Abstract

With the continual use of standardized testing, teaching art in schools, particularly elementary schools, often falls to generalist teachers with little to no experience in art. While art can be integrated into daily curriculum for deeper and lasting learning, without the proper training or support, generalist teachers are left to implement art as they encountered it in the past, if at all. Artistic anxiety and culturally misappropriated artistic experiences result in the arts being used inefficiently or avoided completely. Creating a curriculum for preservice elementary generalist teachers, I explored art integration through developing artistic confidence, skill, and identity for 16 non-artists in a 3-credit term course that included an art-teaching practicum component for participants. While the majority of participants finished the course with a positive artistic experience--many declared that they had started on an artistic path and that they looked forward to integrating the arts in their future curricula--it was evident that a course covering art integration, developing an artistic self, and completing a practicum left participants rushed and overwhelmed. Some even closed themselves off to certain projects, afraid of failure. To help preservice elementary generalists connect to art as a learning tool, I suggest establishing an arts integration minor that requires a full-semester studio course focused only on developing an artistic identity. The course should build artistic confidence and habits that preservice teachers can take into practicum courses, which focus on experientially integrating the arts in lesson planning and teaching.

Degree

MA

College and Department

Fine Arts and Communications; Art

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2024-04-15

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd13181

Keywords

art integration, artistic self, artistic confidence, artistic skill, identity, curriculum, preservice, elementary

Language

english

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