In the U.S. Antarctic Program, NSF-funded scientists--most from universities--perform basic research in geosciences and other disciplines at research stations or field camps throughout the continent and the Southern Ocean. Scholars in the humanities, as well as support specialists from various fields, work closely together with the scientists.…

Although prevalently focused on research-based outcomes (i.e. better understanding of a particular phenomenon, process or experience), arts-based researchers have widely emphasised the transformational potentialities of arts for individuals. In particular, the arts create space for thinking differently and provide opportunities to explore…

"Historias de mi barrio" is a piece of pedagogic research aimed at highlighting the way art can articulate the relationship between the educational context and a neighbourhood at high risk of social exclusion. The starting point for this study was to ask whether this type of research, centred around the arts, was suitable in complex…

This paper describes an innovative assignment in which students associate marketing concepts with artwork from a specified photographic exhibit. During the encoding process, linking various topics with pieces of art activates high-involvement learning, creative elaboration, and analytical reasoning. Consequently, students experience higher levels…

The technique of "group-averaging" produces colorings of a sphere that have the symmetries of various polyhedra. The concepts are accessible at the undergraduate level, without being well-known in typical courses on algebra or geometry. The material makes an excellent discovery project, especially for students with some background in…

This qualitative study examined the question: How can arts-based approaches facilitate transformative learning in a student teaching seminar? Two teacher educators facilitated a supplemental and voluntary arts-based ST seminar that comprised six, two-hour sessions. Thirty-four student teachers participated over five semesters making use of Theater…

Situated at the intersection of research on Holocaust education and embodied literacies this study examines how an arts-based instructional approach engaged middle school learners in developing empathetic perspectives on the Anne Frank narrative. We addressed the research question: What can adolescents who are using their bodies to gain empathy…

The interdisciplinary unit described in this article utilizes "Art and the Cosmic Connection," a free program conceived of by artists Monica and Tyler Aiello and developed by the artists, scientists, and educators through NASA's Discovery and New Frontiers Programs, to inspire learners to explore mysterious worlds in our solar…

Children and burgeoning adolescents' creativity blossom in play-based environments. Likewise, students as active social agents have the opportunity to examine the structures and processes that shape them. The photographic image intimates an aura of credibility, providing the students pause to reflect upon their socialized interactions. These…

This issue explores the nature of childhood by offering selections that re/imagine the idea of the child as art maker; inquire about the relationships between children and adults when they are making art; and investigate how physical space influences approaches to art instruction. Readers are invited to join a dialogue that questions long-standing…

The paper suggests that phenomenology, the anthropology of the senses and of embodiment, performance theory and multi-modal pedagogies offer a rich set of theoretical ideas with which to consider children's expressive repertoires as overlooked forms of social participation and critique. Four case studies in relation to children's photography,…

Two classrooms on opposite sides of the world happened to be working on a very similar project at the same time. In both Shanghai, China, and Palm Springs, California, students were learning how to turn their flashlights and other light-emitting objects into paintbrushes. Light painting is a form of long-exposure photography in which the shutter…

This article describes an art project designed for middle- and high-school students to (1) understand the meaning of the terms composite and photomontage, and be able to use them correctly; (2) select and evaluate a range of subject matter; (3) combine three different photographs to create an attention-grabbing, entertaining work; and (4) mount…

The aim of this participant observation was to understand the efficacy of a modified International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program for fourth-graders at a public school with a large percentage of language and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Data collection over a five-month period concentrated on teaching interactions including…

Artists today draw on a range of sources--newspapers, magazines, photographs, film, audio, and of course the Internet--to create artworks that serve as visual "texts" of a specific place and moment in time. Using artworks as sources and understanding how to decode them in the service of "drilling down" into difficult topics can create powerful…