We were happy to recruit art educators to write for this issue of SchoolArts and to demonstrate that all educators are researchers, especially when it comes to creativity and art-making. These art instructors share their enthusiasm for learning and using their own ideas to explore the world while sparking their students’ imaginations. We extend our deepest gratitude to them for sharing their curriculum, lessons, and pedagogy.
As art teachers, we often define creativity as the making, engineering, or construction of a work of art. Creativity is also a foundation for teaching visual art. It is the glue that connects content with the active expression of hands-on learning. Synonyms for creativity include innovation, cleverness, resourcefulness, productivity, inspiration, and ingeniousness.
Creative practice as research is also called practice-based research. This is when a question is explored through art-making, allowing students to explore their ideas deeply and make connections to the world around them. This is different from copying an image; it involves critical thinking and problem-solving throughout the process.
Creativity can extend possibilities by presenting robust opportunities that, while unintentional, present themselves as contextual factors that promote learning and are ideal for different pedagogical practices.
When students are given tools, the ingenuity to use them, and the autonomy to explore, they are empowered to expand and recognize opportunities and try out new ideas. Making art creates myriad possibilities for individual learning styles and interests by blending subject areas and providing interaction with topics and content from all other areas across the curriculum.
Teachers who use a practice-based research approach provide educational opportunities that integrate creativity and divergent thinking into the standards. Creativity in the art room is abundant and empowers teachers to explore ideas and opportunities at the intersection of disciplines. Art educators can recognize and develop independent active learners who are inspired by creative content and curriculum.
In this issue, several authors describe how creativity is central to their practice and students’ art-making. As members of the NAEA Research Commission’s Professional Learning through Research Group (PLR), we are excited to share examples of creativity in the classroom. Our job is to bridge the connection between research and practice.
We were happy to recruit art educators to write for this issue of SchoolArts and to demonstrate that all educators are researchers, especially when it comes to creativity and art-making. These art instructors share their enthusiasm for learning and using their own ideas to explore the world while sparking their students’ imaginations. We extend our deepest gratitude to them for sharing their curriculum, lessons, and pedagogy.
Tracey Hunter-Doniger is PLR chair and teacher education department chair at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. HunterDonigerTl@CofC.edu
Stephanie Danker is PLR outgoing chair and associate professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. DankerS@MiamiOh.edu
Darden Bradshaw is PLR chair elect and associate professor at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. DBradshaw1@UDayton.edu
Art teachers encourage students to investigate their own ideas and make connections to the world around them. High-school students discover that the zine is a powerful medium for self-expression; middle-school students create symbolic artworks to honor teachers and staff members who inspired them; elementary students express solutions to community issues through printmaking; young students design a hat for a friend based on their friend’s preferences; and more.
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