After struggling with tests, quizzes and essays, you feel defeated knowing that you weren’t able to fully demonstrate your understanding. You walk into your next class, elated to find out that you are doing an art project; finally, a means of expression you can identify with.
From dance performances to sculpting, teachers are encouraging students to demonstrate their learning in unconventional ways. Some teachers at the high school have been using art projects in their curricula for years, and have found that it is beneficial to student’s learning. Moving away from mainstream learning methods presents students with alternative opportunities to express their understanding.
Spanish teacher Pedro Mendez said he finds different ways to bring art into his curriculum. He has students perform plays and he also incorporates hands-on projects.
“For the seniors that I teach, my favorite project is painting mini murals, when the kids start talking, deciding colors, topics, themes and the message,” Mendez said.
According to English teacher Alfred Chan, art is an effective way to express knowledge of a subject.
“I think that art in itself is a great form of expression, just like how in the English discipline we have essays and written self-expression,” Chan said. “And in that same way, that’s what art is, a parallel. It’s not a written expression, but it’s just visual.”
Mendez said art is a staple of his Spanish curriculum which has material that helps with cultural understanding.
“I think art is culture in this case,” Mendez said. “So I think, in order for students to understand the Hispanic world, they also need to learn a little bit of art from the Americas and from Spain because art tells a lot of stories and shows history in a way that books or videos or any other kind of media doesn’t.”
Social Studies teacher Mark Wheeler, who has his students make timelines and historical American characters, said it is important to recognize that students learn in a variety of ways.
“Some kids process things and learn visually. So this is also a way for them to engage in the curriculum and in the class to show their thoughts and connections to it,” Wheeler said.
Chan said, for his students, art is a way to acquire a deeper understanding of a subject.
“Throughout different eras, there has been a lot of really appealing art that could engage learners and students visually,” Chan said. “You could get engaged with a story, but if you look at art that is part of the story or that’s related to it, it helps you flesh everything out better in your mind.”
Wheeler said it is important to supplement traditional assignments with innovative and creative ways of learning.
“In my opinion, nothing is lost by incorporating art into the Social Studies class. I would say there’s a lot of things gained,” Wheeler said. “Traditional assessments in history are fine and if you’re gonna take an AP class, you’re gonna do them. However, what might seem out of the box or non-traditional will have as much impact.”
