ARTFUL LEARNING® stimulates and deepens academic learning through the arts..

Artful Learning is a transformational learning model that empowers educators to use the arts and the artistic process to awaken and sustain the love of learning for all students. Based on over twenty years of intensive collaboration and refinement, field research and implementation with leading educators, researchers and practitioners of the model, the Artful Learning Sequence and Model is a framework that educators can use to revitalize their curriculum and their teaching practice.

Grounded in the artistic process, this extensive, research-proven professional development program gives educators the tools to apply the Artful Learning methodology over a three-year implementation process, ultimately building a sustainable, thriving learning community.

Initiated by American music icon Leonard Bernstein and realized by thousands of people around the nation, Artful Learning is changing the landscape of teaching and learning. Bernstein's vision was to use music and the other visual and performing arts as a means of instilling a lifelong love of learning in students. Artful Learning embeds the arts within the learning process through a carefully researched, concept-based, interdisciplinary model that has proven to increase comprehension in students as well as improve academic achievement.

Artful Learning employs an interdisciplinary framework that is anchored by a central Concept while posing a Significant Question that allow educators to teach a broad spectrum of rigorous academic content. Studying through the lens of the arts generates a measurably deeper level of comprehension and retention in students PreK through high school.

Retrieved from Artful Learning/ Leonard Bernstein

Collaboration

The calibration of arts integration across all grades at Arkansas Arts Academy requires continuous evaluation and review. In 2021 AAA began seeking a best practice curriculum model to use at the elementary school that would align with the newly adopted curriculum and blend with our districts mission and vision of arts integration. AAA was also seeking an instruction model that would have; embedded professional development/training, extensive support, a multitude of instructional resources, a successful network, exceptional trainers and proven national success.

After an extensive search, AAA adopted the highly acclaimed pedagogical Artful Learning © model. This foundational methodology ensures that students, in all content areas and within all ability levels, receive concept-based arts integration instruction developed as an interdisciplinary unit of study. Utilizing the arts and the artistic process to drive student understanding of content and knowledge acquisition addresses our core expectation. All students will receive highly engaging, rigorous and innovative learning that advances them to the next level of their educational journey. Through a distinctive four-phase sequence for curriculum planning, delivery and assessment as well as identified strategies for school transformation Artful Learning has created common language and understanding for grades K-6. Now in year three, the Artful Learning approach has changed the landscape of the AAA K-6 Elementary campus.

With the successful Artful Learning approach at the AAA Elementary school,  K-6 students have shown academic success in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math through an interdisciplinary framework, anchored by a central concept and posed through significant guiding questions. This approach has increased student engagement, classroom participation and knowledge retention within a broad spectrum of rigorous academic content. Studying through the lens of the arts has generated a measurably deeper level of comprehension and retention in students K through 6th grade.

Artful Learning Phase II:

With the success of Artful Learning at the elementary school, AAA is ready to move the foundational methodology into its 7th-8th grade to advance its middle level learners.   AAA would like to extend the instructional pedagogy used at our K-6, incorporating leveled support and creating an innovative and highly engaging “middle school model” approach to establish an environment where our 7th and 8th grade students can exceed and succeed, advancing through the instructional consistency they have received at the elementary level.

Through the the innovative model, our goals are to Increase student engagement allowing students to experience higher levels of understanding through metaphorical thinking and creative responses, demonstrate improved academic performance to increase self esteem and personal value, to establish a school culture and community that is prepared for high school which advantages of expanded visions and differentiated learning opportunities.