Arts educators need specific professional development. Generic professional development alone will not work for arts teachers. Arts teachers also need more than one type of professional development as the narratives in the stories in this article make clear. The first music teacher provides narrative support for Bowles's research finding that…

Educational assessment is more than measurement, rubrics, and grades. Its real focus needs to be on learning. Art educators need to pay attention to the assessment of daily learning as well. Everyday assessment of classroom learning is crucial because it provides feedback directly to students in the process of their learning, more than mere…

With ongoing professional development and with appropriate tools, teachers are able to internalize information-process skills. Once they understand these process skills, they are able to apply them to any media content and to transform their teaching, without the need for a "cookbook" approach, reliant only on textbooks. Instead, teachers can use…

Aesthetics is the philosophy of art (including poetry and literature), and philosophy can be defined as a way of reflecting and clarifying ordinary, everyday thoughts and feelings that people find hard to put into words. One such ordinary thought is the well-known fact that words have a larger, more expansive meaning in poetry than they do in…

This article discusses disinterestedness and beauty. To apprehend a regular and appropriate building with one's cognitive faculties, be the mode of representation clear or confused, is quite a different thing from being conscious of this representation with an accompanying sensation of delight. Here the representation is referred wholly to the…

In 1994, the National Association for Music Education (MENC) adopted nine content standards that have, since that time, helped to standardize curricula for elementary music education and have given curriculum writers a more well-defined goal for their product. The questions then arise: What elements in the history of music education in America led…

This article, the tenth in an occasional series on past treatments of major issues in arts education policy from antiquity through the twentieth century, discusses philosopher Avicenna's view that art's aesthetic value bestows intrinsic public benefits sufficient to command community support of the arts. By exploring Avicenna's comparison of the…

Secondary school theatre programs in the United States range from a single class or an annual play or musical to programs with comprehensive curriculums and production seasons headed by several certified theatre teachers. Whatever the size of the program, whenever adults are engaged in dynamic educational and artistic experiences with children…

This article represents differing perspectives on the creation and establishment of the Rhode Island Arts Learning Network (ALN). At the heart of this discussion is whether or not the Rhode Island task force in charge of this process took advantage of what noted public policy analyst John Kingdon refers to as a "policy window" where policy issues…

Asperger Syndrome (AS) and autism are two pervasive developmental disorders of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Individuals with AS may have exceptional speech and language abilities and difficulty establishing friendships with peers. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that all American children have the right to…

One of the author's main goals as an art teacher is to make sure that her students understand at least one technique that any artist might use to make a work of art look more interesting. While she teaches various techniques, she often faces the challenge of how to get her students to explore their own imaginations and feel confident in their…

Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party," an important icon of 1970s feminist art and a milestone in twentieth century art, consists of an enormous ceremonial banquet arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history. Inspired by this piece of art, the author devised a lesson for…

This paper profiles Faith Ringgold. The opening line of the beloved story "Tar Beach" resonates with the optimism that characterizes author-artist Faith Ringgold's outlook on life. Faith Ringgold has always cherished the inspiration found in stories of overcoming adversity--and her own family history is a revelation of strong women figures.…

Most human beings look at erosion as the destruction of a surface, but artists can see that erosion often creates indefinable beauty. Where do you see beauty in the breakdown? In this article, the author presents an innovative lesson that would allow students to observe both human and physical nature. In this activity students will create a work…

Art education is unique because it is driven far more by experiential involvement than by a predetermined curriculum. When a group of students creates a masterpiece, there are several outcomes. Each student contributes based on his or her strengths. Partial solutions placed into the learning pot by each student result in whole solutions. Because…