Purpose: Arts-integration is a promising approach to building students' abilities to create and critique arguments with data, also known as informal inferential reasoning (IIR). However, differences in disciplinary practices and routines, as well as school organization and culture, can pose barriers to subject integration. The purpose of this…

Many elementary schools across the nation are scaling back or cutting arts curriculum altogether. This article presents classroom teachers with an activity for integrating art with mathematics. Through a three-phase exploration of reasoning with shapes and their attributes, students will get to know a classmate better, work with defining and…

Science and the arts might seem very different, but the processes that both fields use are very similar. The scientific method is a way to explore a problem, form and test a hypothesis, and answer questions. The creative process creates, interprets, and expresses art. Inquiry is at the heart of both of these methods. The purpose of this article is…

This article aims to examine the kinds of teaching practices that correspond to the various educational roles ascribed to the arts within school curricula. Three teaching approaches are analyzed: (1) "teaching the arts", in which the arts are treated as distinct cognitive teaching subjects; (2) "teaching through the arts", in…

Michael Hinojosa, general superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, is hiring 140 new arts teachers this year. It is the latest and perhaps most remarkable step in a 10-year effort by policymakers, educators and community leaders to ensure that every student in Dallas has access to quality arts learning experiences in and out of…

This article presents four Idea-Sparkers that were submitted by Jason McKinney, a graduate student at Southern Mississippi University and a 1st-grade teacher at Pisgah Elementary in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. First is entitled, "Raceway in the Classroom." This activity can help increase children's fluency and ability to identify numerous…

Reports on a three-day conference entitled "Creative Process in Education: Design for Quality Learning." Held at the University of Arizona in Tucson, the conference focused on integrating the arts into the elementary curriculum. Teaching ideas presented in workshop sessions are described. (Author/SJL)

Advocates introducing young students to realistic nature drawing as a way of integrating art and science. Describes an earthworm art project using a salt dough model and a realistic drawing. This activity should begin with a view of the real subject whenever possible before proceeding to the actual artwork. (AIM)

The purpose of this essay is to introduce the concepts of self-authorship in graphic design education as part of an integrative pedagogy. The enhanced potential of harnessing graphic design's dual modalities--the integrative processes inherent in design thinking and doing, and the ability of graphic design to engage other disciplines by giving…

This manual is designed to help elementary and secondary school administrators to create an Arts in General Education (AGE) program consistent with the needs of their school community. The history of AGE, a program developed in New York City in the mid 1970s, is reviewed. The rationale for the program's underlying concept, that is, that the arts…

Arguing that the arts can contribute to the understanding of relationships basic to reading comprehension by providing opportunities for students to deal with abstractions and to form perceptual images related to those abstractions, this paper also contends that the arts can provide a means for transfer of basic concepts by taking seemingly…

A handbook designed to explain the educational approach and outcomes of a year-long arts program which integrated art gallery tours with poetry writing is divided into four sections. Section 1, "Abstracts of the Evaluation" presents an overview of the philosophy of the program, background and organization, the participatory gallery tour which…

Perspectives on developing an environmental ideology by approaching environmental issues holistically are offered in this paper. The role of music and art in environmental education is viewed as being critical in fostering a deep sense of appreciation and stewardship towards the environment. Suggestions are presented for teaching art and music…

Outlines several methods for students at elementary levels to use cut-out lettering. Describes a name creation project, a scrabble bulletin board, and methods to teach the language arts. Maintains that, if students use their own letterforms in the classroom, they will be more involved in learning. (KM)

This conference focused on the central role of play and arts throughout the early childhood years, the unique learning styles of young children (ages 3-8), and children's developmental needs. Special emphasis was placed on curriculum, assessment, the essential role of the arts in learning, multicultural awareness, needs of special populations, and…