Arts Learning and 21st Century Skills
Three Arts Education Perspectives on the Work of the Future
When you examine students' works of art or watch their performances, what do you see? Certainly, you see evolving talent, as well as the expression of emotion and artistic imagination. You see the magic of a creative experience—reflections of a period in the school day during which the urgency of finding the "right" answer fades and self-expression becomes paramount. You see echoes of the human spirit.
But what about more immediate, tangible challenges? Can students' learning in the arts stand as evidence that they are developing what have come to be called 21st century skills? Will making, studying and responding to art help prepare all students for work in a global economy driven by innovation?
Consider this: Responding to visual images or artistic performances requires intense observation and deep inquiry, as well as articulate communication. Creating works of art involves not only creativity, but also thoughtful preparation, sophisticated planning and extensive problem-solving. May the three stories that follow inspire you to imagine and further explore what arts learning might mean to our next generation of scientists, inventors, visionaries and entrepreneurs.
Arts Learning and Critical Thinking
Terry Barrett
Art criticism may seem far removed from the world of scientific research, technical innovation and business decisions. But examining and responding to works of visual art does more than we imagine to prepare students for the critical thinking challenges of a 21st century economy.
"The processes used in art criticism are sophisticated intellectual strategies that we use in all aspects of life," says Terry Barrett, a professor of art education at Ohio State University, an artist and the author of several books on art criticism. "In a society that wants to look quickly at everything," he says, "art criticism teaches students to look carefully and construct meaning from what they see. They learn to respectfully listen to one another in group conversations." He thinks such experiences are important in the development of critical thinking, especially in a democratic society. Barrett's goal in visiting classrooms, as well as in working with adults, is helping people find their own personal meaning in works of art.
Jerry Tollifson
Jerry Tollifson, an artist and former art education consultant for the Ohio Department of Education, says taking time to talk about art with students encourages scientific thinking.
"Describing a visual artwork and analyzing its line, color and subject matter, is very similar to the methodical work of a scientist," says Tollifson. "But critical response to art also encourages qualitative thinking. Like many innovators in science and other fields, art critics have to look at alternatives, sometimes go out on a limb and always justify their ideas about what is going on in the work."
Both Barrett and Tollifson think talking about art improves art making, but they also see benefit in talking and writing about art throughout the curriculum.
Arts Learning and Imaginative Response
The Listening Project was theater students' response to the closing of Antioch College. They explored the interface between the college and Yellow Springs.
The innovative challenges ahead of our students will require them to respond imaginatively to change and adversity.
In Yellow Springs, Ohio, college students, college faculty and community members did just that by demonstrating how to meet change and challenge with artistry.
In June 2007, trustees of Antioch University announced that declining enrollment at their flagship institution, historic Antioch College in Yellow Springs, had led to a dramatic decision: they would close the school effective Fall 2008.
Students and citizens issued an outcry. Alumni scrambled to raise funds in an attempt to derail the closing of this historic liberal arts college, known for the co-op approach to higher education. But visual artist Migiwa Orimo did what creative people do.
"I was working with Louise Smith, a professor in Antioch's theater department, to design an artist residency for Fall 2007," she remembers. "When the announcement came, we felt a responsibility as artists to do something. We decided to explore the interface between the community and the college."
She called the resulting work of performance art "The Listening Project."
Migiwa Orimo
"Students went to the downtown area carrying suitcases they had designed," she says. "Each student approached a citizen, opened the suitcase and began a conversation."
"Art is not a product but a catalyst," says Orimo, reflecting on the project. "We have to be brave to think that there might not be a whole lot of product at the end."
Could "The Listening Project" be called a "solution" to the loss of Antioch college?
Of course, results of artworks can never be measured wholly, but consider this: When Antioch closed its doors in Fall 2008, the community responded in an unexpected way. Faculty members, citizens of Yellow Springs and alumni from around the country launched the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute—a school without a campus that recreates the Antioch educational experience across the community.
Classes meet at churches, homes and other community locations. Some are taught by faculty, others by alumni or experts outside academia. In the Fall, Nonstop had 22 fulltime students and more than 50 part-time students.
In the early days of Nonstop Institute, Chris Hill, a media arts professor and organizer described it as "a bridge to an independent Antioch College in the future."
That goal is now in sight. As Nonstop was beginning its second semester, Antioch University trustees signed a letter of intent paving the way for a new independent liberal arts college in Yellow Springs. How often are artistic acts—like the opening of those suitcases—the first opening of minds that help communities see new possibilities?
Arts Learning and Global Awareness
Members of Zivili Dance Ensemble help students gain global awareness.
Competing as technical problem-solvers with workers in India, China and Singapore is only one part of thriving in a global economy. Today's students also will need to transcend language and cultural differences in the workplace. Some will travel the world on a regular basis or even live abroad. And they will need to find collaborative solutions for global problems.
Seeing global awareness dawning on young faces is one thing Melissa Obenauf of Zivili Dance Ensemble loves about being a teaching artist. Her company's artist residencies in Ohio schools introduce students to dances, music and folklore of Croatia and other southern Slavic nations.
But creating a residency with Zivili adds more than singing and dancing to the school day.
Ohio students and their peers in Slavic nations learn about one another's countries and exchange emails. "They find where the other country is located," says Obenauf. "They learn about one another's traditions and celebrations. They see a different way of life."
Melissa Obenauf
Students also gain appreciation for their own cultural experiences as they construct vests to wear during performance. The vests are decorated with symbols reflecting life as they know it. "The activities open the door to new ways of thinking," says Obenauf. "Students begin to connect their own lives with the lives of others. Something that they may have thought of initially as strange becomes just another way to do something—a way that is as beautiful as their way."
How will those future workers and citizens respond to global challenges? Perhaps cross-cultural arts experiences can open students' eyes, minds and hearts to the beauty of diversity and equip them to find common ground in times of global conflict and crisis.
This article was published in April 2009, Volume 5, Issue 1.
