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ERIC Number: EJ758456
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0887-2376
EISSN: N/A
The Nature of Science and Art
Chessin, Debby; Zander, Mary Jane
Science Scope, v29 n8 p42-46 Sum 2006
A Mrs. Jefferson, a sixth-grade lead science teacher, wandered through her students' art show, she enjoyed the creative drawings that her students did in art class. Next year, due to budget cuts, the art teacher would be shared with several other schools and would not have time for weekly art classes for every grade. The principal understood the value of art education and the natural tie-in with science, so he asked Mrs. Jefferson to meet with the art teacher to learn how to integrate some art activities into the science classroom. Mrs. Jefferson was interested, but she had to admit that with all the information that teachers were required to cover during the year and the push for higher achievement test scores, it seemed hard to justify taking extra time to do art projects. Mr. Goldman, the middle school art teacher, felt that the other teachers really didn't understand the role of the arts in the school curriculum. He believed that the abstract thinking required for an in-depth understanding of the arts helped students better appreciate, value, and comprehend the world around them--especially in science! Mrs. Jefferson and Mr. Goldman realized that their students could learn concepts related to decision making and problem solving as they integrated science and art. Mrs. Jefferson was enthusiastic about adding this new dimension to her science lessons and soon learned that the disciplines of science and art share common characteristics and require similar ways of thinking and skills from students. As they planned together, Mrs. Jefferson and Mr. Goldman decided to enhance and extend what students were already learning about plant life by integrating science and art activities. The series of activities included in this article represent the efforts of Mrs. Jefferson and Mr. Goldman to combine and expand the disciplines. The following lessons are presented: (1) History of nature printing and plant taxonomy; (2) Observe and record nature; (3) Plant structures and functions; and (4) Nature of art. It is concluded that the intellectual analysis of science is no more "the whole truth" than the sensory-based interpretation of the arts. But together they invite different perspectives and new interpretations. (Contains 1 figure and lists 4 online resources.)
National Science Teachers Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: http://www.nsta.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A