The Value Of Drawing Instruction In The Visual Arts And Across Curricula

By applying philosophical and historical perspectives to drawing instruction, this volume demonstrates how diverse teaching methods contribute to cognitive and holistic development applicable within and beyond the visual arts. Offering a new perspective on the art and science of drawing, this text reveals the often-unrecognized benefits that drawing can have on the human mind, and thus argues for the importance of drawing instruction despite, and even due to contemporary digitalization. Given the predominance of visual information and digital media, visual thinking in and through drawing may be an essential skill for the future. As such, the book counters recent declines in drawing instruction to propose five Paradigms for teaching drawing – as design, as seeing, as experience and experiment, as expression, and as a visual language – with exemplary curricula for pre-K12 art and general education, pre-professional programs across the visual arts, and continuing education. With the aid of instructional examples, this volume dispels the misconception of drawing as a talent reserved for the artistically gifted and posits it as a teachable skill that can be learned by all. This text will be of primary interest to researchers, scholars, and doctoral students with interests in drawing theory and practice, cognition in the arts, positive psychology, creativity theory, as well as the philosophy and history of arts education. Aligning with contemporary trends such as Design Thinking, STEAM, and Graphicacy, the text will also have appeal to visual arts educators at all levels, and other educators involved in arts integration.

"By applying philosophical perspectives to drawing instruction, this volume demonstrates how diverse teaching methods contribute to cognitive and holistic development applicable within and beyond the visual arts. This book offers a new perspective on the art of drawing to reveal its often-unrecognized impact on the human mind. Focusing on this emphasis, the book argues for the importance of the skill of drawing despite our contemporary age of digitalization. The book counters recent declines in drawing instruction to propose five Paradigms for teaching drawing - as design, as seeing, as experience and experiment, as expression, and as a visual language - with exemplary curricula for pre-K12 art and general education, pre-professional programs across the visual arts, and continuing education over the life-span. With the aid of instructional examples, this volume dispels the misconception of drawing as a talent reserved for the artistically gifted and posits it as a teachable skill that can be learned by all. Aligning with contemporary trends like Design Thinking, STEAM, and Graphicacy, this text will primarily be of interest to doctoral students, researchers, and scholars with an interest in drawing education, cognition, and research into visual arts education more broadly. Those interested in positive psychology and drawing theory, as well as creativity theory, will also benefit from the volume. Seymour Simmons is a Professor of Fine Arts at Winthrop University, USA"--

If you ask a child to draw you a picture, you'll get an instant response, for the visual arts are natural means of expression that students of all ages use confidently, and often with stunning directness and depth. And for a teacher, incorporating visual arts throughout the curriculum builds in a level of energy, enthusiasm, and insight that can only enhance children's learning experiences. Visual Arts as a Way of Knowing is a serious yet fun resource for teachers who are curious about art and know that it can be an important part of their teaching. The book is meant to tease out the artist in you,to encourage you to take risks and delve into painting or drawing or just making things. For like writing, art is a matter of taking risks that can lead to wonderful rewards. Karolynne Gee draws on the stories of teachers and the reflections of children who have discovered they can create, and for whom that discovery is the great "Aha!". From that point on, you know how to make creative and aesthetic choices based on the principles of art, and art becomes a powerful tool in thinking, learning and problem solving. Visual Arts as a Way of Knowing features discussion of visual arts content, principles, techniques, and applications; guidance in planning and facilitating projects and assessing them with students; practical classroom management strategies to support learning in arts and across the curriculum; ideas for art specialists and teaching colleagues; strong support for teachers as risk-takers and learners alongside their students; a wealth of illustrations from fine arts, computer art, and student work that includes a range of work to show there is no "right way;" charts and field notes that can help you get started on a project or gives you a new way of looking at a topic. Visual Arts as a Way of Knowing blurs the lines between formal and informal art as well as between teacher and learner. It will provide many interdisciplinary connections and ways for you to think about integrating visual art in a thoughtful way and discovering new problems that will stimulate your own and your students' thinking.

