Arts-based Learning Research Articles

Taking the Quantum Leap: Arts-Based Learning as a Gateway into Exploring Transition for Senior Nursing Students

In a senior-baccalaureate nursing program, a student’s journey of transition to becoming a Registered Nurse is fraught with institutional and relational tensions. In a fourth-year capstone theory course focused on issues and trends in nursing leadership, we explored these tensions through arts-based learning activities. Through the theoretical lens of Janzen’s (2013) Quantum Perspective of Learning, reflective narratives illuminated student experiences of the transition and into the unknown. Our goal to inspire, to nurture, and to empower students to take their own quantum leaps took them into finite career spaces and the infinite spaces in-between and beyond.

Trans-forming Higher Education

In recent years, the rise of post-humanisms and new materialisms (Barad 2007; Kirby 2011; Bennet 2010; Haraway 2004; Braidotti 2013) has produced a range of new approaches to ontology, epistemology and ethics in the arts and arts-based teaching and learning. What was once largely a domain of more humanist discourses, now by necessity includes critical terrains, such as material-discursive performativities, which entangle space, environments, objects, temporalities and hybrid identities, as notions of ‘art’, ‘performance’ and ‘spectator’ take on ever-multiplying meanings and possibilities.This article examines ways in which current trends in post-humanism and new materialisms complicate critical and pedagogical matters in higher education institutions, rendering simple subject/object approaches to curriculum design, studio practice and embodied making, and issues of participation and impact, inherently more complex, problematic and full of possibility as we enter an age that requires that education innovate new approaches to digital, ecological and social realities.Examining contemporary pedagogical modalities with particular reference to practice-as-research, the article identifies where teaching and learning in the academy may be falling short in its handling of such complexities, and how working notions of diffraction, material-discursivity and entanglement (Barad; Haraway; Kirby; Bennet) into the fabric of pedagogical design and practice, could enhance the way that the arts in higher education are meaningfully developed.

(Self-)Confrontation

This work involves its authors—two art students—striving to conceive of higher art learning as artistic expression both through and beyond the frameworks of arts-based learning and arts-based research. Their own art school studio’s mode of art education already idiosyncratically inclines towards taking the student’s creative process to be the educational content in question; as far as such a predisposition necessarily invites examining the circumstantial relativity of truths about/of art (education), the authors adduce as a means towards discerning whether or not their art making is predicated in nothing but decontextualization the idea of understanding art school today as a pleonasm used both to a fault and in the name of style. The work, which the authors Andrew J. Hauner and Vojtěch Novák have thus entitled ‘(Self-)Confrontation: Making a pleonasm out of art school’, goes on to dialogue with some of the ways in which other art school students—situated within different configurations of how art becomes school and/or vice versa—have the potential to themselves cause their individual pleonastic configurations of art school to be a matter of free will and/or predetermination, all of them (including that of the authors) thereby eventually becoming distinctive only in a correlational fashion. In the end, the authors propose, with evidence, that it is in their second-guessing whether the making of art out of art learning is or even ought to be (un)provable that such work of theirs can be truly creative.

Almost Like Us – Getting Familiar with another Historical Period in a Pre-school Group

This study reports on pre-school age children becoming familiar with their hometown’s cultural history through children’s literature, personal stories, and craft products. The aim of this study is to discuss the educational value of arts-based activities and authentic learning environments from the perspective of visualizing children’s experiences. In the learning process, children create stories and craft products based on a picture book of a home museum in their town and the experience of visiting the museum. The research is in line with the curriculum of Finnish pre-schools (valid from 2016), according to which children should be offered opportunities to empathize with their immediate environment using a variety of arts-based methods as support. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Kolb’s model of experiential learning, different approaches of arts-based learning and the theory of situated learning by Lave and Wenger. The data consist of children’s oral follow-up stories and craft products. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, which is a valid replicable method for making specific inferences from text to other states or properties of a source. It appears that different learning environments and arts-based, experiential activities contribute to learning in a child-centered way and may vizualize children’s thoughts and experiences, for the teacher, for the children themselves, and for other learners. The different stages of the experiential learning process proved to be beneficial to each other: The materials the children produced during the experiment could be used to activate educational discussions in pre-schools and make them more child-centered. In addition, the literature element and the authentic experience gave the children ideas for their own products..

Arts-Based Learning: A New Approach to Nursing Education Using Andragogy.

