Through arts integration, students use alternative ways (e.g., dancing, acting, writing, speaking, drawing, singing) to make sense of content they are learning and to demonstrate their understandings.
This is the whole idea behind arts integration! The whole goal is to use art forms to better represent what it is that they're learning. This is one of the clearest definitions of ats integration that I've seen.
“Differentiation doesn’t suggest that a teacher can be all things to all individuals all the time. It does, however, mandate that a teacher create a reasonable range of approaches to learning much of the time, so that most students find learning a fit much of the time.”7
I like this clarification of what differentiation is not. It is not expecting teachers to be able to meet every single need of every single student simultaneously at all times. It simply means that teachers are trying to make learning as flexible as possible. I think this is an important distinction to understand.
Each circle identifies what students do. Students 1) imagine, examine, and perceive; 2) explore, experiment, and develop craft; 3) create; 4) reflect, assess, and revise, and 5) share their products with others. The arrows indicate the ways teachers can guide students through the creative process.
It never before occurred to me just how many aspects make up the creative process itself. Students do all of these steps when they're in the process of learning and creating. I more or less would have thought that it was more simplified. I imagined it would be as simple as come up with an idea, make art and share it. The revision and reflection pieces are what I had not considered before.
Embedded in formative assessment, is the need for students to be DOING something—talking about something, creating something—so that we can collect evidence of their learning.
I have learned about formative and summative assessment previously but I have never thought about the fact that it specifically requires doing something. Students have to do something to prove that they are learning. Arts integration essentially then is a way to document that learning then. This is an interesting way to better understand the significance of arts integration. Arts integration really is about formative assessment because art is generally about the process of making art before it's about the product. This was interesting to think about.
The goal of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is to provide equal opportunity for all students to learn2. The impetus for Universal Design for Learning has been the belief that many students (e.g., students with disabilities, English language learners) access to learning has been unequal.
I love the emphasis on the idea that UDL isn't just for helping individuals who have special needs. This statement also emphasizes the idea of helping students with language barriers and other needs as well. I think students with special needs are typically the area of need I always think about. I never really thought about how much support ELL students would need, too.
Like universal design in architecture, with its stairs, ramps, and elevators, these alternatives reduce barriers for individuals with disabilities but also enhance opportunities for every student.”
I love the comparison between UDL and helping students with special needs with architecture. It really helps emphasize the idea that every student needs to be able to access the material they're working with. UDL helps make education more accessible.
4Cs: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.
It didn't occur me to me that the arts enhance so many skills besides the subject area being worked with (music, visual arts, dance, etc.) In some way I knew because I know math is incorporated into a lot of music skills. I just didn't think about how the 4 c's can be incorporated into anything.
The Student Outcomes include (1) the Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes; (2) Learning and Innovation Skills (also known as the 4Cs - communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity); (3) Information, Media, and Technology Skills and (4) Life and Career Skills.
It is interesting that these are the 21st century skills. It is interesting to note that these skills can apply to nearly any workplace environment in this day and age. Putting these skills together would help students better prepare for the real world. In some ways I think school helps students prepare these skills. Students learn their core subjects, of course, but they also learn how to collaborate, be creative and use media and technology then apply all these skills to life.