Given the unavoidable prevalence of death in the world, the author writes that she finds it interesting that teachers devote little if any class time to the topic of grief. Teachers often avoid talking about recent losses, cloak death in metaphors and euphemisms, and feel discomfort around grieving students. Yet death still comes to classrooms.…

This article describes the challenges of teaching art integration for PSTs. Then, the authors share an overview of the project and discuss how three PST populations (early childhood educators [ECE], elementary generalists, and art educators) demonstrate different strengths in the art integration planning process. Finally, the authors provide…

Recent trends in art suggest that contemporary artists are increasingly more interested in "making" social change and less interested in "making" stand-alone objects. In this spirit, artists and educators are exploring what art can do to address future global challenges associated with accelerating climate change, displacement,…

When the author stepped into the lead specials teacher role at a private elementary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was convinced that early childhood educational experiences could shape students' later cognition. He asked himself the question: What novel task might he set for the students that did not rely on rote learning, logic, or…

In this article, the author introduces a series of socially engaged practices conducted between April 2019 and August 2020. In this project, titled "Project Superhero," children made meaning and projected their wishes through pretend play as superheroes. Their superhero gadgets were semiotic resources helping to reveal the children's…

Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), an artist with different ideas of architecture, envisioned colorful buildings that incorporate organic shapes and forms, irregular patterns, uneven surfaces, and forests that grow from windows and rooftops. As early as the mid-20th century, Hundertwasser dealt with architecture in ways that offered…

In this article, the authors share lessons combining visual arts, sound, technology, and science through the lens of soundscape, STEAM, and multisensory education. Focusing on teacher education, this article explores two primary issues. First, it considers how STEAM--multisensory integration fosters students' cultural understanding and expression…

COVID-19 has shown a point of vulnerability in the education system and has reminded us how important stories and experiences are, especially from the perspective of marginalized students. A much harsher reality has shaped their lives and experiences, and educators need to rethink their educational practices and theories in the context of the…

This article presents a preservice art teacher training project completed in the fall of 2021 as part of an elementary practicum course. The project was designed to focus on cultivating resilience in elementary school students, especially those from economically disadvantaged situations, who may have accrued increased learning loss during the…

Scholars emphasize how exercising the ability to critically evaluate both sides of an issue can reveal false dichotomies and promote an awareness of common ground among differing perspectives (Journell, 2019; Noddings & Brooks, 2017; Zimmerman & Robertson, 2017). As an art education professor in higher education and former elementary art…

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2013), more than 29 million people fall under the UNHCR's mandate, which includes "all persons outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and who, as a…

The United States has a visually stunning history of documenting its natural lands. In the late 1800s, Hudson River School painters captured national parks in the west (National Park Service, 2017). Ansel Adams is famously known for his rich black-and-white photographs of Yosemite and other national parks from the 1920s. In the 1930s, the Works…

This article describes how Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) art teacher SJ Hemmerich intentionally addresses social justice topics they see as problematic within Hemmerich's school community, and features artwork created by artists of color and queer artists from different religions, cultures, and backgrounds and with varying abilities…

As antiracist and antibias education becomes more popular, many educators are now teaching more "diverse" artists in their curriculum. However, educators who strive for conscientization and social justice through their pedagogy must go beyond merely diversifying the artists being taught (Acuff, 2018). Educators must put lesson planning,…

As an art specialist intern at a museum-based preschool, the author facilitated an art studio session every afternoon for 5-year-old students. She naively envisioned children creating artworks that followed her lesson plans and instructions. However, as she embarked on this journey and began teaching these sessions, she witnessed two startling…