The conundrum of choice in Arts-Integrated Pedagogy

During our recent family trip to London over the summer break, our family paid a visit to the Vincent VanGogh show. While the life and works of Van Gogh are in themselves poignant, an immersive audio-visual experience of story-telling using cutting-edge technology, brought to life the irony of his legacy and left my children in tears. Such is the power of technology infused art!

Last week, I introduced the idea of Art-Integrated Learning (AIL) in the Indian school system here . Today we explore the various mediums of art available to schools, to enhance the learning experience of their students. But first, some semantics - when referring to ‘Art’ we talk of an encompassing term - all forms of human creativity and expression like Music, Dance, Theatre, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Visual Arts, etc.?

Schools are increasingly using various art faculties to teach STEM subjects. School curricula infuses drama when teaching lessons on civic sense & citizenship in social sciences; Art & craft is used to teach Math concepts like 3D Shapes & Symmetry, Music & songs help memorise parts of speech and one can find dozens of great art based experiments to teach Science concepts.?

That said, these forms of art come with limitations. One, none show promise in being a comprehensive tool of teaching - i.e. being an effective medium for integration across all subjects, grades & boards and two, none of these art forms truly enable AIL, where students learn the STEM topics whilst progressively building their knowledge of the art subject too.?

Therefore despite their best efforts, schools are unable to fully and meaningfully integrate the traditional art forms into their curricula, leaving them to being peripheral tools of teaching-learning.?

However with the advent of digital media, one form of art that is gaining heavy popularity among digital natives, is that of Videos. And I do not mean the 20-second funny reels of the Insta generation. I am referring to well-thought, well-scripted & well-executed videos, that hold millions in awe and wanting to ape.?

And this form of Art - Video Creation - is gaining predominance as a learning tool due to its versatility, ease of access, scope of innovation, technical prowess and high relatability to generation alpha. In fact video-creation is now an essential 21st century skill for school students.

Videos are a powerful tool for children to create, express and communicate their concepts clearly. Perhaps not obvious to the eye, but delivering an outstanding video project - from planning (scripting), execution (shooting) and editing, requires a student to apply different skill sets and employs multiple senses too.?

Additionally, it is a more engaging, immersive and exciting medium for children. Imagine a Science project on pollination or a history project on wonders of the world - traditionally, for a classroom assessment, these would be presented using chart papers or more recently using powerpoints. However, video assessments on the same topic (see our student projects on pollination & wonders ) put to test the child’s knowledge, creativity, critical thinking skills and help bring out their soft skills like camera presence, body language, communication etc. It also makes for a more engaging tool for peer-to-peer learning in classrooms.?Now isn’t that a great way to foster the 4Cs (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration) proposed by NEP 2020?!

Not just that, unlike other forms of art, Videos are a resourceful tool for students of all kinds of learning styles and abilities. Visual, Kinesthetic, Auditory learners can find compatible ways to learn & use video techniques. Further, videos are flexible to student needs & inhibitions — children who are camera-shy or have limited communication skills can still use this medium effectively, which add to its appeal.

Much like our immersive experience of Van Gogh’s work, Videos have the power to evoke emotions across cultures, economic strata & the urban-rural divide. And in some sense, Videos presents itself as a melting pot of multiple art forms - children can show off their adept skills in art, craft, drama, music, theatrics etc using videos.?

All in all, while schools must deploy different art faculties in their curricula, video shows high promise for meaningful AIL. The immediate follow up question then would be, whether anyone has cracked the code on teaching Video Creation in a way designed specifically for school children – structured, comprehensive & relevant to their core subjects??

In my next article, I will touch upon how xQ Video Lab is quietly bringing about a revolution in the education system by introducing art integration in schools through videos.?

Until then, enjoy this short video made by one of our students for their science project.

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About the author:

As a mother of two, Arpita Shah is deeply invested in matters related to education. She has worked with world-class organisations like Apple (Silicon Valley) and Goldman Sachs (London), before joining xQ as a PR Specialist. Arpita always strives to bring the best of her cumulative experiences, both to work and in raising two balanced, happy world citizens!

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