Capacity to teach the arts is a problem reported by many teachers in primary (elementary) school settings in Australia. This paper reports on research which explored how to build primary school teachers' capacity in arts-based pedagogy. It outlines the design and development of a co-mentoring program between arts mentor practitioners and…

Innovation and learning come together in a vibrant manner during dynamic arts education classes led by teachers who understand the importance of collaboration and student improvisation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the anxiety and stress-reducing effects of drawing, using different drawing materials by promoting the development of student confidence. The drawing activities were designed to foster the exploration of identity, emotion, and sense of self, while encouraging the exploration of materials and mark making.…

This article investigates the process of devising strategy in an intercultural Baltic-Nordic setting. Sixty teacher education participants collaborated on an interdisciplinary artistic production based on Norwegian folk beliefs and wights through an intensive, week-long program called Nordplus. Using this as a case study, we explored how the…

This narrative chronicles the story of the Lunch Bunch, a group of 4 students with autism, 1 student with a specific learning disability and their art educator/researcher as they ate lunch together and discussed creativity and at times made art. A chronological story of the Lunch Bunch was crafted utilizing narrative inquiry as the overarching…

This section is full of stories from teaching artists working to clarify what needs to change within their practices and moving toward solutions--whether it's supporting a classroom of learners in new and unexpected ways, reassessing one's approach in the classroom, shepherding an individual child toward success, or professionalizing an entire…

Art teachers are renowned for their claims that the creative properties of their senior secondary pupils' artworks occur as a result of the realisation of a creative process. Drawing on my recent ethnographic studies in senior art classrooms in Sydney, Australia, and Illinois, USA, I uncover a sociological, rather than a psychological explanation…

Nationwide, many public school districts are struggling to keep arts education available for their students. One response to dwindling arts instruction has been the use of teaching artists. A teaching artist is at once a practicing artist and an educator. The formal empirical research on teaching artists is limited. This study used a mixed-method…

Describes how author collected scrap materials from manufacturers for use in her art class. Explains how any art teacher can build a similar collection. (KM)

Describes a cultural arts program of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) that encourages K-12 students to explore their thoughts and express them through the arts. The 1988-89 theme was "Proud Experiences," around which students created artwork that depicted feelings of accomplishment as well as national and family pride.…

Maintains that the cognitive aspects of art education are being emphasized in order to validate art education's place in the curriculum. Argues that the studio approach to art education should be reformed while remaining at the core of art education. Explores the questions of who should teach art education; and how art teachers should be educated.…

Describes a U.S.-Soviet mural project where citizens from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and citizens from Leningrad created two peace murals--one in the United States and the other in the Soviet Union. The murals were exchanged. Participants made their own clay using dry clay and water before creating their impressions of peace and friendship. (KM)

Describes how the Educational Sector of the Sao Paulo Biennial assists art teachers in introducing contemporary art into the schools. Outlines how students were observed viewing the exhibition and creating artworks. Describes how training programs and materials were provided to help the schools. (KM)

Shows how high school students used foam carpet padding to create forms for still-life drawing. Discusses learning to progress from simple-line drawing to a three-dimensional image. Identifies the drawing of shadows, and extreme light and dark values, as points that need to be emphasized repeatedly. (KM)

Describes a game designed to motivate students to conduct art historical research. Required students to find artists who created art in four different ways, realistically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. Students chose ways to take collected data and work cooperatively to create a mural. (KM)