Arts in Education Research Projects
2002- 2008

As part of our partnership with Department of Education, Maui District, in the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program, Maui Arts & Cultural Center has conducted research for the past six years at three schools on Maui.

Kula Elementary School

From fall 2002 to spring 2005, ten teachers engaged in action research to answer these questions:

Does an arts integrated reading curriculum affect reading comprehension and attitudes towards reading?

Is the effect compounded over time?

Teachers collected test scores, student work, observations, interviews and check lists in order to answer this question.
Their conclusions were:

• An arts integrated reading program does improve comprehension on many levels for most students, particularly those that struggle with traditional methods of teaching.
• The key to this improvement is student engagement and the fact that the arts use many different learning modalities.
• In order to be successful, teachers must be skilled in their use of standards based arts lessons that are carefully adapted to fit into a reading curriculum.
• Professional development in arts integration and assistance from trained artist mentors are crucial components to success.
• Once a teacher discovers the power of teaching through the arts, they are “hooked” and will continue to use this amazing tool to reach all learners in the classroom.

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This project began in fall 2005, was completed in spring 2007, and focused on the effects of a specific creative writing program along with visual arts lessons. Nine teachers the first year and 12 the second participated in “Improving Writing through Image Making” which included 6-8 week residencies from writer Paul Wood and visual artist Michael Takemoto. Teachers examined how the professional development impacted their writing lessons and what affect the curriculum had on students’ writing, specifically their ability to generate ideas and their word choice in writing.

First year conclusions:

• Teachers grew in their knowledge of art and writing content.
• It encouraged them to establish a trusting learning environment.
• As a result of the new learning, students were encouraged to develop the capacity to think imaginatively which improved their writing.
• Teachers are better able to plan and integrate meaningful arts based instruction.

• Improvement in student writing was highest with teachers who followed up with Wood’s strategies after he left the classroom. The more instruction in imaginative writing techniques, the higher the scores in the identified traits.
• Teachers reported that the following skills improved: use of imagination, creativity, confidence in writing, formulating ideas, enjoyment of writing, understanding of the writing process, and use of detail.
• All of these, except for details, are not measurable through a student achievement writing product. It is qualitative information. However, if students’ attitude, imagination and creativity increase, we hope their scores will improve over time.
• The meaningful impact of arts integrated curriculum is global in nature, like the General Learner Outcomes; it is an overarching influence on achievement.

To order a free copy of short round-up (DVD) on this Kihei project,
email: info@mauiarts.org

For more detailed information on these two projects, go to:
5-Years of Research - PDF file
or
Waking up the Imagination through Image Making - PDF file

For information on national research in arts education,
go to www.ape-arts.org

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The first school in the State of Hawai’i to fully implement an arts integrated curriculum, Pömaika’i Elementary School (K-5), opened in Kahului, Maui on July 30, 2007 with 340 students. An ArtsPartner School with Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Pömaika’i (blessed in Hawaiian), presents a unique opportunity for the Hawai’i ’95 Team to observe and document the impact of arts integration in a whole school model. Since the majority of teachers have little experience with arts integration, many hours of professional development along with an 8-week drama residency has been provided. During this first year the training for teachers has focused on using drama strategies to teach other subjects and as tools for thinking. The strategies of focus, silent transition, and neutral are used daily for behavior management and for effective transitions from one activity to another. Goals for Year One:

• Collect baseline data on attitudes within the school community on arts integrated instruction.
• Collect baseline data on students’ academic achievement in reading.
• Provide professional development for teachers and direct services for students in integrated drama strategies proven to effectively improve reading comprehension and students’ time on task.
• Provide time for teachers to articulate on connecting the drama strategies to reading benchmarks.
• Provide time for teachers to reflect on their learning and share strategies with each other.

YEAR ONE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• What are the foundational beliefs about arts integration at Pomaika’i?
• What are the drama arts integration practices that are occurring at Pomaika’i?
• What is the impact of arts integration on attitudes about Pomaika’i?

Preliminary results on year-one data collected will be available in June 2008.
For more information, contact Susana Browne at susana@mauiarts.org