Chapter 9 Artists Helping Teachers
Learning to Teach the Arts in Professional Development
In: Perspectives on Arts Education Research in Canada, Volume 2Search for other papers by Bernard W. Andrews in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This inquiry examined teacher perspectives on artist involvement in an integrated arts professional development program for elementary and secondary practitioners. Findings indicate that engagement in cross-curricular activities with professional artists employing a constructivist approach fostered a change in teacher beliefs about arts pedagogy. The participants indicated a preference for an integrated approach to arts instruction rather than the traditional, differentiated model which emphasizes separate arts disciplines. Teachers reported that the artists’ focus on personal creativity developed their innate artistic abilities. This enabled them to understand their students’ arts experiences and value diversity in learning. The offering of the program in Canada’s national cultural venues motivated the teachers to learn, stimulated their creativity, contextualized the learning, and instilled a sense of purpose for arts education. The integrated arts approach promoted the teachers’ cognitive and emotional development, enabled them to explore independent, self-directed learnings, fostered awareness of the interconnectedness of arts forms, and reinforced cross-curricular instruction through the arts. Such findings suggest that professional artists helping teachers to learn to teach the arts on-site through an integrated arts approach is a viable model of teacher development for improving arts instruction.