THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

TheCaseforInquiryBasedArtEducation
JessicaPaolo
Writing104
UniversityofRhodeIsland
26May2016

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

Abstract
Thispaperexploresthebenefitsoftheinquirybasedteachingstyleinrelationtoarteducation.It
examinesthenumerousskillsassociatedwiththisformofinstruction,andhowtheyaidin
studentsuccessinmanydifferentareas.Theseclaimsaresupportedbymultiplestudiesthatwere
conductedbetweentheyearsof2009and2015,whichexaminedtheeffectivityofinteractive
instructioninanartclassroomsetting.Theevidenceprovidedfullysupportstheimplementation
ofinquirybasededucation,andadvocatesfortheextinctionofthedictativeapproach.Assuch,
thispaperalsodiscusseshowtobettereducateteachersconcerningthismethodology,andbring
ittoclassroomsallovertheUnitedStates.

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

TheIssue
Recently,moreandmorepublichighschoolshavesetasidefundsdedicatedto
supportingfineartsprograms.Thisisduetothereleaseofevidencesupportingthestatementthat
artclassesproducewellroundedstudents,whoaremorelikelytosucceedacademically
(Ruppert,2006).However,theoveralleffectivenessofthesecoursesisstronglydependantupon
thewayinwhichtheyaretaught.Highschoolartteachersaroundthecountryhavedebated
whichmethodologyismostsuccessfulsincetherebirthofseriousarteducationintheearly
nineteeneighties,andarestillexperimentingtoday.
Thepredicamentathandisthatnooneiscertainwhichteachingmethodologyallows
studentsthegreatestpotentialforsuccess.Inordertoaddressthis,researchershaveassessed
numerousdifferentstrategiesbaseduponstudentsabilitytounderstandandapplythecontent
theylearn,andcreateartworkdisplayingcreativityortechnicalskill(Tomljenovic,2015,p.75).
Itisvitalthattheresultsofthisresearchbesynthesized,sothatteachersmaybecomeeducated
ontheeffectivityofnumerousdifferentmethodologiesofartinstruction.Withthisknowledge,
thesecoursesmaythenbetaughtinamannerthatallowsstudentsthegreatestpotentialfor
personalgrowthandsuccess.
TheSolution
Afterathoroughanalysisofmanydifferentstudiesconductedbetweentheyearsof2009
and2015,Ihaveconcludedthatthere
is
infactanartteachingstrategythatisoverwhelmingly
moreeffectivethantherest.Itisreferredtoastheinteractiveorinquirybasedmethod,and
isverysimilartotheSocraticapproachtolearning.

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

Inthismodel,studentscommunicatewithoneanotherandtheteacher.Theypose
questions,discusstheeffectivityofdifferentartmakingtechniques,andworktogetherinorder
togeneratemorecreativeideasforprojects.Theteacherplaysaveryactiveroleinthe
classroom,andparticipatesinstudentdiscussioninordertoaccelerategrowth.Inaddition,the
instructorassistsstudentswiththeuseofmanydifferentmaterials,andintroducesnewconcepts
tothemoveranextendedperiodoftime(Tomljenovic,2015,p.76).Thisisveryconduciveto
artrelatededucation,becausesuccessinthefieldrequiresagreatdealofpractice,selfdiscovery,
andexperimentation.Assuch,studentswhoaretaughtinthisamannerevenhaveagreatersense
ofself,andfeelmorecomfortablecommunicatingtheirideastoothers(Walker,2014).
Therefore,itisofmyopinionthatartteachersacrosstheUnitedStatesshouldimplementthis
formofeducation,andabandonlesseffectivemethods.
Theselesseffectivemethodsdonotallowformuchinteraction.Teachersmerelydictate
tostudentsimportant,artrelatedconcepts,anddonotallowforthepresenceofinquiry.This
styleoflearningislesspersonal,andactuallystuntsstudentsabilitytodevelopbothcreativity
andskillsinawaythatdemonstratesartisticmaturity.Theseassertionsaresupportedbya2015
studythatcomparedtheinteractiveanddictativeapproachestoarteducation.Thosewholearned
inthetraditional,noninteractivemannerprovedtobelessskillfulwhenhandlingartmaking
materialsandcreatingpiecesthatconveyedsignificantmeaning.Incontrast,studentstaughtwith
theinquirybasedstyleappearedtobemuchmoresuccessfulwiththis,andevendemonstrateda
greatermasteryofkeyartrelatedterminology(Tomljenovic,2015,p.8688).Interactive
instructionallowsforstudentstogainbothartmakingandcommunicationskills,makingitthe

