Since 2014, the WMS teaching staff has participated in a number of professional development programs spotlighting arts integration. The staff has learned that arts integration - an approach to teaching that
integrates fine and performing arts to enhance students' learning and understanding
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is a wonderful way to engage students in critical-thinking activities, problem-solving challenges and experiential learning.
Educational research strongly indicates that when the arts are woven into teaching, students internalize concepts more deeply and across all areas of the curriculum. Student achievement and outcomes - academically, cognitively, individually and collectively - are all notably improved by way of arts integration.
The two organizations that have most influenced the staff's arts integration work are the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Delaware Institute for the Arts in Education (DIAE).
For the past two summers, WMS teachers at every level have attended the Kennedy Center's Arts Integration Conference. Arts integration educators from all over the country describe their work in detail and demonstrate hands-on experiences easily adapted to any age and skill level. When a subject, such as math, science or history, is paired with a specific art form, students are more likely to be absorbed fully in lessons, relate ideas across disciplines and more readily retain content information.
For instance, students who grasp the concept of the "the steady beat" - the ability to maintain a steady beat through chanting or playing instruments - are better prepared to be fluent readers. The evaluative thinking involved in creating dramatic tableaux -
a theater technique in which actors use their bodies to create frozen pictures of different scenes
- also helps students recall the details of historical events and narratives.
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Students learn about hip-hop dancing in 2015 from teaching artist Ashley SK Davis. |
The WMS staff has also worked closely with the DIAE to offer a wide range of arts programming. Over the past few years, DIAE has provided opportunities for WMS students to learn about poetry and composition, engage in studies of South American cultures, investigate West African music, internalize the steps of papermaking, follow the historical development of hip-hop music and dance, and much more.
In February and March, the DIAE staff and WMS teachers will work together to create a series of lessons and experiences spotlighting East Asian dance, music and textiles. This work aligns perfectly with this year's kindergarten and elementary-level continent studies focused on Asia. Classroom and community activities, scheduled for April and May, will help students define the features of these three art forms, while they also examine math concepts related to identifying and making patterns.
WMS's arts integration programming has been made possible through generous donations from the WMS community and the Longwood Foundation.
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