Kristin Anclien, Visual Arts Teacher
The Arts and Executive Functioning: How the Arts Make Us Better Learners
Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of the arts and academics as a classroom teacher, instructional leader, and visual arts educator. In this journey, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the profound impact that the arts can have in every classroom.
It’s widely accepted knowledge that the arts make us happier and healthier individuals, and research shows that students who participate in the arts tend to get better grades and have better attendance at school. But it’s not just art classes that benefit students, though they profoundly do, it’s arts in the classroom that I would argue is the real secret to success.
At McLean School, we talk a lot about executive functioning (and with good reason!), which refers to the skills needed for active memory, cognitive reasoning, and impulse control. We diligently work toward helping students strengthen these skills in order to become better learners. Strangely, these are sometimes referred to as “soft skills”, but truly these are the most essential skills needed for emotional and intellectual growth and development both in and outside of the classroom.
The arts strengthen these skills in infinite ways. Learning to dance, play music, put on a theater performance, make a movie, or paint a picture all teach unique skills that positively contribute to a person’s growth and executive function. What we often overlook in schools is the power the arts can have when paired with “core” content.
Understanding the impact arts can have in the classroom starts with understanding a few universal arts practices:
Close Observation
Artists learn the practice of observation. They learn to see beyond the surface, to pick out details, to question what works and what doesn’t. Artists are curious. They want to know how things are made and understand why people make them. Looking closely at art teaches us to look more closely at life, extract what’s important, and figure out what we have yet to understand. For instance, in studying drama, actors learn the subtleties of a look, a tone of voice, and a gesture. These small details can have significant meanings to a story, and in life, understanding these elements can help make us more socially aware and emotionally intelligent.
Observation and the acute use of senses are at the heart of all learning. Practicing looking closely at art makes us keen observers of the world around us. Simple thinking routines like Artful Thinking, developed by Harvard’s Project Zero or Visual Thinking Strategies founded by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine, help students strengthen their cognitive reasoning skills through practicing judgment, critical thinking, and collaboration.
Meaning Making
The arts teach us to dig deep. Artists study the intentions behind works of art and analyze the connections between the art form, the subject matter, themselves, each other, and the world around them.
In today’s world, it’s essential that students can take information and make connections. The study of the arts helps students more easily understand and more quickly connect information because all art is created through connection. The arts improve working memory. Students who practice the arts can recall and connect information with ease because their brains are trained to do this. Meaning-making in the arts develops our critical thinking skills, emotional intelligence, ability to communicate, creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Drafting and Critique
Nothing is more essential to developing a growth mindset than the practice of trying something, reflecting, and trying again. The basic structure of an arts classroom involves ongoing and seemingly endless cycles of drafting and critique. The artist creates something, reflects with the instructor and peers, and uses the feedback to adjust and make changes. To many adults, a critique can feel terrifying and uncomfortable, but when these practices are taught from an early age, students learn to welcome and embrace feedback as artists, as learners, and as people.
Practicing drafting and critique, learning to value feedback, and understanding how to share feedback with peers promotes several skills that support students in academics and the workplace. This practice helps students grow in their emotional intelligence, ability to communicate, judgment, critical thinking, collaboration, leadership, and adaptability. Students who regularly participate in the practice of drafting and critique are not just better at receiving feedback; they seek it out. They gain the confidence and self-advocacy skills to ask for help and actively work toward improving. Not only that, students learn grit and resilience and create work of which they can truly be proud.
Arts in the Classroom
The practice of arts integration allows students to create and demonstrate an understanding of any subject area through art. In Middle School at McLean, this looks like a dramatized trial of Christopher Columbus in Josh Hicks’ history class, original songs written by students in Stephanie Krause’s Latin class, and beautifully designed 3D cell models for Nkosi White’s science class. With arts integration, students take an idea from a core subject and examine it through the lens of the arts. Using the arts practices with intention builds students’ knowledge in a subject area and strengthens their executive function.
Incorporating even the simplest arts routines into a non-arts course can have a tremendous impact on understanding, remembering, and connecting in the classroom. Even when the outcome of a lesson or project is not a complete work of art, arts practices can enhance learning by building artistic habits of mind, a community of supportive, critical thinkers, and an environment where students strive to create meaningful work.
The arts can transform us and are absolutely necessary in educating young people to be successful in our dynamic world. Those who will lead us into the future will be the ones who can work together, connect knowledge, and see something different, something new, and something better.
If you’re interested in seeing the Arts in action at McLean School, schedule a visit today.