ArtPlantae Today

There was much interest in last week’s article about the art strategies that can be used to enhance science communication, so I thought we’d take a few moments looking at the strategies that were used by Buczynski et al. (2012). The strategies they used came from Julia Marshall’s paper, Five Ways to Integrate: Using Strategies from Contemporary Art.

In her article, Marshall (2010) cites studies explaining how integrating art with other disciplines is worthwhile. She also provides teachers with specific ideas on how to integrate art into all subject areas.

The strategies defined by Marshall (2010) have one thing in common — they are strategies artists use “to manipulate ideas and imagery to make meaning” (Marshall 2010). Through the manipulation of ideas, artists re-frame information in direct or creative ways. Here is a quick look at these strategies and how they enhance learning.

Depiction:
A straightforward approach that involves drawing or creating from observation. Scientific illustration and botanical illustration fall into this category. According to Marshall (2010), this strategy is appropriate to use with all ages (preschool to adult) and aids in learning because it requires a learner to observe a subject, reproduce a subject and reflect upon the subject’s construction.


Extension/Projection:
This strategy calls upon artists to make predictions — to reflect on how a situation will change or to reflect on what might be possible. The implementation of this strategy aids learning because it requires learners of all ages to study an idea before they can think about how it could change (Marshall, 2010).


Reformatting:
This strategy requires learners to see things in a new context. Doing so is beneficial to learning because seeing a subject or a concept in a different way results in a new understanding of the subject or concept (Marshall, 2010). This strategy can be used in middle school and high school classrooms (Marshall, 2010).


Mimicry:
Mimicking the methods of others is simply doing what others do. Mimicking is beneficial because it provides an opportunity for experiential learning; this strategy can be implemented in grades K-12 (Marshall, 2010).


Metaphor:
The creation of metaphors requires identifying differences between similar entities. Creating metaphors aids learning because it requires analytical thinking and provides a way to identify connections between disciplines (Marshall, 2010). Marshall states this strategy is best used with high school students.

To learn more about each of these strategies, read suggestions about how they can be used in the classroom, and to view examples of art created through the use of these strategies, download a copy of Marshall (2010). A link to her paper is available on the website of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at the University of Northern Colorado.

Literature Cited
Marshall, Julie. 2010. Five ways to integrate: Using strategies from contemporary art. Art Education. 63(3): 13-19. Web.
http://www.arts.unco.edu/ciae/institute/documents/Articles/Marshall-Five%20Ways%20to%20Integrate.pdf
[accessed 19 July 2012]

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