Learner-oriented strategies focusing on learning processes are needed to prepare nursing students for complex practice situations. An arts-based learning approach uses art to nurture cognitive and emotional learning. Knowles' theory of andragogy aims to develop the skill of learning and can inform the process of implementing arts-based learning. This article explores the use and evaluation of andragogy-informed arts-based learning for teaching nursing theory at the undergraduate level. Arts-based learning activities were implemented and then evaluated by students and instructors using anonymous questionnaires. Most students reported that the activities promoted learning. All instructors indicated an interest in integrating arts-based learning into the curricula. Facilitators and barriers to mainstreaming arts-based learning were highlighted. Findings stimulate implications for prospective research and education. Findings suggest that arts-based learning approaches enhance learning by supporting deep inquiry and different learning styles. Further exploration of andragogy-informed arts-based learning in nursing and other disciplines is warranted. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(7):407-410.].

Servant Leadership: developing a new generation of servant leaders through arts


 The word is in turmoil. Globalization, technology, profound demographic changes, financial crisis, ethic dilemmas lead us to question the validity of our educational and management paradigms. The new generations arriving to the workforce have different expectations and demand for more ethical, people-centered management. The future leaders are growing - socially, politically and economically - in the digital era and through a profound social, financial and economic crisis. These future leaders demand for purpose, meaning and connection and they will be working in organizations also shaped by the globalization of knowledge, markets and customers and the information and communication technology.People management and leadership will be key leverages for Europe to assert in the global context and to take a strategic role as a knowledge based economy and an innovation space. Research has been showing that the traditional management and leadership paradigms are no longer answering the current challenges that organizations are facing and are not being able to answer the expectations and needs of the new generations.
 “With such changes have come new priorities and responsibilities and it is in this environment that the theory of servant leadership has flourished as a management style for the redefined business world of today, one that can serve as a cornerstone for organisations wishing to build corporate structures based on stewardship, empowerment and trust.”Dirk van Dierendonck, RSM Insight 3rd Quarter, 2011
 In order to deploy new learning contents and training activities about a new leadership paradigm, one must be also prepared to answer to the learning challenges posed by a generation of active learners, digital natives and graphically/visually oriented.
 The main goal of the Artful Leadership project is to create innovative digital learning resources about Servant Leadership, supported by arts-based learning methods and deployed through different methods and techniques (e.g. digital storytelling, visual art, design thinking, etc.).
 

“Little Pig, Little Pig, Yet Me Come In!” Animating The Three Little Pigs with Preschoolers

Early childhood education, particularly through the influence of the Reggio Emilia model, traditionally has a strong affinity for arts-based, inquiry-based, interdisciplinary pedagogy. However, in the US, as standardized testing and curricula creep into early childhood classrooms, they marginalize arts-based learning and the kinds of playful, collective, student-centered, experimental approaches it encourages. Relegating arts to the margins ignores their abilities as powerful learning “languages” in their own right, as well as their benefits and the possibilities they open for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary learning. This article presents a 2-month project in a preschool class that implemented arts-based meaning-making strategies built around student interest in the children’s book classic, The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. The subsequent analysis uses an emergent literacy framework, adding two of the eleven core New Media Literacies concerns (play and transmedia navigation), to examine ways arts-based inquiry projects and new technologies can support preschoolers’ development of multiple, multimodal, and digital literacies.

Reflecting Selves: Pre-Service Teacher Identity Development Explored Through Material Culture

This article describes a research project that investigated the development of pre-service teacher identity, with an emphasis on meaning-making and articulation of personal values. The methodology is primarily arts-based. Data for the research consisted of: (1) participant-created three-dimensional constructions that symbolized their emerging values and identities; (2) accompanying written reflections that provided the context of the constructions and elaborated on the personal symbolization of the material culture involved. With this article, we hope to initiate further conversations around teacher education, professional development, and arts-based learning, with particular attention to dialogue about the teaching self.

From Experiential Learning to Aesthetic Knowing

The Problem Following executive students in a series of choral conducting workshops, this article explores the growing practice of arts-based leadership development. Based in experiential learning, arts-based learning claims to have great potential in connecting intellect and emotions, to meaningfully challenge norms and assumptions, and to value the relational and subjective aspects of human experience. However, to date, there is a lack of empirical, participant-focused work exploring the “what” and “how” of arts-based leadership development as well as its impact on professional practice. The Solution Through observational and interview data gathered at a European business school, this research takes a grounded, participant-centered approach to exploring the experiences of participants in three choral conducting masterclasses. The findings support the effectiveness of arts-based methods for leadership development; potent learning emerges. Moreover, nuance is added to understandings of how and what learning takes place, describing a process of learning as sensemaking to aesthetic knowing. The development outcomes centered on relational dynamics of leadership and the aesthetics of power and responsibility, with longer-term data showing positive impact on the professional practice of participants. The Stakeholders This article speaks to HRD researchers, professionals, and development practitioners. Of interest for all three groups, the study overviews the growing trend of arts-based methods in leadership development while providing insights into how learning gets done,what is learned, and sheds light on longer-term impacts of this form of experiential learning.