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

mosteffectiveformofeducationavailable.Assuch,itonlymakessensethattheinteractive
methodbeputtouseinartclassroomsmoreoften.
DiscussionofImplementation
Inordertoputthisintopractice,thereneedstobemoreeducationavailableforart
teachers,alongwithactiveexperimentationwithintheclassroomsthemselves.Ibelievethatthe
easiestwaytoimplementthiswouldbethroughthemassreleaseofstudiesthathaveprovedjust
howeffectiveinquirybasedinstructionis.Whenthisdataisdeliveredintheformof
highinterestinformationalarticles,itismorelikelytobereadandunderstood.Byreleasinga
streamofevidencesupportingmoreinteractiveartclasses,instructorswillbeinclinedtoreview
thefactsandconsiderexperimentingwithafewtechniquesintheirownclassrooms.Thisisof
coursethemostimportantfactorinbringingaboutchange.Inorderfortheretobeasignificant
increaseininquirybasedarteducation,teachershavetotryitfirst,andwitnessitspower.
Overall,inorderforthemethodologytogainpopularity,itneedstobediscussed,andtriedmore
often.
TheBenefits
Aspreviouslydiscussed,therearemultiplebenefitsofarteducationandthe
inquirybasedapproach.Studentswhoareheavilyinvolvedintheseprogramshavedisplayed
incredibleskillinmath,reading,cognitiveability,criticalthinking,andverbalskill.Arts
learningcanalsoimprovemotivation,concentration,confidence,andteamwork(Smith,2009).
However,thiscanonlyoccurinschoolsthatnurturestudentsindividualinterestsinthearts,and
theinquirybasedmethodprovidesthis.Therefore,itsimplementationincreasesthelikelihoodof
successoutsideofthefield,aswell.

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION

Evenmorespecifically,aneffectiveeducationinarthasbeenlinkedtostudentsabilities
tounderstandfigurativelanguage(KentuckyDepartmentofEducation,2010,p.33).Inthe
creationofart,manycomplicated,importantmessagesmustbeexpressedintheformofsymbols
orsimpleimages.Studentswhomaystruggletoconveyorunderstandtheseconceptscandiscuss
themwiththeartteacherorpeers,andgenerateamoreclearunderstandingofatopic.This
knowledgecanthenbeappliedtoliterature,andaidinanunderstandingofverbalorwritten
metaphors.
Ofcourse,itshouldalsobenotedthateffectiveartbaseddiscussioncanfortifysocratic
discussionsrelatedtoanysubject,whichisyetanotherbenefitthattheinquirybasedmethod
provides.
Theoveralltrendhereisthat,throughtheinteractionsthatoccurinartclassrooms,studentsgain
abetterunderstandingofhowtosimplifyandcommunicatecomplexthoughts.Suchaskillis
obviouslyveryimportanttostudentsuccess,andisthemainreasontheinquirybasedmethodis
soeffective.
DiscussionandConclusion
Thebenefitsofaneducationinartareinnumerable,especiallywhentheclassistaughtin
themosteffectivewaypossible.Ifirmlybelievethataninteractiveclassroomsetting,inwhich
studentsandtheteachercanactivelyengageinconversationallowsforthegreatestamountof
growthtooccur.Studentsarefreetoexperimentwithdifferentmaterialsandideas,andusethe
experiencesofothersinordertofortifytheirownunderstandingsofimportantartrelated
vocabularyandtechniques.Itisduetothesereasonsthattheinquirybasedapproachtoart
educationshouldbereadilyencouragedandimplicatedinschoolsnationwide.

THECASEFORINQUIRYBASEDARTEDUCATION