At every stage of development prior to reaching post-secondary education; students are practicing visual thinking skills.

Margo Dupre, M. Ed.Images

(Clip art , n.d.)

Developing partnerships and participating in collaborations with artist teachers, visiting artists, and art educational programs; core content teachers may experience more confidence in actively creating visual studies throughout the K -12 educational experience for students.

… “teaching about art; teaching through art; and teaching with art” (Oreck, 2004, January).

Image (Clip art , n.d.)

What art instructional strategies can support literacy and build a stronger foundation for students to develop their cognitive skills, resulting in college and career ready young adults?

Image (Clip art , n.d.)

Nurturing Visual Art Thinking

Art-based literacy programs in elementary classes focused on visual art thinking can encourage a positive attitude toward reading.

“ Let’s take a picture walk”

Image (Clip art , n.d.)

Provide middle school students with the opportunity to combine visual art with information literacy skills.

Students tend to retain more information when a creative product is used as a tool to record what is learned.

Practicing Visual Art Thinking

Image of tree leaves made of books(Clip art , n.d.)

Refining Visual Thinking

The high school student requires:

Opportunity to observe teacher expected behavior

Provisions of text and image resource information

Opportunity to engage in discussions that allow diverse viewpoints

Provision of differentiated learning that is aligned with abilities and understanding of concepts

Elaborate challenges to resolve problems and make meaningful connections to real-life experiences

Image of old man made of books(Clip art , n.d.)

Reference

Franco, M., & Unrath, K. (2014). Carpe diem: Seizing the common core with visual thinking strategies in the visual arts classroom. Art Education, 67(1), 28 -32. Retrieved from http://www.arteducators.org/research/art-education

Oreck, B. (2004, January). The artistic and professional development of teachers, a study of teacher’s attitudes toward and use of the arts in teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(1), 55- 69. Retrieved from doi: 10.1177/0022487103260072

Gaiter, J. M. E. (2008, Fall). A former student’s perception of not gifted, just different: A case study. Gifted Child Today, 31(4), 46 – 58. doi: 10.4219/gct-2008-802

Holdren, T. Shoemaker (2012, May). Using art to assess reading comprehension and critical thinking in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(8), 692-703. Retrieved from doi: 10.1002/JAAL.00084