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Recap of
March 20, 2007 Best Practice: Sharon Kazee
“The
Elegant Fit: Arts Integration for Meaningful Learning”
In recent years there has been a wealth of research supporting
the idea of cross-curricular teaching. Clearly, students
benefit from seeing how learning is connected among topics and
among disciplines. The seminar echoed this concept but used
arts infusion as a vehicle for building those connections.
Scot Hockman of the State Department of Education’s (SDE) Office
of Curriculum and Standards began the seminar with evidence that
“Arts do matter!” He gave examples of how arts integration
programs such as those at Hand Middle and Lady’s Island Middle
schools have seen impressive gains in test scores, attendance,
and behavior, especially among minority students. Such programs
also have a positive impact on faculty moral, attendance, and
enthusiasm. He noted that the magazine THIRD SPACE is devoted
to arts integration programs. There are also grants available
through the SDE.
Scot then introduced the day’s presenter, Sharon Kazee, director
of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities
in Greenville (skazee@scgsah.state.sc.us).
She began by asking for a show of hands from teachers of all
grade levels and content areas. She made the point that the
variety of specialists attending this seminar was a reflection
of how diverse school populations are and stated her goal of
giving everyone practical strategies to take home. She
proceeded to do just that, all in an elegant way.
She said that there are two ways to view art: art for its own
value and art’s extrinsic values such as empowering and
inspiring teachers and students. She emphasized that the
“elegant fit” of arts integration is far more than add-on
activities like drawing pictures in science class. True
integration comes when the arts are used as a natural tool to
enrich understanding in content areas. She cautioned that arts
integration is not a cure-all that fits all situations. We must
always emphasize “What’s the point?” and take care to provide
authentic answers to that question.
She stressed that the “fun” element art provides is more than
entertainment; it adds focus to learning. She shared a quote
from Elliot Eisner who said that arts integration benefits three
components: the intellectual, the physical, and the self (as in
self expression and sense of ownership.)
As Sharon did throughout the day, she next punctuated her
message with interactive activities to keep participants
engaged. The opening exercise gave us the chance to reflect on
different student profiles and how teachers can best meet the
needs of all of them. We read nine character descriptions, such
as “the loner,” “the free spirit,” or “the teacher-pleaser.”
After selecting one that fit our own histories as students, we
moved to nine different areas of the room. Each team worked
together to post a list of characteristics (needs, attitudes) of
that student plus a list of teaching strategies to help that
student succeed.
As each team shared their results with the group, laughter was
punctuated with thoughtful pauses as we remembered specific
students and circumstances that we might have dealt with more
effectively. Sharon had now opened our hearts and proceeded to
share the powerful potential of arts integration to help all
students.
Best practice in arts integration, she continued, begins by
looking at standards (local, state, and national), models of
successful programs, and assessment strategies. There are five
areas of the arts: dance (perhaps the most powerful but also
the most neglected area), music, theater arts (not just acting
but all aspects of production), visual arts, and creative
writing. The last is most often found in ELA standards but
still is an arts area.
She emphasized the necessity for teachers to be willing to take
risks in using innovative strategies so that students can learn
to be risk-takers, as well. Firm administrative support,
including providing time to plan and time to implement, is
crucial. She said that our state’s “ABC Project” (Arts in the
Basic Curriculum) is a national model. For more information
contact Christine Fisher, ABC Coordinator, at
www.winthrop.edu/abc.
Our next group activity was for each table to devise an
illustration of a concept (time, war, quiet, etc.) using drama,
visuals, dance, music, or creative writing. After ten minutes
we had the fun of guessing what concept each table was
illustrating plus seeing the diverse approaches and spirited
presentations. Sharon debriefed by pointing out how sometimes
the best ideas are simple, that there’s no one correct answer
for everything, and that doing a small activity such as this is
a fine way to begin integrating arts.
After lunch, Sharon used an energizer called “Mirroring.” She
instructed us to imitate her as she moved her body in slow
motions using just two dimensions. We looked silly but began to
understand the power of “dance” to maintain focus and build
seamless collaboration.
She then described different ways to achieve arts integration
using schoolwide themes, topics, or teaching tools. Just as
with any broad initiative, there are basic factors that must be
there: support from administration, time to plan together,
expertise in arts education, high standards, and preserving the
arts as a core discipline.
We viewed a “streaming video” of a fifth grade teacher who has
used art to bring meaning to his geometry instruction by
training students to notice the geometry present in everything
from quilts to paintings. Another video showcased a fourth
grade teacher using dance to enliven social studies, teaching
her students to use space as a canvas to portray different
perspectives (such as the Pilgrims, Indians, and soldiers) or
events using a tableau (frozen scene.) The teacher said that
such exercises were a powerful way to build clarity and
knowledge, plus she could immediately assess how well the
students understood the concepts.
We also watched a dynamic video of images matched to Edvard
Grieg’s “Peer Gynt” compositions and later a video of the Alvin
Ailey dancers performing “Revelations.” Each time Sharon urged
us to push for teaching implications such as using dance, music,
art to inspire poems and stories and to show commonalities among
disciplines (such as “point of view” in dance, visual art,
creative writing.) After we provided our own ideas she told us
of H. Lynn Erickson’s TEACHING BEYOND THE BASICS, an excellent
resource for collaborative approaches such as inquiry questions
and parallel teaching.
Sharon then described a new course at her school called
“American Studies” in which a junior English teacher teamed up
with a junior social studies teacher to have students research
the question, “What is an American?” The students use all forms
of art to provide answers. She also explained how arts
integration can also revolve around multiple intelligences. The
idea is to find the best vehicle to build collaboration and
integrate arts meaningfully.
Admittedly, such projects require a huge investment of time.
Sharon countered that obstacle with stating that research says
that using time on such initiatives is time well spent, as
students learn with more depth and gain appreciation for all
contents, including arts.
Sharon focused on assessment tools next, noting that using
portfolios is a most effective tool for showing growth, much
like the MAP testing program. Such portfolios can be diverse
and include video, audio recordings, journals, and artifacts,
but must not stop there. They should also include reflection
and criticism to provide the “big picture.” She added that
direct assessment along the way can include teacher observations
which are, by nature, subjective but then art, itself, is
subjective. She showed a variety of rubrics and checklists
(observed/not observed) and reminded us that everything must
honor the three components of art: creating, performing, and
responding.
Before lunch, Sharon had asked us to jot down our own definition
of arts integration. At the end of the day, we shared our
thoughts. Many had used terms like “authentic,” “seamless,”
“natural.” We all loved the one-liner “left brain meets right
brain.”
She used a quote from Alfred North Whitehead’s book THE AIMS OF
EDUCATION to end the day with a powerful message: “…the rhythms
of education are romance, precision, and generalization.
Romance makes precision palatable…Without romance, precision
dulls the mind and causes students to focus on inert, dead
knowledge.”
In the current test-to-death climate, thoughtful educators
should use his words as a call for collaboration and arts
integration to help students learn with depth and joy.
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