Art integration is a teaching method in which students create and express understanding via the use of an artistic medium. Learners participate in a creative process that connects one art form to another and introduces them to changing objects.

This method of instruction is based on the idea that learning should be active, immersive, developing, collaborative, problem-solving, and reflective. Learners can use art to make sense of what they've learned (construct understanding) and make their learning apparent in a variety of ways (demonstrate understanding).

Working in the arts encourages students to build innovative problem-solving abilities. Teaching through the arts can help students understand complex subjects by visualizing them. Integrating art with other subjects reaches out to students who might otherwise be disengaged from their studies. Art experiences improve critical thinking by helping students to be more deliberate and thorough in their observations of the environment.

What about art integration piqued your interest?

Art integration is appealing to me since it encourages active participation in teaching and learning activities, as well as experiential learning, realistic learning activities, collaboration, problem-solving abilities, and reflection. It also encourages foundation phase students to engage in authentic activities that have real-world applications in order to internalize new knowledge and abilities.

However, arts integration allows teachers to promote and support learners' developmental needs while also allowing learners to participate in fun teaching and learning activities that foster collaboration and connection while also promoting learners' natural curiosity, creativity, and imaginative abilities. Furthermore, arts integration allows foundation phase students to improve their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills by engaging in authentic learning activities that foster the ability to recognize the many ways in which they are not only connected to each other but also to the world around them.

What aspects of art integration did you find difficult?

Arts integration is often difficult for music instructors because it takes a lot of work, needs collaboration with other teachers, and can, unfortunately, promote collaboration with other teachers and be biased toward one subject over another. Because learners have a hard time interacting with art, there must be a seamless integration of two or more disciplines, and both subjects must be experienced and engaged at the same time within an activity.