Inquiry II Seminar

Cristina,

This is an excellent topic. In terms of an approach for the next two weeks, you may wish to establish from the outset that English is fundamentally an arts-based discipline (e.g., Stevens, 2004). It is not a stretch at all to integrate the arts because the arts are by definition implicit (a key component of English, after all, is the “literary arts”). Subsequently, rather than focusing primarily on identifying strategies, you may wish to examine why an arts-based approach may be beneficial. Take a look at articles such as those by Gamwell (2005) and Hetland & Winner (2001) — articles that describe interventions and document the learning outcomes. As an educator, you want to be able to explain in what ways a particular method may be effective. (E.g., What attitudes and aptitudes might a particular approach foster and why might it be preferable to another approach?)

This promises to be an interesting study!

Teresa

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Albers, P. (2007). Finding the artist within: Creating and reading visual texts in the English language arts classroom. International Reading Assn.

Cornett, C. E. (1999). The Arts as Meaning Makers: Integrating Literature and the Arts throughout the Curriculum. Merrill Prentice-Hall, Inc., Order Processing, PO Box 11071, Des Moines, IA 50336-1071.

Cornett, C. E. (2006). Center Stage: Arts‐Based Read‐Alouds. The Reading Teacher, 60(3), 234-240.

Gamwell, P. (2005). Intermediate students’ experiences with an arts-based unit: An action research. Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l’éducation, 359-383.

Hetland, L., & Winner, E. (2001). The arts and academic achievement: What the evidence shows. Arts Education Policy Review, 102(5), 3-6.

Marshall, B. (2008). What do we know in English: Facts and fiction in an arts based English curriculum. English in Education, 40(3), 7-20.

Mello, R. (2001). The Power of Storytelling: How Oral Narrative Influences Children’s Relationships in Classrooms.

Miller, S. M. (2007). English teacher learning for new times: Digital video composing as multimodal literacy practice. English Education, 40(1), 61-83.

O’Hara, M. (1984). Drama in education: A curriculum dilemma. Theory into Practice, 23(4), 314-320.

Remer, J. (1990). Changing Schools through the Arts: How to Build on the Power of an Idea. American Council for the Arts, 1 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022-4201.

Rieg, S. A., & Paquette, K. R. (2009). Using drama and movement to enhance English language learners’ literacy development. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 36(2), 148.

Sinner, A., Leggo, C., Irwin, R. L., Gouzouasis, P., & Grauer, K. (2006). Arts-based educational research dissertations: Reviewing the practices of new scholars. Canadian Journal of education, 29(4), 1223-1270.

Stevens, D. (2004). The art of teaching secondary English: innovative and creative approaches. RoutledgeFalmer.

Spina, S. U. (2006). Worlds together… words apart: An assessment of the effectiveness of arts-based curriculum for second language learners. Journal of Latinos and education, 5(2), 99-122.

Hi Cristina,

Your research surely piques my interest! I would love to know and find out how creative arts can lend itself to enrich secondary English curriculum.

As you may have heard in my group meeting with Teresa this morning, Irene, Jose, and I are going to teach Macbeth with a focus on the performative aspects of the play. Unfortunately, I have been met with some resistance to incorporating memorization and performance in my unit planning. I have also been challenged (in a positive way) to deeply consider and research the value and learning benefits of memorizing and performing Shakespeare in the English classroom.

Therefore, I am intrigued to learn about your findings and see how they compare to and complement mine!

All the best! 🙂

p.s. I’d love to snag (borrow) your book on teaching Shakespeare to youth readers.

Hi Cristina,

I said I’d forward a reference in relation to the practice of grading:

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In point of fact, the first instance of grading students’ papers occurred at Cambridge University in 1792 at the suggestion of a tutor named William Farish. No one knows much about William Farish; not more than a handful have ever heard of him. And yet his idea that a quantitative value should be assigned to human thoughts was a major step toward constructing a mathematical concept of reality. If a number can be given to the quality of a thought, then a number can be given to the qualities of mercy, love, hate, beauty, creativity, intelligence, even sanity itself. When Galileo said that the language of nature is written in mathematics, he did not mean to include human feeling or accomplishment or insight. But most of us are now inclined to make these inclusions. Our psychologists, sociologists, and educators find it quite impossible to do their work without numbers. They believe that without numbers they cannot acquire or express authentic knowledge.

I shall not argue here that this is a stupid or dangerous idea, only that it is peculiar. What is even more peculiar is that so many of us do not find the idea peculiar. To say that someone should be doing better work because he has an IQ of 134, or that someone is a 7.2 on a sensitivity scale, or that this man’s essay on the rise of capitalism is an A- and that man’s is a C+ would have sounded like gibberish to Galileo or Shakespeare or Thomas Jefferson. If it makes sense to us, that is because our minds have been conditioned by the technology of numbers so that we see the world differently than they did. Our understanding of what is real is different. Which is another way of saying that embedded in every tool is an ideological bias, a predisposition to construct the world as one thing rather than another, to value one thing over another, to amplify one sense or skill or attitude more loudly than another. (Postman, 1982, p. 13)

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Reference

Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly: The surrender of culture to technology. Vintage.

Cristina,

I am very excited to see what you have to present to us once you are further along your research journey. Very interesting and relevant topic!

Ilana

Cristina,
Like others I am very interested in your inquiry! I love the idea of using art as a tool for teaching literature. As you know, the school that I’m doing my practicum at has a large Art program as well. Although I am not teaching any students from the program, the school community as a whole seems to appreciate art in its many forms. I know that Clayton is teaching an English class with some of the Byng Arts students perhaps you could share some ideas! I’m also quite interested in this idea from a First Nations point of view. Like many works of art, our pieces always tell a story whether it be carving, bead work or even a song. I feel as though whenever I think about bringing an Indigenous perspective into the English classroom I think of using poetry or oral storytelling, it would be nice to explore the use of other art forms as well.

I’m looking forward to seeing your ideas, as most assessment in English classrooms tends to privilege those students with advanced writing skills, and I think this train of thought could generate some very useful ideas to help adapt assessments for those students with linguistic exceptionalities, such as EL learners. Also, I am reminded also of an article we read last term that seems relevant to your topic. Check it out if you’re interested:

1. Barnes, N. S. (2009). Hands-On Writing: An Alternative Approach to Understanding Art. Art Education, 62(3), 40-46.

Cristina, I think I mentioned a little bit about this in class, but I love the idea of bringing other elements of art, besides literature, such as paintings, into the classroom to aid in teaching a text because I feel it adds to its interpretation and understanding. I read in an article somewhere that whether it is a song, or a photograph, or any other piece of art, it adds new elements to the meaning of the text and enriches the learning experience. I think having students create art in relation to the literature is a great way for them to represent what they have learned.

Best of luck, can’t wait to hear more.

Rita