ARTS INTEGRATION

LIEZEL T. BUNDALIAN

According to research, one of the best ways to engage students in learning is to integrate the arts in the lessons. It engages and motivates students, as they use creativity and critical thinking skills to learn content through relevant and individualized projects.

Students have an openness to the arts, so their motivation is high and their attention span is longer. This means that there is increase in learning.

But how can teachers incorporate the arts – music, visual art, creative writing, dance, etc. – while maintaining academic integrity?

First off, arts integration should have a standard if they are to be used as an entry point to a lesson – after all, we do our best to pique our students’ interest. It can also be used as a culminating project to assess student knowledge, so standard alignment is essential.

Second, arts integration projects should reflect learning. Teachers should identify the desired learning outcomes before students begin creating. Using arts in the classroom will cause students to look at content from different perspectives. Also, this leads to clear communication from the teacher in the beginning.

It should also involve student choice, as students have different learning styles or multiple intelligences. Some prefer visual art, while others prefer dance; there will be those who would prefer music; while others are just natural-born performers. Allowing them to create and express themselves through their choice of the arts makes learning personal and relevant. Invite them also to propose their own projects so that they’re free to create.

It has been known that learning occurs best when the student himself becomes the teacher. Why not initiate their own project? This will showcase what they have learned. We should allow students to shine.

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The author is Teacher III at Dolores National High School