Barbetta Parker 1
Julie Barbetta Parker
Dr. Kelly Hrenko
AED 321 Principles And Procedures In Art Education
9 May 2016
Neuroscientists and psychologists have been very vocal in their belief that
art making strengthens cognition and readies students' minds for productivity and
problem solving in school. This has resulted in a growing movement towards
strengthening art programs and building art education into school wide curricula.
Recent developments in psychology and neuroscientific research has resulted in an
abundance of encouraging literature concerning art and cognition and the importance
of art education. This paper will describe the origins behind the current educational
theories in art and cognition that are relevant to our students today. I will also
describe and reflect on the history of art education and what examples from our past
should continue to influence curriculum approaches. Curriculum approaches that bear
in mind the global challenges our kids will inherit with strategies to prepare them with
healthy cognition.
Slide 2. Cognition is traditionally defined as the mental action or process of
acquiring knowledge as it relates to conscious intellectual activity as thinking,
reasoning and remembering. The word dates back to ancient greece with
Aristotle's Theories of Cognition. Aristotle brought attention to the "inner workings of
the mind and how they affect the human experience" and, he focused on "cognitive
areas pertaining to memory, perception and mental imagery"(Matlin 4). In the 13th
century, psychologist St. Thomas Aquinas influenced the field of cognition with his
study of behavior which he divided into two categories: 1. Cognitive (how we know the
world), and 2. Affective (how we understand the world via feelings and emotions),
(Coren, Ward &Enns 9). Under Aquinas influential concepts we see see that emotions
were seen as affecting cognition, but were not considered (what we now know as) a
function of the brain operating alongside reason, perception and mental imagery.
Another pivotal figure is Jean Piaget who was a french clinical psychologist in the
mid 1900's. He focused on child development in his pioneering Theory of Cognitive
Development. His studies emphasized humans' abilities to engage in abstract symbolic
reasoning by problem solving through theory, metaphor and, complex analogy (Wiki
Web). His Constructivist Philosophy of Education focused on "how humans make
meaning in relation to the interaction between their experiences and their ideas."
(Cherry, Web). His research supported his theory that children's play and, exploration
is a necessary and important part of students' cognition (Wiki, Web). In this light, one
may conclude that art practices support problem solving objectives in childhood
learning by providing personal narrative building opportunities by way of metaphor,
symbols and, play. In the 1950's while Piaget was practicing at the University of
Geneva, the Cognitive Revolution was gaining momentum in the United States.
Slide 3. In psychologist George Miller's historical perspective, the cognitive
science of the 1950's cognitive revolution was; "the product of a time when
philosophy, psychology, anthropology and, linguistics were redefining themselves and
computer science and neuroscience as disciplines were coming into existence."(Miller
141). The six fields that are connected in a hexagon in slide 3, represented an area of
interdisciplinary inquiry that was well defined by 1978 (Miller 143). Collaboration
between leaders in the disciplines became necessary to foster growth in all fields.
However, agenda's within the movement trended towards research in information
processing for the advancement of artificial intelligence. This trend influenced
education, according to Jerome Brunner, because the trend slowed down the
movement's original mission, which was to further understand human brain
intelligence. Such a mission would be thwarted for the next few decades with lasting
effects on public education in the U.S.
Jerome Bruner in 1990 describes the cognitive revolution as setting out to:
"discover and describe formally the meanings that human beings created out of their
encounters with the world" and, "it focused on the symbolic activities that human
beings employed in constructing and in making sense not only of the world, but of
themselves" (Blatt-Gross 356). However, the movement's original vision, Bruner
argues, becomes dominated by concerns of information processing over formation of
meaning due to the competitive demands of the information age. He continues;
"Whereas a computational model of the mind is concerned with the rules of
information processing, cultural psychology is aimed at understandeng the making of
meaning that is uniquely human, and an essential component of meaningful
education." (Blatt Gross 356). One would think that the Cognitive Revolution would
have an positive impact on art education advocacy. Unfortunately the dominance of
information processing over cultural psychology would spill into agenda's for America's
education system at the expense of prioritizing adequate cultural and social
enrichment opportunities provided by the arts). In the 1990's technology in
neuroscience would start to set the stage for strengthening art programs in public
schools.
