Teaching Through Art

One of the things that really struck me in the first few classes this semester was the idea of teaching through art. It's not something I think I've ever really thought about because my experiences have always involved only using art as an addition to learning. I had never considered that students could actually learn something through the actual process of creating art.

This is my watercolor painting depicting the different parts of a flower. When I was painting it I, quit frankly, felt that the whole thing was kind of a waste of time. I didn't see any connection between what I was doing and how to use it in the classroom. However, since then I have realized how truly valuable an activity such as this one can be for a student who is struggling.

I've always been an advocate of giving students more than one way to express their knowledge; this is an excellent example of that principle. In a world where the use of worksheets and the assigning of research papers to who are still struggling to read fluently has become more and more prevalent, it is vital that students feel that have another way to demonstrate their understanding.

I think that this is a creative and, more importantly, meaningful way to integrate the arts into the classroom.

A great resource on the subject of integrating the arts is the blog Teaching Through The Arts. Check it out for more information and ideas.