The Importance Of Arts Integration

STEAM (STEM) learning has become a central objective for guiding curriculum and instruction for both educators and students across the country. Through curricular frameworks like Common Core and the Next Generation Science Standards, the concepts and standards which students are expected to attain in demonstrating academic preparedness and achievement have become reflective of the need for schools and educators to find the cross section between comprehension and application. Arts integration is the vehicle most schools have utilized to accomplish a more inter-relational focus for curriculum and instruction. Most programs employ a combination of visual and performing arts respective to the subject content and concepts being taught. Though these

To this purpose, research has established the need and efficacy of arts integration. Most representatively arts integration is “an approach to teaching and learning through which content is taught and assessed equitably in and through the arts” (Riley, 2017). To position the purpose and benefits of art integration the research works of: 1) Lorimer and 2) Scripp & Paradis were reviewed and evaluated. These bodies of work reveal a strong correlation between art integration, using both visual and performing art, and improved student achievement.

Notably, each study presents arts integration as attributable to enhanced practitioner pedagogical implementation, fostering equitable learning experiences and improved academic outcomes. Through this framework teachers and students use STEAM as an access point to build comprehension across subject domains and arts integration to facilitate command of concepts through an art-based approach, thereby cultivating student knowledge

Lorimer’s research does not offer the same quantitative substance Scripp and Paradis present through their research as demonstrated through marked improvement in student scores and closing achievement gaps. The value of the mixed methodology in the second study presents student learning in an arts integration capacity; as well as a tool for affecting equitable student learning outcomes. In Scripp and Paradis’ study, student achievement is dependent on teacher development, which is only a brief component of Lorimer’s research. Each study presents correlations between student achievement and arts integration; Lorimer exemplifies student achievement as increased student engagement, and Scripp and Paradis exemplify student achievement as higher assessment scores. However, each study references arts integration aside from STEAM learning objectives. Moreover, neither study poses the use of audio visual aids as component of curriculum or instruction to support improved student learning outcomes or