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ERIC Number: EJ802627
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-8650
EISSN: N/A
Thinking Critically about Social Issues through Visual Material
Rawlinson, Kate; Wood, Susan Nelson; Osterman, Mark; Sullivan, Claudia Caro
Journal of Museum Education, v32 n2 p155-174 Sum 2007
This article addresses an arts-integrated social studies curriculum for grades three through five entitled Artful Citizenship, designed by The Wolfsonian-Florida International University. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant program, the design and implementation of the program was done concurrently with a three-year evaluation of the curriculum's impact on visual literacy and critical-thinking skills conducted by Curva and Associates. The research was conducted in low-performing urban schools in Miami-Dade County and targeted students at risk for failing Florida's standardized achievement tests in reading and math. Artful Citizenship was created by a museum with a collection specializing in art and design--mass-produced objects that reveal how design reflects and shapes social, political, and technological change. Because of the collection's nature, the aim of Artful Citizenship was to use inquiry-based strategies that focused on the critical understanding of objects as agents of social change (as opposed to understanding their aesthetic or art-historical significance). The longitudinal study provides a framework for a definition of critical thinking that relates to a school-based intervention targeting social studies skills. The study also documents the effectiveness of Visual Thinking Strategies as a foundational strategy for developing critical-thinking skills upon which a multi-modal teaching approach that integrates visual material and promotes artistic response can be built. In this article, we share findings from the study that have major implications for designing museum-school partnerships and help illuminate the interconnection between visual literacy and critical thinking when related to complex social issues. (Contains 5 figures, 1 table, and 9 notes.)
Left Coast Press, Inc. 1630 North Main Street Suite 400, Walnut Creek, CA 94596. Tel: 925-935-3380; Fax: 925-935-3380; e-mail: journals@lcoastpress.com; Web site: http://www.lcoastpress.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 3; Grade 4; Grade 5
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A