Download or read book Bridging Art Educators Through Arts-integrated Curriculum and Classroom Organization with Art Classrooms written by Jennifer Yoo and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis research investigates the practice of arts integration within K-8 classrooms in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). I am defining arts integration as a collaboration between both art and academic classroom teachers that balances both aspects of education in order to teach students. The goal is to research how teachers utilize arts integration in their classrooms and schools, and how they can inspire or encourage one another from different schools. Some questions for historical research before beginning the interview process were: How has "arts integration" been defined in the past, and how is it different from or similar to current views? What factors do art teachers consider important for planning, implementing, and assessing the process of arts integration and its effects in their classrooms? Focusing specifically with arts integration enthusiasts within Chicago, I interviewed professionals with different experiences with arts integration--four elementary school art teachers, two teaching artists and three Directors of Education from arts organizations that partner with CPS. The data for my study consisted of recordings from the hour-long phenomenological interviews, classroom observations, photographs of arts integration lessons in classrooms, and notes from both during and post-interviews. Once I started interviewing, some further questions that emerged were: How do arts integration enthusiasts personally define arts integration? What are their opinions regarding the use of arts integration in art classrooms? What does it mean to be an arts integration enthusiast, and where does his or her role fit into an arts-integrated education system? Interviewees on arts integration all emphasized the importance of teaching from artistic and academic perspectives. This is not always easy due to various reasons including time, budget, and lack of parallel planning times. Furthermore, many of the interview participants shared the idea that methods of arts integration are constantly evolving, and expressed the desire for more opportunities for collaboration between schools' academic teachers and art teachers through which they share lesson or unit plan ideas. After researching and analyzing the data, I recommend that more art teachers incorporate arts integration into their curriculum and classroom organization. Quality arts integration benefits student learning in the arts as well as in academic subjects. Students learn that the arts are a method for investigating many aspects of life. Arts integration builds connections between art and other teachers in the school community.