New understandings of drawing, emerging from the conjunction of methods and models from cognitive science and arts-based research, have important practical applications for art education and beyond. This article gives a brief account of recent drawing and cognitive research and discusses the relevance for art teachers. Through their research, the…

A fairly common understanding among teachers is that the study of the arts opens up the study of cultures. Appreciating the artistic expressions of a culture enhances student understanding of that culture and its people. Beyond appreciation, when students make artworks, they create meaning and explore their perceptions of various cultural roles.…

Murals have become a powerful art form for portraying antiwar, human rights, social justice, and human dignity issues. Educators and artists have conducted mural workshops with adolescents in international settings to educate them about peace, human rights, and cultural tolerance. Learning with murals has been shown to be pedagogically meaningful…

Describes a method used to acquaint art students with their painting subjects. The method requires students to study the subject closely and to make thumbnail sketches of details before they start to paint. Concludes that artists must observe their subjects closely to make the finished work believable. (GEA)

Profiles a number of projects and activities enacted during the 1996 Summer Colloquium, "Art and Ecology: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Curriculum." Participants created ecologically sensitive structures for pond life at a nearby wetland and attended a dramatic presentation about early mound dwellers performed on the site. (MJP)

Discusses the actions and approaches advanced during the 1996 Summer Colloquium, "Art and Ecology: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Curriculum." Illustrates how action-oriented inquiry makes learning relevant to all people through exploring the poetry of place. The colloquium identified community ecological issues that could be examined through…