The field of Neuroscience In the 1990's would play a pivotal role in cementing the
concept of emotion in cognition with the development of fMRI's (functional magnetic
resonance imaging). The discovery of blood flow to the brain in accordance with
emotions strengthen educational theories that the brain depends on social and
emotional input to process and respond to information. This fortuitous scientific
evidence brings feelings into the realm of cognition and sets the stage for elevating the
arts' status in school. Blatt-Gross explains why this is so: "Because many people have
dismissed art making as a social and emotional rather than a cognitive endeavor
throughout much of history, art has often struggled to maintain it's place in
education." (Blatt-Gross 354). The stance that the arts primary purpose is emotional
and social well being now apply's to the well being of cognition.
Side 4. Since the 1990's (also known as The Decade of The Brain) continuing
research with fMRI's , "neuroscientific studies are beginning to explain some of our
most confounding traits, namely empathy, altruism and, the resulting behaviors that
have bewildered the competitive perspective of evolutionary theorists for years."
(Blatt-Gross 354). The discovery of mirror neurons (cells that light up in correlation
with actions and emotions of another human we are in the presence of or interacting
with) are specialized cells that are said to offer a "biological explanation for empathetic
and altruistic behaviors that require individual sacrifice for group or third party benefit."
(Blatt-Gross 354).
This was of great interest to anthropologists for it establishes that in early
man,social and emotional cognition evolved in the brain as a survival mechanism.
Emotion in cognition in early man allowed for patterns of trust and cooperation that
are played out by way of symbolic structures, language, invention and, exploration. All
of these aspects of cognition were influencing one another and manifesting themselves
in artistic expression and symbolic inquiry in the resulting early societies of man. It is
also interesting to consider the role of emotion in cognition as it impacts learning in
the context of human identity.
With respect to identity and personal history, Immordino-Yang, cognitive
neuroscientists and educational psychologist cautions against over reliance on imaging
technology to answer questions about human behaviors and motivation when she
states: "Although this internalization of another's situation can be automatic, The
representation of another's situation is constructed and experienced on one's own self
in accordance with cognitive and emotional preferences, memory, cultural knowledge,
and neurosycholological predispositions." (Blatt-Gross 355). Immordino-Yang's
perspective is in tune with the historic theories of cognition and the nature of being
human that we looked at earlier. Aristotle's view endures today: "that all peoples'
concepts and all of their knowledge is based in perception" (Wiki. / Aristotle). These
nuances of identity and perception are expressed in art practices and works of art.
Slide 5. The visual arts serve as and important framework for giving shape to the
shapeless areas of human experience outside the sphere of language. This framework
is exemplified by great works of Art. For example, Michelangelo's Atlas is one of 40
unfinished statues commissioned for Pope Julius's tomb. Jeremy Angier explains how
stone and intellect merge into meaning through creative genius:
For Michelangelo, the block of stone was a metaphor for the human condition.
The body, the material world, the block, was a vehicle or container for the soul,
the captive spirit, the idealized conception of the work of art. The mind and
matter were bound together yet separate (Angier 2).
Atlas also gives shape to the inner workings of the mind through the fascinating
concept of Non Finito (Unfinished). While giving shape to intellect, Atlas is also the
reminder that expressing and realizing perfection is beyond human reach and, "The
works he envisioned were of such a nature that he found it impossible to express such
grandiose and awesome conceptions with his hands, and he often abandoned his
works, or rather ruined them... for fear that he might seem less than perfect." (Vasari
472). Art practices benefit students with the challenge of striving toward
unpredictable outcomes. Art practices also require focused problem solving along with
flexability for discovering solutions for success.