Drawing out understanding

Dabrowski recognized that the creative process is important in the personality development of the gifted and talented. Given the intrinsically creative nature of learning in an arts- infused context, we hypothesize that interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum address the unique needs of the gifted. First, we will summarize Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration, providing a theoretical context to discuss an ongoing research project that engages gifted students in arts-based learning. We then briefly describe the implications of positive disintegration in the middle school context, and how art education can support this process. Finally, we describe how two arts integrated projects addressed the process of positive disintegration. In 2013, University of Calgary students in ART 307, “Applied concepts in art with children ages 6-12,” worked with gifted middle school students on an integrated art–social studies–science project called “When Fisher went to Skyland.” In this project, one class of Grade 6 students explored Iroquois culture and sky science through printmaking. In 2014, four classes of Grade 5 students worked with ART 307 students to enhance their understanding of electricity and magnetism through explorations using theatre games, creative movement and animation. We suggest that engaging gifted middle school students in the arts can be a means to facilitate alternative learning methodologies in all subject areas, and provide necessary support in personality development.

Creativity, Social Justice and Human Rights within Adult Education

In this paper, the author describes philosophical concepts of adult learning and their application as integrated with creative problem solving within the context of social justice and human rights. The context is framed by the work of the United Nations (1992) which emphasizes importance of women's roles and creativity in the process of forming a global community. Foundational theories (Gardner, 1999; Greene, 1995; Knowles, 1975; Lawrence, 2005; & Vygotsky, 1978) are connected to support this philosophical approach to adult learning. Creative application examples are shared featuring changes in women's education and subsequently their lives such as, a project guided by artist, Vic Muniz (Walker, Jardim, Harley, & Muniz, 2010) and an arts-based education program that changed the lives of incarcerated women in one female correctional facility (Mullen, 1999). The goal of this paper is to provide examples of how creativity and arts-based learning can be integrated within adult education promoting social justice and human rights.

The Impact of Art-Based Learning Program on Developing English Majors’ Creative Writing

The Impact of Art-Based Learning Program on Developing English Majors’ Creative Writing

Postcards Across Borders

This research builds upon earlier studies by Sorin and Gordon (2010; 2013) and Sorin (2012; 2014) on how arts-based learning - the exchange of postcards - can enhance understanding of students' perceptions of local and global environments, as well as sustainability. Study groups from these earlier projects were early primary (5 – 8 years old) and kindergarten age (4 – 5 years old). This research sought to ascertain how applying the same art-based technique could engage and encourage older students to reconnect with environment and sustainability issues. Students aged 8-9 years old from two different countries (Australia and Scotland) were paired together to exchange postcards comprising drawings and stories about their environment. Data were gathered from the students' postcards, both the drawings and the text; and pre and post project interviews conducted with the students and their teachers. This paper examines data from the pre and post project interview and overviews some of the postcard image analysis. Initial data analysis of pre and post-project interviews revealed observable shifts in students' understanding, concerns and knowledge of the environment. Post-project interviews reflected an appreciation of the environmental issues of their immediate environment and the other environment, and indicated that students were intrinsically directing their attention to the natural environment and authentic issues; rather than just being led by explicit teaching.

Art-Based Learning in Business in Mainland China

Creative Arts Educ Ther (2015) 1(1):41–52DOI: 10.15534/CAET/2015/1/6 Art-Based Learning in Business in Mainland China 企業學習領域的藝術應用 Peng Yongwen 彭勇文 Shanghai Theatre Academy, China Abstract This study is based on investigations, research and practices of art-based learning in businesses of Mainland China. Using Otto Sharmer’s learning and innovation U-Theory model, and on the basis of the author’s own practice, it is proposed that art-based learning presented by artists has been helping entrepreneurs and their teams enhance connections with themselves, each other, and the environment. The application of arts to businesses demonstrates a growing social trend of recognizing the spiritual value of humans and the increasing importance of the construction of ecological organizations, as well as the structuring and formation of social fields, all of which are beneficial to relationships and productivity in a wide range of industries. This article further discusses the two difficulties artists often encounter when they enter corporations, namely, research and practical application on the front lines, and development of rational thinking and useful tools in order to strengthen the long-term effects of the participants’ experiences from artistic workshops, solve real-life problems, and generate meaningful results. 摘要 本論文對近年來國內企業學習領域的藝術應用進行了調查和研究。根據美國麻省理工學院教授奧拓-夏莫(Otto Sharmer)的U型理論，並結合作者本人的實踐，本文提出了企業家需要藝術家的三個理由，藝術家能夠幫助企業家增強與自我、與他人、與環境的聯結。藝術家們走進工商企業，代表著一種社會潮流，人的心靈價值正在回歸，社會越來越重視生態型組織的建設，重視場域的構建，這些都有利於社會成員間的聯結和共創，推動各領域的創新和發展。本文還提出藝術家進入企業可能遇到的兩個困難，需要他們深入最前沿去研究現實情況，在實踐掌握跨界應用的方法，同時還需要借助理性的思維和實用的工具，增強感性體驗效果的長期性，以解決現實的問題，產生實際的作用。

