My Philosophy
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Multiple Intelligences and Differentiated Learning
Along with integrating art with science, social studies, math or language arts, I think it is important to combine activities that address different learning intelligences. This is based on the ground breaking work of Harvard professor Howard Gardner who explains his theory in his book Multiple Intelligences. There are many different types of learners in every class...from bodily kinesthetic students who are active, hands-on learners who prefer to get up and move, to the verbal linguistic who work well with words, language and grasping concepts. Another learning style is the naturalistic/scientific learner. These are students who enjoy activities where they can sort, identify, or classify things. In addition, every teacher deals with the chatty interpersonal type who loves to talk and be with others. The visual spatial learner is one I'm really in tune with as an art teacher! This kind of learner is visual, needs to see examples, and is able to "see the big picture" as opposed to individual elements. With so many different learners, it's good to engage in a variety of activities to reach them all. For a recent informative article on Multiple Intelligences, which includes an interview with Gardner, click on this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/
It is important to note that we can nurture and develop each "intelligence" to help a child (and ourselves) become a versatile, well rounded person. To this end, the goal in the art room should be to "mix it up" by developing different types of activities. For example, in one lesson my art students drew a monster hiding under their bed, then wrote a detailed description of the monster (based on the book I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll ). To mix it up, they picked a partner and sat back-to-back to play a game of describe it/draw it, describing their monster to their partner using rich, descriptive words (adjectives). Their partner then tried to duplicate the creature based solely on what they heard. Finally, they compared each monster to see how alike or different they were (leading to lots of laughter and giggling)! This reached the interpersonal learners who enjoy working with others, the verbal linguistic type who enjoys writing and of course the visual spatial. This also tied in to our district-wide focus of using descriptive writing across the curriculum. The third graders were excited to discover how important using appropriate adjectives for size, color, shape, and details were to the end result. I could have told them, but figuring it out in a hands-on way was much more valuable...and fun!
Along with integrating art with science, social studies, math or language arts, I think it is important to combine activities that address different learning intelligences. This is based on the ground breaking work of Harvard professor Howard Gardner who explains his theory in his book Multiple Intelligences. There are many different types of learners in every class...from bodily kinesthetic students who are active, hands-on learners who prefer to get up and move, to the verbal linguistic who work well with words, language and grasping concepts. Another learning style is the naturalistic/scientific learner. These are students who enjoy activities where they can sort, identify, or classify things. In addition, every teacher deals with the chatty interpersonal type who loves to talk and be with others. The visual spatial learner is one I'm really in tune with as an art teacher! This kind of learner is visual, needs to see examples, and is able to "see the big picture" as opposed to individual elements. With so many different learners, it's good to engage in a variety of activities to reach them all. For a recent informative article on Multiple Intelligences, which includes an interview with Gardner, click on this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/
It is important to note that we can nurture and develop each "intelligence" to help a child (and ourselves) become a versatile, well rounded person. To this end, the goal in the art room should be to "mix it up" by developing different types of activities. For example, in one lesson my art students drew a monster hiding under their bed, then wrote a detailed description of the monster (based on the book I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll ). To mix it up, they picked a partner and sat back-to-back to play a game of describe it/draw it, describing their monster to their partner using rich, descriptive words (adjectives). Their partner then tried to duplicate the creature based solely on what they heard. Finally, they compared each monster to see how alike or different they were (leading to lots of laughter and giggling)! This reached the interpersonal learners who enjoy working with others, the verbal linguistic type who enjoys writing and of course the visual spatial. This also tied in to our district-wide focus of using descriptive writing across the curriculum. The third graders were excited to discover how important using appropriate adjectives for size, color, shape, and details were to the end result. I could have told them, but figuring it out in a hands-on way was much more valuable...and fun!
Integrating Art Across the Curriculum
As we move further and deeper into the world of high stakes testing and data collection, the pressure ramps up for all educators to find ways to help our children achieve mastery in all content areas. As an art educator with minors in Science and English, I have developed a love for writing, poetry, science and experimentation. Toss in a healthy dose of a musical background and an honor's thesis on the importance of cross-curricular integration and there you have my passion for the way I teach. In the blog section of this website, I have shared lesson ideas that reflect easy, hands-on ways for elementary art students to extend their learning in science, math, language arts or social studies. Please feel free to contact me for lesson plans and handouts to complete these lessons. I hope you will bring your own creativity to make these lessons your own.
As we move further and deeper into the world of high stakes testing and data collection, the pressure ramps up for all educators to find ways to help our children achieve mastery in all content areas. As an art educator with minors in Science and English, I have developed a love for writing, poetry, science and experimentation. Toss in a healthy dose of a musical background and an honor's thesis on the importance of cross-curricular integration and there you have my passion for the way I teach. In the blog section of this website, I have shared lesson ideas that reflect easy, hands-on ways for elementary art students to extend their learning in science, math, language arts or social studies. Please feel free to contact me for lesson plans and handouts to complete these lessons. I hope you will bring your own creativity to make these lessons your own.