Abstract

The world of education is constantly changing. As our culture and society evolves and grows, our educational practices must follow suit to reach the minds of tomorrow in a meaningful way. Arts integration is the teaching practice of using the arts as a lens through which students can view and articulate other subject matter. Integration of dance, music and visual arts promotes creativity and interest but also nurtures a meaningful educational experience. This confluence of educational disciplines will engage our students and excite them about learning. It is important to recognize that " culture populated by a people whose imagination is impoverished has a static future n such a culture there will be little change because there will be little sense of possibility" (Eisner, 2002, p. 5). Integrating the arts into the core curriculum empowers our students to believe in possibility and provides them a future of potential. The purpose of this study is to examine the process of arts integration within an urban middle school setting. The school chosen will be observed because it is established as an arts magnet school, serving the community as an Academy for the Visual and Performing arts. An arts magnet middle school embraces the principles of seeing artfully and uses the arts to illuminate and give dimension to the other core subject matter. The structure for the model of curriculum integration adapted by the arts magnet school faculty will be determined by analyzing interview transcripts, field notes, and faculty meeting notes. Classroom observations will also serve to provide evidence of implementation of the arts integrative process into the curriculum. The results will show how arts integration acts as learning "through" and "with" the arts as a result of a curricular process and collaborative engagement.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2013

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Hopp, Carolyn W.

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Teaching, Learning and Leadership

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education;Education -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004358

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Art Education Commons

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