Arts-Based Language Learning in Early Elementary Public Education in the United States: The Art of Intrigue, a Discussion

Arts-Based Language Learning in Early Elementary Public Education in the United States: The Art of Intrigue, a Discussion

Towards Quality Art Education: Challenges and Opportunities

Quality art education promotes emotional development, as well as cognitive achievement, which is a key factor to achieve quality education. Art education is an instrument par excellence that a nation can rely upon to bring about self-reliance. Quality art education produces positive learning outcomes, such as creating positive attitudes to learning, developing a greater sense of personal and cultural identity, and fostering more creative and imaginative ways of thinking in students. Arts-based processes allow students the opportunity to express their knowledge, ideas and feelings in ways that do not necessarily involve words. Unfortunately, the value of arts-based learning in Nigeria is diminishing because of some challenges, including the negative perception of the course by students, parents and even the society at large. It is against this backdrop that this paper brings into focus the position of the course in Nigeria’s educational system with a critical analysis of challenging issues such as: the supply and training of qualified art teachers, negative attitude of individuals and government, social identity, lack of facilities and materials, among others. Recommendations were proffered on the way forward. The paper finally concludes that good quality art education is an essential component of holistic education (formal and informal). Keywords : quality, art education, challenges, opportunities

Art-based learning: painting the journey of self-realisation

Art-based learning is a way of engaging the intellectual, affective, visual and kinaesthetic domains modelling creative, lateral thinking and personal meaning-making through metaphor as well as coaching dialogue. It is a form of experiential learning involving learning cycles to entice deep reflection in and on practice and deep, transformative learning. Art-based learning is essential to the studies of Expression and Communication and of Transpersonal Art Therapy (TAT). This journal-type essay explores what happened during an arts-based activity as part of the author’s study in TAT practice. The activity concerned finger-painting ‘the journey of self-realisation’ and the resulting imagery was used to coach dialogue. Describing the process through a series of steps, the author discusses the experiences and insights that emerged during and after the process. Though subjective and not necessarily applicable to all situations, this essay may encourage tertiary educators of studies in Education and Health to employ similar arts-based learning exercises to effectively benefit their own development, that of their students, and effectively the learning community.

Artist Residencies: Supporting Early Childhood Pre-Student Teachers' Knowledge and Pedagogy to Promote Arts-Based Learning

ABSTRACTUniversity-based artist residencies prepare preservice teachers to integrate the arts in their classrooms.

ArtsIN: Arts Integration and Infusion Framework

Teaching to meet the diverse learning needs of twenty-first century, global learners can be challenging, yet a growing body of research points to the proved successes of arts-infused and integrated curricula, especially for building capacity for learning and motivation. This article presents the ArtsIN: Arts Integration and Infusion framework, a both/and approach to arts-based learning. This means that it incorporates both arts infused learning essential for process and skill development in an art form, such as art disciplines of visual arts, dance, drama, music and media arts and integrated learning experiences embedded in children’s daily experience to generate rich meaningful cognitive connections to other disciplines into the classroom. Section “WHY ARTS? Key Concepts to Support an ArtsIN Framework” details four key concepts of the framework: global universality, embodiment, arts as multi-literacies and language, and the value of arts for advancing development. The mind–body connection of the arts to understand human interactions is explained through the capacities of five aesthetic operations—repetition, formalization, dynamic variation, and surprise. Section “ HOW ARTS? Implementing an ArtsIN Framework” provides examples and explains how arts infusion and integration can be implemented in early childhood settings through dynamic teacher roles as artist, researcher, designer, co-constructor, and advocate to meet students’ learning needs while connecting and collaborating with diverse cultural contexts that include families, artists, and community.

HAND / HEART / HEAD: Aesthetic Practice Pedagogy for Deep Sustainability Learning

This paper proposes that aesthetic inquiry can convey emotional knowledge related to sustainability topics, which is different from scientific inquiry that conveys facts and analysis. Sustainability is an emotionally charged theme of study and people often have difficulty in grappling with its complexity. We provide a method of artbased learning that can help people to understand and deal with sustainability topics as opposed to classical ways of learning (lectures, coursework). Art is a vehicle of human emotions, and aesthetic inquiry can help to get at the emotional connection between humans and nature. During the 'workshop' process we have developed over the past few years, participants produce paintings, drawings and metaphors that bring life to their vision of sustainability. Expressing this perspective as a work of art and sharing it with others, helps them to better understand underlying concepts, creates a sense of community and gives courage to take action.