Blog Entry 2/8

The role of art in the classroom is a place where students can express their creativity and respond to artwork. Through drawing, children are able to create symbols and explore visual strategies. At my elementary school, there were art programs for each grade level. My early experiences with art were fun. I remember doing finger painting, using chalk or crayons to depict symbols and drawing cartoons to tell stories. As I got older, I started learning more challenging concepts of art such as oil painting and drawing detailed faces and form figures and creating castles. My favorite art piece that I made in elementary school was a mosaic that I made out of tiny magazine cuttings that formed a rose. All of my teachers were encouraging and enthusiastic about art, which made me feel more comfortable. They always praised my art and never made any negative comments about it, which made me feel more confident about my artwork.
There is an important relationship between art and learning. Through drawing, students are able to learn cognitive skills, such as close observation, concentration and memory. Students are able to find meaning and ideas in the objects they draw. The brain learns through multiple senses and thrives on making sense of new information. Through the learning of art, children are drawn to aesthetics, develop analytical skills and seek out real world applications.
The benefits of art integration includes a safe environment for English learners, development of communication and writing skills, active class discussions and group problem solving. Music and visual arts enhance cognitive systems as well as advance stress-response systems. It also affects emotional systems and cultural understanding. Children are also able to reflect on their experiences through drawing.
My favorite example of how art affects learning that Morgan Appel talked about was the study with medical residents. In a research study, medical residents who were immersed in visual arts improved diagnostic abilities and understanding of non-verbal cues. “Bed-side manners” such as empathy, self-regulation of emotions and stress management were also improved. This experiment proved that art cannot only help younger students achieve their highest potential of learning, but also help adults.