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Evidence Matters | Teaching and Learning: It’s an Art
October 31, 2024
As we discussed in our last post, the path to better, more meaningful learning doesn’t always require more time or more money, but rather can simply involve an approach that is different. As education leaders and policymakers continue to look for ways to improve student achievement without spending more dollars, one approach continues to emerge as an evidence-based solution: arts integration.
The Kennedy Center defines arts integration as “an approach to teaching in which students construct and deconstruct understanding through an art form.” Additionally, the definition also highlights that learning objectives in both the art form and another subject area are met through this process. So arts integration does not require using valuable instructional time only for art-related learning goals. It allows schools to get multiple outcomes for the price of one.
While evidence for and interest in arts integration began emerging in the 1960s, the concept is often still met with skepticism. Research, however, continues to point to overwhelming benefits.
A 2002 study published by researchers at the University of New Mexico found that, despite varying levels of arts integration across classrooms, students who participated in arts-integrated units experienced growth in their ability to analyze their own learning, while students who participated in traditional units of learning did not experience this same type of growth. Research in the field of neuroscience also continues to point toward multiple benefits, including results which suggest that arts integration can positively influence long-term memory and retention of material.
In their 2023 book, Your Brain on Art, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross detail endless findings which all ultimately support the argument for more—and better—integration of the arts into our lives, both inside and outside of the classroom. As it turns out, engaging with aesthetic experiences (for example, through various art forms) enables our brains to create new synaptic connections and strong neural pathways—the very things that help to us think and learn—in a way that non-aesthetic experiences do not. And, while schools also grapple with ways to help students manage ever-increasing struggles with emotional wellbeing and mental health, the arts again prove to be beneficial: engaging with art for as little as 45 minutes can reduce the stress hormone cortisol (regardless of the art form or your skill level). Experiencing art as one learns isn’t just “fun.” It’s also functional.
And, importantly, these benefits are not relegated to specific subjects or material. In a 2008 study that examined a national sample of 25,000 students, researchers found that students who experienced higher levels of arts-integrated learning earned higher grades and demonstrated stronger performance on standardized tests across subject areas.
One of the most exciting findings of all, however, comes from several studies, one of which is highlighted by Chicago Arts Partnership in Education (CAPE) and their PAIR Project: Effective arts integration practices not only lead to improved academic outcomes overall, but they can also specifically help to narrow the achievement gap between the lowest- and highest- performing students. Here again, we are reminded that art isn’t simply a “nice to have.” It’s something we need.
In our next post, we will examine examples of arts integration in programs that are getting promising results in South Carolina and beyond. Because as any artist will tell you, art should and can be for everyone.
Kelly Gregory is the Riley Institute’s Director for Public Education Projects and Partnerships and previously taught for 11 years in South Carolina public schools. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Special Education. She also holds a National Board certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist. She can be reached at [email protected].