Art in education serves as an important role in teaching students to value
and preserve arts of the past while, contributing to culture with new and relevant
forms of expression for our time. Angier defines an artist role as being a universal
voice of history: "The voice of history needs a mouthpiece, and when sufficient energy
is focused at a point in history, at a cusp of change, then the appropriate mouth piece
will appear." (Angier 1). In order for the voice of visual expression to remain active we
must learn from the past to advocate for the importance of strong arts in our schools.
Slide 6. The Italian Renaissance has been described as; "one of the crucial
turning points in western cultural history , for it laid the groundwork for modern
conception of the arts." (Dewey 26). During the renaissance; "The separation of the
fine arts from the crafts was to have profound consequences for the teaching of art.
When artist rose to the position of genius, new educational questions presented
themselves, for how does one instruct a genius?" (Dewey 26).
It is during the renaissance that a shift from the apprenticeship systems of the
middle ages and the mastery in trades began to fuse with philosophy of education
known as humanism. Schools were developed for the practice of humanities and the
arts along side mathematics and science. This change in educational practice gave
more room for individual genius to emerge and inpired new artistic inquiry into human
narratives as we witness in Michelangelo's Atlas Statue. Dewey touches on the
humanist movement serving individual expression during this time period:
Both Leonardo and Michelangelo were involved with the leading ideas of
their time and were associated with the intellectual circles where such ideas
were in daily commerce. Both exhibited an active scientific curiosity,
and each succeeded in leaving the stamp of his unique personality upon
his works. (Dewey 29).
The renaissance is and important time period for recognizing the arts and
humanities as formative to human achievement and ingenuity. Prioritizing math and
sciences at the neglect of arts and humanities short-changes our society by depriving
children of adequate opportunity to discover meaning and voice through art practices.
Neoroscientists Hannah and Antonio Damasio's lecture on Brain,Art and Education
raises awareness of the problems we confront when the arts are reduced in favor of
putting more resources into math and science. They predict that; "Such an
education program is likely to worsen the social ills we face today. It is also less
likely to produce individuals capable of innovation than a more balanced curricular
portfolio. (Damasio 5). According to Damasio taking the time for creative inquiry
matters for supporting healthy cognition and decision making in school and life. He
explains the science and it's relevance to our era:
While emotional processing is evolutionarily old and slow (slow in the order of
seconds and minutes ), cognitive processing is exceedingly fast and happens in
fractions of seconds in the order of milliseconds. In recent years thanks to the
tremendous speeding up of our life in terms of our movements on earth and in
terms of the delivery of information through the media we now have available ,
the cognitive time scale has in fact , been shortened. (Damasio 8).
Damasion cautions that ; "While Cognition speeds up relentlessly our emotional
processing does not speed up in parallel. Our emotional processing takes its' own
sweet time to organize itself and to respond to what is happening in the world."
(Damasio 8). Exclusion of Arts is believed to have an undesirable impact on decision
making because we respond to information or circumstances without having the time
to process healthy or appropriate responses guide by emotion and reason.(Damasio 8).
This is why devoting time to the arts in school matters. When we support childrens'
social and emotional cognition with visual and performing arts, children can make
better decisions around life and learning.
Damasio validates that the health of our emotional cognition and, therefore the
health of our society hinges on practices in the arts. Art educators today, have an
opportunity to make a difference in every student's educational experience. I see our
role as furnishing kids with healthy cognition through diverse art practices that support
social and emotional development. Theater, Dance, Music and, visual arts all contribute
to and transfer important skills toward other subjects as well as, life. The research
compendium Critical Links devoted studies to linking arts with student achievement
and success. Their study revealed strong links in; visual arts and literacy, theater and
conflict resolution, dance and nonverbal reasoning as well as music and mathematics
(Ruppert 10). As Art educators we can contribute to the growing evidence that art
education is preeminent to emotional social development. As educators we can enrich
school environments and the communities we live in with relevant and innovative
curriculum designs that reach other subjects and beyond the school walls.