the process
Vocabulary
Critical thinking: gathering,
analyzing, assessing and applying information
Affective Domain: where learning involves how/what students feel
Cognitive Domain: where learning involves how/what students think
Student Talk: productive discussion amongst students without teacher "interruption"
Cooperative Learning: students working together, responsible for their own and others' learning
Creativity: regarding both students' artistic skills and activities that encourage invention and expression
Exploration: discovery and analysis that leads to critical thinking and inspires self-expression
Life Skills
Initiative:
CAL Professional Development workshops are designed to develop classroom teachers' skills in creating and enacting their own arts integration within their curriculum. Teachers are inspired by the activities they participate in and motivated to create their own because of their new-found confidence in their own abilities. These traits are then passed easily onto the students they teach.
Perseverance:
Much of CAL's activities involve improvisation. This
is done within the context of the specific subjects being taught.
CAL has been able to create structured activities with specific
goals such that students have discipline and direction, while open-ended
enough that students are encouraged to develop a variety of outcomes
for the objectives.
Teamwork:
When the arts are integrated within the subjects and
activities are done to address all learning styles, every student
within a group can attain a sense of responsibility, a focus on
their strengths and a sense of contribution. As a result, it is
possible for students to cooperate and value the diverse contributions
of their classmates. Children are living their curriculums rather
than sitting as passive observers watching the world go by.
Communication:
The arts are a vital form of communication, and
universal throughout cultures, learning styles, ages and many
other backgrounds. Integration of the arts through CAL activities
allow students a broad palette of presentation styles from the
various arts forms and thus, a freedom of self-expression that
leads to authentic communication for each student.
Learning Styles
Visual:
Students exercise their visual/spatial learning by creating, choreographing and improvising in all subjects through addressing concepts of form, positive/negative space, and collaboration with groups.
Aural:
Students exercise their aural skills in several different
ways. By listening, students are able to evaluate/assess the context
of the subject studied. Aural skills also contribute to interpersonal
and intrapersonal development by way of collaboration and
self-assessment, respectively.
Physical:
In all CAL activities, the physical learning is challenging
and developmental, while also attainable for every participant.
Hands-on, physical activities are incorporated as a basis for learning,
as directly engaging students is highly beneficial.
Analytical:
Development of creative and critical thinking is one
of the primary purposes of CAL. Students describe what they've
heard/seen/done, and begin to uncover the meanings, implications
of the subject, as well as develop skills for refining and problem-solving.
Verbal:
Students are asked not only to describe what they have done,
but also to verbalize what they are planning and creating. Quite
often, this requires communication with their peers as well.
Understanding, interpreting and creating language becomes a vital
part of every CAL activity.