this time nuclear warfare was a threat so you must think of the feeling and fears of these artists. The art group was founded in Milan in 1951 with the goal to make art in response to the nuclear age. The movemento d’arte nucleare was founded by Italian artist Enrico Baj. Joined by Sergio D'Angelo and Gianni Bertini , with later joining Gianni Dova they created art that depicted a nuclear age. The name Arte Nucleare loosely translates to art for the nuclear age. In the early 1950s, Baj created paintings with mushroom clouds in devastated landscapes. In later paintings and collages, he gave them names such as ‘heavy water’ and ‘fire fire’. These paintings were made to warn the dangers of the misapplication of nuclear technology.

Fire Fire -Enrico Baj

Come here Biodina -Enrico Baj

Why do I want to become an art teacher?

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a teacher. Whenever I was asked the " what do you want to be when you grow up?" question my answer has always been " a teacher". When I was younger I didn't really know what grade or subject I wanted to teach, but, I knew I wanted to teach.

My motivation to teach stemmed from the teachers I had in the past. Most of my past teachers were kind and I felt like they not only cared about my education but they also cared about me as a student. I feel my teachers shaped and molded who i am because they guided me through some of the most crucial times in my development. I looked up to my teachers and I, in turn, would like to be that person for my future students to look up to.

My art teachers and I always had a special connection, as a shy kid, art was my way to express myself and connect with people. My art teachers in elementary school taught me the basics and helped me learn the necessary skills to be an artist and began to teach me the different ways to express myself. In middle school, my art teacher taught me different styles and techniques to add to my repertoire of artistic skills. I look back on those teachers and I appreciate them for what they have taught me, this is the reason I decided i would like to be an art teacher. I would like to teach students how to express themselves through art and give them the skills they need.

When it comes to my high school art days, that is when I learned to hone my skills to create pieces I can be proud of. My high school art teacher became my best friend, by this time I had already developed a sort of style for myself so now I had to learn how to refine myself. She taught me how to take my style and improve on it.

This is a digital drawing I did in November of 2017 I knew I preferred cartooning instead of realism, but, I still hadn't found a style that suited me. Throughout the school year, I learned how to take what I knew and what I learned to refine my style.

I began modifying my past style and found something I was more comfortable to draw with and produced these pieces. The style was more me and veered away from the Disney-like style. I was happy with this as well, but, knew there was still room for improvement. Sometime the anatomy of my people would be off, but, my art teacher never failed to help guide me in the right direction and she always recommended I look at reference photos (which helped a lot!). Even though these were good I still had room to grow especially with my anatomy. My teacher signed me up for a figure drawing class to help me with anatomy since that is where I commonly found hiccups in my pieces.

These are two pieces I finished after my AP Studio Art course I finally found a style I was comfortable with and a style I liked all thanks to my teacher, she helped me do what I love to do. I credit a lot of my recent art to her because she helped me take that final step to be myself as an artist and get to where a am today.

I want to be that art teacher for the next generation of children, like paying it forward, I want to now be able to have kids look up to me and I want to help them develop their art style and skills. If I could I would prefer to be a high school art teacher because I want to take students who are already serious about their art to the next step. I want to prepare them for a career in arts the same way my teacher did for me.