Arts Integration is “an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.” Across the United States there has been an increasing awareness of arts integration in various subject areas such as science, language arts, mathematics, and social studies.
When comparing mathematics and art people quite often see them as two completely divided entities. In education, mathematics was a rational, cognitive, “left-brain” activity, while art was viewed as a feeling, emotional, “right-brain” activity. The truth is that math and the arts share some similar qualities that make them …show more content…
The basis of art and science is discovery. Both artists and scientists work in a logical but creative way. Knowledge and understanding can be created through pieces of art or in a lab. In the classroom, mixing science and visual art can provide students with the freedom to think and discover. There are many ways to engage visual art in the science classroom. Art centered activities can help students understand scientific theories and improve their higher level thinking skills. With each visual explanation of a scientific thought, it is necessary that the student show an understanding between the image or object and the idea. This can be done through creating a color coded key, labeling, written reports or oral presentations. Art can also be merged into the science classroom by simple means as well as a part of large projects. Comments in labs should be drawn as well as written. Use of these skills is as important for a successful lab report as for a piece of art. Drawing an idea or color coding a diagram can help a student remember and connect image to word. For every art related project the importance of the assignment should be discussed as a class. Comparisons can be drawn between the lab report and the artist’s evaluation. In the evaluation, a piece of work is examined and opinions must be backed up with valid reasoning. Like the lab report, it requires organized thinking and the producing of material in order to draw a conclusion. Both serve to help students think at a higher level and work on their language skills. Writing out a lab report helps students form questions and organize a series of events, leading them to examine the cause and effect of an experiment. As students’ scientific understanding develops and grows, their interest will grow as