Artefact 5- Significant Learning

Our focus for today was not only integrating research into art education, we also had rich
discussion in regards to how we can integrate the visual arts into other subject areas. The
integration of visual arts into other subject areas has always been a question I had, and one aspect
that I hoped we would address within this course. Hilary posed the question of what is curricular
integration. The major take away that I received from this discussion is that integrating visual
arts is beneficial for the students' learning and the teachers' curriculum. Essentially, when two
subject areas such as art and science are intertwined, it engages a wider range of learners, with a
variety of multiple intelligences. Also, students can form connections between subject areas.
Inwood (2010) discusses, the concept of Eco-art education, which integrates art education with
environmental education to develop awareness and engagement with concepts pertaining to
interdependence, biodiversity, conservation, restoration, and sustainability. Eco-art education is
implemented with the hopes that students will play their part in fostering environmental literacy.
This is a large commitment to place on students, however I believe it can be accomplished.
Teachers are at the forefront of ensuring students become allies in environmental literacy.
Inwood (2010) highlights, that students' age should be taken into consideration when instilling
positive environmental values and behaviours, ultimately the younger the students, the likelihood
that these will become second nature. Therefore, teachers should always encourage some form of
environmental literacy whether it be big or small initiatives, because the students are capable. JR,
a French street artist, demonstrated the impact of what two simple materials can do, paper and
glue. JR highlighted the importance of showing people the world's true face, by pasting pictures
of authentic human faces throughout various parts of the world. These pictures were not only
significant to the humans that were captured, but to the whole nation. JR (2017) mentioned, that
the pictures were a sign of commitment. I appreciated the fact that JR took the simple idea of
taking people's photos into something meaningful and remarkable, that essentially changed the
perspective of many individuals. He created the opportunity for others to change the way we see
the world. This initiative reminded of the idea of making teachers' eco-art education from many
rich shades of green. These shades range from lighter shades of green, which represent lessons
that touch on environmental concepts, to deeper shades of green that relate to the engagement of
students in, about, and for the environment through integrated experiences (Inwood, 2010). All
of the eco-art projects the participants implemented in their classrooms seemed completely
manageable to accomplish with students. I like the idea of using found and natural materials in
various ways to create art, which was then turned to video art as the culminating activity. This
activity ties in nicely with other aspects of the curriculum such as STEM, specifically in relation
to technology and engineering, as the students wrote the script, music, and created the sets. This
is a wonderful example of how arts education can be tied into other subject areas with minimal
effort.
The activity that we performed today was another great example of how to tie in visual
arts with music. Our task was called, Make Some Noise! We had to create a soundscape for this
artwork. As a group, we said our thoughts of what sounds came to mind when we saw the
picture. Everyone got a chance to contribute a thought, and from there we used those thoughts to
generate actions that we wanted each table group to perform. We used a variation of materials,
such as our pens, water bottles, along with our bodies to create the soundscape. The aspects that I
enjoyed from this activity was that we got to collaborate amongst each other, and then we
intertwined those ideas to create a beautiful soundscape that the whole class got to be a part of.
 References
Inwood, H. (2010). Shades of green: Growing environmentalism through art education. Art
Education. 63(6), 33-38.
JR (2017, February). My wish: Use art to change the world inside out [Video file].
Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out