The Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) and the Visual Culture Theory have been two major influences in art education in the last decades. The Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) is believed to be a response to the accountability concerns and the common impression that art is not an academic subject. The Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE)…

In this article, the author shares a lesson taught to a sixth-grade art class. Using contemporary art, the students were encouraged to observe the art and have focused conversations about the work. When these discussions are integrated into the daily work of artmaking, they help students understand what it is they are learning. The author's goal…

Teaching to meet the diverse learning needs of twenty-first century, global learners can be challenging, yet a growing body of research points to the proved successes of arts-infused and integrated curricula, especially for building capacity for learning and motivation. This article presents the ArtsIN: Arts Integration and Infusion framework, a…

School reform initiatives designed to improve school quality require strong leadership, strategic planning, data analysis, and systemized performance accountability. Utilizing school reforms includes rethinking curriculum and instruction to improve quality and promote equality, restructuring school operations with a focus on both the students and…

In this graphic representation, two characters/caricatures discuss, contemplate, and fantasize the history of the field of art education, its current state, and future manifestations. The conversation is illustrated around the possible reconceptualization of art education. Through text and visual metaphors, the philosophical beliefs, theoretical…

The Lab School of Washington (LSW) uses a unique approach to teaching social studies and humanities content. As part of its arts-driven lower school program, each child spends 40 minutes a day in dedicated rooms that simulate a specific historical time and place. Called "academic clubs," teachers use these spaces to teach thematic, arts-based,…

This article is a philosophical argument that seeks to contribute to the field of art education by contributing toward and justifying a different aesthetic philosophy to support the use of visual culture in art education. Using the theoretical changes in art history and cultural theory as a backdrop, an aesthetic theory is constructed and labeled…

Mentor teachers want their student teachers to be prepared with quality instruction so that students can achieve their maximum potential. The knowledge and experience that the student teachers gain with the mentor teachers in their classrooms is invaluable. As supervisors of student teachers, mentor teachers follow an evaluation form which has…

The National Endowment for the Humanities funded the Rembrandt Project for the purpose of developing an online teaching resource that can provide a means for accessing Rembrandt's art and his world. The Web site for the project includes numerous links that direct teachers to American museums that hold paintings, etchings, or drawings by Rembrandt…

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, popularly known as Grandma Moses, may be the most famous American folk artist. A fortuitous combination of original vision, innate talent, spunky character, and long life, Moses is known for her landscapes that depict nostalgic views of country life. In this article, the author describes an art activity she introduced to…

External assessments are pervasive in education, particularly with the testing environment created by the "No Child Left Behind" reform initiative. To solidify its position as a core subject within education, art needs to be accountable to its standards at both national and state levels. Art can be assessed for accountability purposes…

Since Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) began to advocate the teaching of art based on art subjects and knowledge rather than creative self-expression, the elements and principles of design have taken a firm place in various art curricula, textbooks, and national and state Visual Arts Standards. This article intends to trace the history of…

In painting and drawing classes, it is typical to ask students to work directly from a master. It is one way to study composition techniques, and to become familiar with classical style firsthand. In museums, easels are set up as artists work, not in an attempt to copy or plagiarize, but in an attempt to be part of history by participating in it.…

This essay is based on work the author began several years ago when she undertook to analyze and compare the diverse descriptions of discipline-based art education that had appeared in the professional art education literature. It compared concepts of Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) presented in writings by Ralph Smith; Gilbert Clark,…

Like most efforts at educational reform, initial proposals for the teaching of art criticism represented a promising direction for practice rather than a fully developed educational plan. Educators during the 1950s and 1960s, who first proposed art criticism as an alternative to studio work, viewed it as a remedy for a number of problems with…