Schoolhouse Rock: Teachers Combine Dance, Academics To Save On Classes

As schools struggle to find time for arts education in public schools nationwide, teachers are coming up with novel ways to integrate different art forms, like dance, into their students' core curriculum, reports Education Week.

For Ms. Wright-Sabbatino's second grade class in Maryland, that means learning about photosynthesis through interpretive dance:

Small groups of pupils in this class at Fort Garrison Elementary School brainstormed to come up with dance movements to convey elements of photosynthesis, including water, sunlight, carbon dioxide, and chlorophyll. They leaned, they reached, they flowed, sometimes with surprising grace.

Rima Faber, a dance education expert who secured grants for the program in Maryland, describes the merge:

"We're addressing the science curriculum as required by the county and meeting the standards for dance education in a mutual learning experience...The more we teach through dance integration, the more we realize how dynamically it brings deep and complex learning to children."

In a recent study, the National Center for Education Statistics found that dance was offered to students in only 20 percent of elementary schools last year in the United States. Thanks to the integration model and innovators like Ms. Wright-Sabbatino, things are changing for students who wouldn't otherwise get the chance to dance.

Read more about her class at Education Week.

Comments

[onalimb]

07:48 AM on 11/24/2010

Embracing different learning styles is a good start towards engaging students.
Kinesthetic learning - PE & lesson combined!
There is a highly innovative program called MindRap by Tiz Media Foundation that uses culture, art & music to engage students: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rp7CvXC0GA

[AgathaX]

07:41 AM on 11/24/2010

I don't think this has much to do with arts education, but I think its great as a learning tool nonetheless. There is certain information that just has to be memorized, and music/dance/rhythm is a great way to do that. Particularly for kids who have a hard time sitting still. Throw in some hands on labs and you might have kids who are actually engaged and learning.

[MaccyB]

09:18 PM on 11/17/2010

I learned about photosynthesis without having to practice dancing.

To be honest, I see this mixing art, particularity dance, with proper academic learning to be really lowering the bar.

In any case, I still don't understand why art is so highly regarded while philosophy/logic and basic finance/budgeting classes are almost nonexistent in most schools.

[MontanaSouth]

01:27 PM on 11/18/2010

Allowing creativity in learing is great way to encourage curiosity and inquiry. I had great art classes in grade school and art was one of the ways I learned much of biology. Art can be used to teach philosophy and logic. The basis of much of art composition is mathmatical. I believe in teaching the basics, but there is nothing wrong with using innovative ways for children to learn if the outcome can be evaluated objectively.

[Holly Rayl]

08:44 PM on 11/19/2010

Ever hear of differentiated instruction or multiple intelligence? Students like you that can learn well from books and lectures can still learn in such a manner, but those that can't really benefit from using other parts of their brain to learn the same information.