| LEARNING THROUGH THE ARTS A NEWSLETTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS OF THE ARTS Summer, 1995
PRESENTATIONS: "Classroom Art: An Inclusion Communication Tool" Dr. Karenlee Alexander, Associate Professor of Education, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota, shared specific art/communication curriculum ideas she has developed over 25 years of teaching. Alexander showed slides of artwork created by students with special needs. Examples included paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures centered around students' feelings and inner struggles. Alexander explained how she uses art in inclusive classrooms to help students understand and respect each other. Students develop language and social skills through talking about their artwork in structured group discussions. Alexander concluded her presentation by demonstrating how students can be given hope in reaching their goals through visualizing and talking about the future. "Pizazz! Infusing the Arts Into Academic Learning" Dr. Lynne Raiser, Professor of Special Education, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida and Jenny Lyon, Teacher, S.P. Livingston School, Duval County District, Jacksonville, Florida, demonstrated how to teach academics through music, dance, drama, and art. With background music playing and wearing costumes of their own design, students from the University of North Florida, brought children's books to life. Workshop participants were actively involved in creating their own designs for the stories read. In addition, they learned about printmaking while they made styrofoam prints. POSTER SESSIONS: "Inclusion?? Have We Forgotten to Include the Art Teacher?" Dr. Beverly Levett Gerber, Special Education Department, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Connecticut, compared the attitudes towards mainstreaming of art, general education and special education teachers. There were significant differences between special education and general education teachers. The attitudes of general education teachers were more accepting of mainstreaming than either those of art or special education teachers. While the difference between the scores of the art and general education teachers was not statistically significant, the scores of the art teachers were closer to those of the special education teachers. Art teachers in the study had more mainstreaming experience than either the general or special education teachers. Their lower scores may reflect the disparity in their treatment as professionals. They had not been included in the mainstreaming process nor had they received the classroom support provided to the general education teachers. This study suggests the need to more fully include art teachers in educational decisions about the special education students in their classrooms. "Arts Integration to Facilitate Inclusion" Jim Hanstad, Project Artistic Director, Oaklawn Elementary School, Menomonie, Wisconsin, and Joan Tomfohr, Project Artistic Director, Menomonie Senior High School, Monomonie, Wisconsin, presented a variety of artwork and featured a public performance of traditional Native American stories. They described how the arts were used in the Menomonie schools to promote interaction and communication between special needs and regular education students. The arts were also used to facilitate collaboration among a varied teaching staff. A handout by Tim Lutz, Elementary General Music Educator at Oaklawn and Downsville Elementary Schools in Menomonie, provided sample music lessons that incorporated Native American music, dance, language, and instruments. EXHIBIT HALL: Maida Abrams and Louise Pascale, president and vice president of Very Special Arts Massachusetts, shared information about their new "Multi-Arts Resource Guide" in the exhibit hall . Many people stopped at their booth to watch the videotapes that supplement the arts program teaching guide. The VSA/MA guide was developed from fifteen years of school based arts programs in Massachusetts. It was designed to encourage teachers to use the arts as a vehicle for learning. The "Multi-Arts Resource Guide" is divided into six arts units that contain lessons on puppetry, movement, printmaking, collage, theatre arts, and a multimedia unit that focuses on developing positive self concepts. More information about this innovative progam can be obtained from: Very Special Arts Massachusetts
The second meeting of the Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts was held on Thursday, April 7th, 1994 in the Silverheels Room at the Marriott City Center Hotel. The group included teacher educators, practioners, Very Special Arts/ Massachusetts (VSA/MA) directors, and friends. Participants shared their involvement in the arts with each other. We discovered that it really is a small world! There were many overlaps, both in our professional contacts and in our shared experiences. The conversations continued over dinner where, we must confess, buffalo steak was enjoyed by the carnivores.
The Winter, 1994 issue (Vol 38, #2) of "Preventing School Failure" (Heldref Publications: Washington, DC) features Karenlee Alexander and Robert P. King as guest editors. The issue focuses on non-traditional approaches to the education of special education students and includes many articles on the arts. Among them are: (1) "Supportive Therapies for EBD and At-Risk Students: Rich, Varied, and Underused," by Robert P. King and Sharon A. Schwabenlender (2) "Beyond Drill and Practice: Using the Computer for Creative Decisionmaking," by Beverly Levett Gerber (3) "Creative Music Therapy and Facilitated Communication: New Ways of Reaching Students with Autism," by Ginger Clarkson (4) "Paint Talk: An Adaptive Art Experience Promoting Communication and Understanding Among Students in an Integrated Classroom," by Jeanne Carrigan (5) "Poetry Writing in the Classroom: Prevention and Intervention," by Karenlee Clarke Alexander and Dave Larkin (6) "Writing Therapy in the Classroom: A Case Study," by Virlie Nugent as told to Karenlee Clarke Alexander. A new book by Frances E. Anderson, "Art-Centered Education and Therapy for Children with Disabilities" (Charles C. Thomas: Springfield, Illinois), was published in April, 1994. It offers descriptions of children's development in art , provides information on adapting art lessons for students with disabilities, and includes chapters on infusing the arts into math, science, social studies, and language arts lessons. Lynne Raiser wrote the chapter on language arts. The book also provides information about art materials and where to locate them.
Over 200 teachers, from special education and general education, attended the fourth annual conference, "Art as the Fifth Academic." The May 3rd festival was chaired by Dr. Lynne Raiser, Professor of Special Education, University of North Florida, and was sponsored by the Arts Assembly of Jacksonville. Teachers could choose from 30 workshops that offered hands-on experiences in the arts. Music, art, drama , and dance workshops all focused on how to teach academics through the arts. A workshop titled, "Westward Ho," demonstrated ways to teach about westward migration history through the use of music, dance, and drama. Entertainment was provided by students from the Palm Avenue Exceptional Student Center. The students, who have developmental disabilities, received a standing ovation from the audience. Their musical efforts have been encouraged by their principal, Dr. Janetta Norman.
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SED/Arts Organization | SED/Arts References | NAEA Special Needs Issues Group | CEC Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts |