The call for more empirical research in art education during the 1950s seems to be a precursor of the contemporary move toward more systematic instruction in the visual arts. If making art employs nonverbal aesthetic concepts, then conceptual consistency and problem solving within studio instruction can facilitate students' acquisition, retention,…

Reviews empirical and theoretical writings showing how visual arts affect: growth of perception and awareness through use of the senses; clarification of styles of thought and their effect on personal expression; inventiveness and general problem-solving ability; feelings of confidence and self-worth; and general learning motivation and success.…

Argues that creativity is the essence of true learning and explores its role in art education. Studies the creative process at work in several artists. Considers David Perkins' work on the creative process, identifying characteristics of a creative environment. Concludes creativity is more akin to problem solving than to spontaneous and mysterious…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has developed a new generation of assessment tasks for assessing student achievement in the visual arts. Using paper-and-pencil and performance formats, these tasks draw on the concepts, skills, and processes used to create and understand visual images from a variety of world cultures and…

For this study, professors representing eight disciplines--science, mathematics, political science, music, literature, history, geography, and the visual arts--were asked first to review historical trends and current thinking in their disciplines and then to prepare papers about the ways in which the disciplines should be represented in the…