4. Arts for Learning

Arts for Learning

Objective: Explain the concepts of arts-integrated learning and multiple intelligences

Lesson 4. Arts for Learning

Research shows that arts experiences help children learn. Arts help nourish sensory, intellectual, emotional and motor skills which are all central to learning. The arts can make learning exciting, fun, and rewarding for children with different interests and academic talents.

Arts-integrated learning is a method of teaching academic subjects through arts experiences. Integrating arts into academic learning improves learning content and builds children’s cognitive skills. Creative arts stimulate the brain and allow children with different styles of learning to process information in multiple ways. As a result, arts-integrated learning improves academic achievement.

The different ways that people learn are related their individual strengths and skills—how they are smart. Psychologist Howard Gardner describes this as multiple intelligences. His idea of Multiple Intelligences emphasizes that one person is not smarter than another, but smart in different ways. Creative arts allow children and adults to use all of these intelligences when learning.

Linguistic

People who have linguistic intelligence are good at language and at thinking out loud. They tend to remember things that they have listened to on the radio or in lectures.

Logical-Mathematical

People with logical-mathematical intelligence are good at numbers, details and analysis. Math and science might be their favorite subjects. They solve problems using a step by step approach.

Musical

People with musical intelligence have a good sense of rhythm and notes. They are able to sing and play musical instruments and can often remember a song after hearing it just a few times.

Visual-Spatial

People with visual-spatial intelligences can see the multiple dimensions of the world. They understand relationships and systems. They can read maps and charts and prefer reading material that has a lot of illustrations or pictures. They are good at looking at something and drawing it accurately.

Body-Kinesthetic

People with body-kinesthetic intelligence are good at sports and dance. They enjoy learning with hands-on activities where they can touch or handle things to experience them.

Intrapersonal

People with intrapersonal intelligence are happy being by themselves. They are independent thinkers who understand their own strengths and weaknesses. They learn best by reading and reflecting individually.

Interpersonal

People with interpersonal intelligence are good at communicating with others and working in groups. They do not mind being a leader, but they prefer to discuss and solve problems with others.

Naturalistic

People with naturalistic intelligence understand the environment and use this understanding to solve problems. They usually have pets or gardens and understand the functions of the body well. People with this type of intelligence learn best in outdoor environments.

Example: Ready to Learn

Jean-Luc could not read. As hard as he tried, he struggled to concentrate and make sense of the words. The school was very far away and his mother could not afford to pay school fees. Sometimes he had to go to the market and buy things for his family. He didn't mind, except when he had to buy new things with a lot of words on the label. He wasn't always sure if he was buying dish soap or juice and they didn’t like it when he opened the packages to smell them. One day, his mother heard about a new kind of learning program that used art-making as a way to learn reading. Jean-Luc didn’t want to go, but his mother insisted– how could art-making help him learn to read labels in the market?

On the first day he was greeted at the door--the smiling and energetic leader called it the "threshold to the world." As he looked in the room he could see colored posers with big letters and pictures and books everywhere. Before he went in, the leader taught him a special handshake and asked him, "Jean-Luc, are you ready to learn?" Jean-Luc responded "yes" in a small and reluctant voice, but he was curious about the things he saw inside. He entered. Throughout the summer learning camp, each day would open with a song and a special motto.

After a few days he started to recognize the words in the motto on the posters and in the books. They went on daily walks and along the way they had to draw what they saw, write poems about how they felt, and participated in activities to help them draw what they saw better. He made many friends and bonded with other children. The learning camp demonstrated and practiced reading by drawing, singing, and sometimes dancing. It was fun and challenging. Jean-Luc found himself quickly remembering the letters and words and he started seeing them everywhere he went. A few weeks later, he went back to the market. He was amazed at how many new words he could understand on the labels. And best of all, he was absolutely certain when he put a bottle of dish soap in his basket.

Experience: Digestive System Drama

Goal: Demonstrate how art experiences can be used to effectively explain complex and challenging information to children

Use the diagram below to test your knowledge of the human digestive system.

Pretest: What are the parts of the human digestive system and what is their function in food digestion?

Experience: Digestive System Drama

Can you remember the steps in the digestive system? This experiential exercise will help you learn them. In your group, each person will play the role of a different part of the digestive system. Several people should choose to play the food. You should make a name tag for your part. As a group, think of sounds and repetitive phrases that describe the function of each part. As the food passes through the digestive system, each person should make the sound and say the phrase for their part. Repeat the digestive process for each piece of food. Then, switch parts and name tags with someone and repeat again.

Reflection: Multiple Intelligences

Did the digestive system drama help you remember the steps in the digestive process? Explain why it did or did not help you remember.

Which of the multiple intelligences is your preferred way of learning? Which is your least preferred? Give an example of how you have used your preferred intelligence to learn in the past.

Which of these did the Digestive System Drama activity use?

Describe how you would teach children how to make bread using 3 of the multiple intelligences:

Homework Activity:

Goal: Evaluate your learning preferences in order to better understand your strengths for leading child-safe activities

Read the descriptions of each intelligence, then assess yourself on each of the lines inside the circle (zero is the center and 100% is the outer circle). If you prefer learning with the intelligence you are assessing then place a dot on the line and close to where the name of that intelligence is written (the outer circle). If you do not prefer learning in that way, then place a dot closer to the center of the circle. Then join all the dots. If you rated yourself 100% on each line, you would be drawing a circle.