Discover the power the arts bring to every aspect of learning. Incorporating the arts in your classroom opens up new possibilities, expands the mind, creates a thirst for knowledge, and helps students become more open to the world around them, offering another way of thinking about, being in, and constructing our world. Too often classroom teachers face the challenge of teaching the arts without the background or support they need. The Arts Go to School explores every aspect of implementing and integrating the arts into both the curriculum and everyday life. It contains a wealth of classroom activities that help kids give form to their thoughts and feelings. This easy-to-use resource features chapters on each of the major art forms and shows teachers how to help students meet related curriculum outcomes: music--from composing songs and the elements of music to novel approaches to singing songs;visual arts-- from exploring pattern, shape, color, and texture to special events that feature mobiles, collages, and paper structures;drama-- from playing, moving, and imagining to communicating, improvising, and performing;dance-- from physical ways of conceptualizing to dance as a problem-solving exercise;media-- from being intelligent media users and using interactive media to taking a media field trip. The Arts Go to School offers a glimpse into dozens of exemplary classrooms where you can see, hear, and feel the arts bring learning to life. Checklists throughout the book provide handy reminders to key outcomes and guide teachers in thoughtful encouragement and assessment.

Based on research, and grounded in experience, this book offers a view into the minds and hearts of people who draw. With technology at our fingertips that allows us to record and share what we see within moments, drawing seems a remarkably slow and difficult way to make an image. And yet, drawing from observation continues to be practiced by professional and amateur artists, a situation that invites the question: What does observation drawing mean in the lives of those who practice it? The central chapters of the book explicate the structures of the lived experience of drawing, weaving phenomenological reflections into a narrative about the author drawing her sister on a train. With lively accounts of drawing from hobbyists, art students, contemporary and historical artists, Montgomery-Whicher considers how the act of drawing shapes place, time, the body and relationships with the world and with others. She addresses many facets of drawing, including the connection between drawing and thinking, the range of emotions felt when drawing a person and the experience of digital drawing. Montgomery-Whicher concludes that observation drawing warrants a place in general education as well as in the education of artists. She argues that drawing will continue to thrive because it is a human practice that deepens and enriches our humanity by giving us access to keener perception, greater understanding, empathy and wonder. This book will be of interest to anyone who has ever wondered about the appeal of drawing, including professional and amateur artists, philosophers, and educators.

Provides an overview of the current research undertaken across the country, thereby providing a valuable resource for students, professors and research associates working in the arts disciplines, media studies, education, and cultural studies.

This volume illustrates how theatre arts can be used to enact peace education by showcasing the use of theatrical techniques including storytelling, testimonial and forum theatre, political humor, and arts-based pedagogy in diverse formal and non-formal educational contexts across age groups. The text presents and discusses how the use of applied theatre, especially in conflict-affected areas, can be used as an educational response to cultural and structural violence for transformation of relations, healing, and praxis as local and global peacebuilding. Crucially, it bridges performing arts and peace education, the latter of which is unfolding in schools and their communities worldwide. With contributors from countries including Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, the USA, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, Pakistan, Burundi, Kenya, and South Africa, the authors identify theoretical and technical aspects of theatrical performance that support peace through transformation along with embodied and sensorial learning. This book will appeal to scholars and students with interests in teacher education, arts-based learning, peace studies, and applied theatre that consider practice with child, adolescent, and adult learners.

This edited volume explores the role of arts and meditation within educational settings, and looks in particular at the preventive and developmental function of the arts in educational contexts through different theoretical perspectives. Encompassing research from an array of disciplines including theatre, psychology, neuroscience, music, psychiatry, and mindfulness, the book draws insights relevant to a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary fields. Chapters are divided into thematic sections, each outlining praxes and emphasising how educating within and through the arts can provide tools for critical thinking, creativity and a sense of agency, consequently fulfilling the need of well-being and contributing towards human flourishing. Ultimately, the book focuses on the role the arts have played in our understanding of physical and mental health, and demonstrates the new-found significance of the discipline in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With its interdisciplinary and timely nature, this book will be essential reading for scholars, academics, and post-graduate researchers in the field of arts education, creative therapies, neuroscience, psychology, and mindfulness.