- Foothills Elementary School
- Overview
Arts Learning
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At Foothills, we believe the concept of “arts learning” is a flexible idea that encompasses numerous ways to incorporate the arts into any and all classrooms. You can see some of our accepted ideas in the visual image to the right of this text.
Some initial thoughts of arts learning involve children drawing, listening to music, or looking at artwork or pictures… in any classroom. These ideas are not bad; however, they are often viewed as shallow connections when they are presented with intentions that only bolster a sense of “entertainment” rather than deep learning. With that, there are good reasons for children to draw; there are good reasons to listen to music while engaging in class content; and there are numerous benefits to analyzing visual images… it all has to be taken from a learning perspective.
At Foothills, our mission is “Artful Teaching. Artful Learning”. This mission allows educators to collaborate, experiment, and reflect on artful teaching practices and strategies that lend themselves to great learning moments. Artful teaching is about connecting the arts with performance indicators of quality instruction along `with bolstering the academic focuses of literacy, numeracy, and the well-being of the child. Though all educators should have this focus, we try an “artful” approach… an approach we believe is good for children.
If arts aligned teaching….
· Allows students to work in environments that are collaborative, reflective and student centric…
· Offers students clear visions and authentic moments in what they are learning…
· Offers students the ability to understand their progress and potential revisions in learning…
· Allows students to KNOW information and content and be able to MASTER it by being able to DO something with it…
…then we are accomplishing what most schools are attempting to accomplish in light of new state standards and curriculum. We are just “artful” in our approach.
In any subject or grade level, students have to demonstrate their understanding of the content in some way. If students are engaged in artful learning, they can demonstrate their understanding through a unique product or solution - a learning response that involves multiple levels of thinking and, in some cases, knowledge of multiple subjects or ideas. It is not uncommon for students to demonstrate their understanding in science, social studies, language arts or math through theater work (tableaus), creative writing (poetry), or dance/movement (choreographed response)… just to name a few.
Is arts learning incorporated every second of the school day? NO! It is incorporated when it is appropriate and relevant for the learning moment. Arts learning can be designed into a lesson or unit, it can be developed into a continual classroom practice, and it can be used on the spur of the moment. It is a viable, researched, and accepted option in light of many during the school day.