Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching Art in High School

Terms

Interdisciplinary - the explicit recognization and connection of content and instruction from more than one subject or academic discipline in a teaching and or learning experience.

Integrated - the merging of two or more course discipline curricula.

EVERYONE needs to put in the effort...

I went through several different emotions when reading this article. This is mainly because in the past the biggest relation to interdisciplinary learning I have thought of is STEAM Schools. It's not that I'm against the idea of STEAM Schools its just that I feel like core subject teachers don't necessarily want to incorporate art in a meaningful way. Why should I incorporate science, history, math, or language arts in a meaningful and purposeful way into my curriculum if they can't do the same? See the issue is that in general all art students had to be good at core subjects but those good at core subjects didn't necessarily have to be good at art. That's why the arts are called specials or elective credits right? Because it's more specified and not everyone has to be interested in it. Obviously, I know this is true in a positive sense, not everyone is going to have the same interests. I just worry that incorporating other subjects into art might take away from my subject and other teachers might not put in the same consideration. For example, in high school, I had a history teacher that wanted us to draw propaganda posters. Great, she's incorporating art, right? Well, there were a couple of issues here. 1) most of the students didn't want to draw so they didn't put in much effort. If the teacher doesn't present the art-making in a purposeful way then the students are just going to think it's busy work and get nothing out of it. In my experience, this is typically what happens. 2) the second issue I had with this assignment is that at the time I was really into graphic design and drawing digitally. I asked my teacher If I could draw my poster using my IPad and a stylus because that was the style I was into at the time. SHe flat out said no it had to be hand drawn because digital art isn't real art and wouldn't have the same effect on the assignment. Imagine my anger... here I was being told by the history teacher that digital art isn't an art... something that I was really interested in in my actual art classes. My point is that if this whole interdisciplinary approach is going to work then core teachers need to learn a little bit about the arts and how to effectively incorporate it into their classes meaningfully. I'm not saying I'm against incorporating a bit of all subjects in each classroom, it just needs to be done right. I actually really liked it in high school when there seemed to be overarching themes present in my classes like if we were learning about propaganda and government controls in history or government and at the same time reading 1984 in English class (which if you haven't read is a book about a dystopia where the government is very controlling). I even liked doing art in my core classes but only when there weren't limitations on my creativity that seemed futile and showed that the teacher didn't really care if we were actually being exploratory and creative. At this point, I might be rambling a little bit about interdisciplinary education but I felt like I should give a little bit about my past thoughts with this before I get into talking about my thoughts on the article and how to actually incorporate this idea into my classroom.

The Pros and Cons of Interdisciplinary Education in the Art Classroom

Pros

• Can enhance cultural implications

• Incorporates students' interests in other classes

• Promotes a wider understanding of what art can be and how you can incorporate art into the community

• Promotes technology-based learning

• A little bit of other subjects will always be incorporated into art whether intentional or not

• Provokes through thinking and connects learning experiences

Cons

• Could distort the art standards and curriculum

• The arts already get put on the back burner far too often

• Many administrators think the arts should assist in the delivery of content in response to high-stakes tests

• Art classes are typically dependent on budget limitations, advocacy issues, and whether it makes the school appear diverse.

• The arts are often subservient to other academic subjects

• The more other subjects you incorporate the less you can have an in-depth investigation of art

• It is difficult to incorporate interdisciplinary learning into a TAB classroom if students aren't interested in that.

How I Can Have an Interdisciplinary Approach in a TAB Classroom

Idea and Theme-Based

Students can focus on their personal interests when creating art. For example, if a student is interested in Viking history they could incorporate the iconography and style of that time period in their art; or if a student has strong math skills they can work on perspective by drawing buildings and even dive into architectural simulations. The goal here is to find what each student is interested in and incorporate that into their art pieces while using their knowledge from core subjects.

Problem-Based

TAB classrooms are already inherently problem-based and work similarly to science classes when they do Labs or learn about scientific theories. Students have some sort of problem that they can use skills from other classes to solve.

Project-Based

Since TAB classrooms are designed to broaden the definition of art and encourage students to think outside of the box, then students should be able to create art in a wide variety of ways that could incorporate creating a grade, fundraising, or a performance. As long as they are thinking of the project through creative arts and can relate it back to the studio habits and mediums through visual art making then create away!

Inquiry Research-Based

TAB is also inherently inquiry-based so students should be able to build upon a problem or theme and develop questions that help them explore it further. For example, with identity as a theme students could come up with their own essential questions with teacher guidance to promote student-centered learning.

Collaborative Learning

It is important for students to be able to collaborate with other creatives in art. If students have a common goal they can work together to create a piece. Because they all have different life experiences they all bring something to the table.

Student-Initiated Learning

This is another big one that TAB already does. Interdisciplinary learning works best when students aren't forced to do something a specific way but instead can choose elements from other subjects that interest them to incorporate into art.

Visual Culture-Based

It is important for students to incorporate their identity, culture, and community when creating art.

Computer-Centered

Technology can greatly enhance any learning activity and when students are comfortable with using technology to advance their exploration and inquiries they will become more adaptable to using those dame methods later in life.

Flexible Assignments

Students use Backward Design to ask themselves what is worth knowing and why before they dive into exploration for a more meaningful approach.

Conclusion

Although I will probably never have students use the Pythagorean theory when drawing or creating lifesize renditions of famous historians, I do see the use of interdisciplinary education and how this combining of curricula can enhance students understanding in all subjects.