Arts-Integration Statements from “Renaissance in the Classroom”, pg. xxvi
Why Arts Integration?
"When well-planned and implemented, arts integration is one of the most effective ways for a wide range of students with a wide range of interests, aptitudes, styles, and experiences to form a community of active learners taking responsibility for and ownership of their own learning."
What is arts integration?
Arts integration is an instruction that integrates content and skills from the arts—dance, music, theater, and the visual arts—with other core subjects. Arts integration occurs when there is a seamless blending of the content and skills of an art form with those of a co-curricular subject.
Why do it?
· Arts integration is highly effective in engaging and motivating students. It supports academic achievement and improved the social behavior of students while enhancing school climate and parental involvement.
· A rich array of art skills and intellectual processes provide multiple entry points for students to approach content in other subject areas, while the art instruction is likewise deepened through the integration of content from the other subject areas. The arts provide students multiple modes for demonstrating learning and competency.
· It enlivens the teaching and learning experience for entire school communities. At its best, arts integration is transformative for students, teachers, and communities. The imaginations and creative capacities of teachers and students are nurtured and their aspirations afforded many avenues for realization and recognition.
How do you do it?
· Arts integration is a fundamental culture shift. It takes time to build awareness, understanding, and commitment among members of the school community.
· Ongoing professional development is essential to give classroom teachers facility in arts disciplines, enable them to analyze curricula to find the natural connections between arts curricula and the curricula of other subject areas, and create lessons and units of instruction.
· Collaboration is essential between and among classroom teachers and arts specialists. Common planning time is critical.
· Arts specialists are key resources, collaborators, and leaders in developing arts integration programs. They are extremely valuable in guiding the planning of professional development and supporting collaboration among teachers and with partners such as cultural institutions and teaching artists.