Integrated Disciplines: Understanding the Role of Art in Science

Journal of A pplied Sciences Res earch, 5(10): 1375-1380, 2009
© 2009, INSInet Publication
Integrated Disciplines: Understanding the Role of Art in Science
Education in a Preschool
Hatice, Zeynep Inan
The Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Education, Kutahya/TURKEY
Abs tract: The Reggio Emilia approach has brought a s pecial vis ion about pres chool curricula. The current
s t udy focus es s pecifically on art and s cience education within the framework of Reggio Emilian emerg e n t
curriculu m. W h at makes this s pecial vis ion of art unique is “creativity” as well as “dis covery” embedded
in it and the innovative, varied ways art lets pres choolers repres ent their ideas related to the natural world.
The current s tudy, which is bas ed on author’s in s ights gained in a Reggio Emilia-ins pired pres chool at
a M idwes tern res earch univers ity in the United States of A merica, provides s ome s ugges tion s and
examples to help teachers make art and natural s ciences work together in h a rmony in their Reggio Emiliains pired projects . It s hows what kinds of s cientific s kills , tools and te c h n iq u e s o n e pres chool utilizes to
help its pres choolers purs ue their s cientific inquiries and work on s cience projects in which arts embedded.
Five element s , w h ic h a re derived from the author’s in-clas s participatory obs ervations , dis play the ways
te a c h e rs are able to help the pres choolers grow in their ability to practice s cientific inquiry doing s cience
projects and repres enting their ideas through their art.
Key words :
Reggio Emilia Philos ophy; Early Childhood Education; Pres ch o o l; A rt; Science; Curriculum;
Project A pproach.
INTRODUCTION
People have often as ked the ques tion “W hat is the
role of art in early childhood education?”, which is
als o the main ques tion of this s tudy. One of the
ans wers has been provided by the Reggio Emilia
approach. Before dis cus s ing the role of art in early
childhood education fro m t he pers pective of Reggio
Emilia, it is es s ential to s t a t e a b rief des cription of the
Reg gio Emilia approach. The Reggio Emilia teachers
propos e the idea that pres c h o o lers co-cons truct their
knowledge through pers onal relatio n s hip with their
peers and adults [ 1 1 ] . A c c o rdingly, the idea of
community of learning is very s trong in Reggio Emilia
pres chools . M oreover, Principles o f the Reggio Emilia
approach, an Italian pedagog y , can be s ummarized as
follows :
- The child is beautiful, in t elligent, s trong, and
ambitious [1 0 ].
- The teacher is lis tener, obs erver, learn e r, partner,
nurturer, and provocateur[1 1 ].
- The education philos ophy is bas ed on s trong
relations hips among children, teachers , parents and
the community [1 2 ].
- The new idea of curriculum called progettazione
e mp has izes importance of the project approach [1 2 ] .
- Rich documentation of children’s work and
progres s [6].
- The environment is well-planned and enriched
with intelligent materials [5].
T h e role of art in early childhood education is
examined s pecifically in relatio n to the natural s ciences
in the current s tudy. The Re ggio Emilia approach has
brought a s pecial vis ion about art, as one of the
languages that children us e to expres s thems elves [1 0 ].
The Reggio Emilia pro je ct in Italy does not claim to
't e a ch art' but rather us es arts to s upport childre n 's
thinking and e xp res s ion in all areas of knowledge
creation. The metaphor of “100 Languages of Children”
us ed by M a la g uzzi refers to the various ways children
us e to expres s thems elves . The idea of the current
A merican education s ys tem that art and natural
s ciences are s eparate in early childhood education does
not happen in Reggio Emilia pres chools . T h e fo cus of
the current s tudy is on the us e of art as a la n guage of
children when doing project work connected to s cience
inquiries , as ins pired by the Reg g io Emilia approach
and practiced by a pres chool.
Res earch Methodol ogy: The current s tudy was bas ed
on author’s ins ights gained through working as a
participant res earcher at a n A merican pres chool,
ins pired by t h e Reggio Emilia approach. The pres chool
was a laboratory s chool located in a M idwes tern
Corresponding Author: Hatice, Zeynep Inan, The Dumlupinar University, Faculty of Education, Kutahya/TURKEY
E-mail: haticezeynep @hotmail.com
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J. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(10): 1375-1380, 2009
res earch univers ity in the U n it ed States of A merica.
The pres chool clas s room of interes t was con s is ted of
18 pres choolers aged three to five, 10 teachers , a nd a
p rogram director. The author conducted in-clas s
obs ervations , interviews with teachers and the program
director, and document analys is for her previous
res earch. Bas ed on h e r ins ights gained in the Reggio
Emilia-ins pired pres chool over years , the author
generated five elements of how teachers can help t he
pres choolers grow in their ability to practice s cientific
inquiry us ing t h e p roject approach and repres ent their
ideas through their art. It is es s ential to s tate that thos e
elements are the s eeds of creating a Reggio Emiliain s pired project work in which art and natural s ciences
are interconnected. Teachers and s tudent s c an create
their own, unique artis tic s cien ce projects cons idering
all of thos e elements and their own culture.
Repres enting Ideas Related to S cience via Art: A s
the us e of art materials lets pres choolers repres ent their
ideas related to the natural s c ie n c e s in innovative,
varied ways , that new vis ion of art is examined in the
current s tudy. Some s ugges tions for pres chool teachers
are s tated in relation to the natural s ciences . The
s ugges tions for teachers are enriched with examples s o
that pres chool teachers can reexamine their educ a t ion
and be ins pired by the Reggio Emilia approach.
Gand in i [ 4 ] indicates that what is done with art
materials and media in an atelier, a works hop, is not
regarded as art per s e, but an ins eparable part o f the
Reggio curriculum. A n atelier, where children deal w ith
vis ual arts , helps children mas ter different s ymbolic
languages , s uc h as painting, drawing, and working in
clay. W hat makes this n e w vision of art unique is
“creativity,” “dis covery ” embedded in it and whole
cognitive/s ymbolic expres s ion involved in the proces s
of learning. Lella Gandini[7] s ays :
Drawin g, painting (and the us e of all languages )
a re experiences and explorations of life, of the s ens e s ,
and of meanings . They are an expres s io n of urgency,
d e s ire s , re a s s u ra n c e , re s e a rc h , h y p o t h e s e s ,
readjus tments , cons tructions , and inventions … They
offer interpretation s and intelligence about the events
that take place around us . (p. 9).
The projects developed by Reggio Emilia
pres chools s how t h a t pres choolers us e many of the
bas ic s cientific s kills , s uch as obs erving and clas s ifying
(s ee Table 1) in their art projects in the current s tudy
as well a s u s e many of vis ual arts , s uch as painting
and c la y in their s cience projects . A ccordingly, calling
thos e projects “artis tic s cience” pro je c ts would not be
inappropriate.
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Table 1: S c ie n c e proces s s kills that were us ed b y
pres choolers
S cience Proces s S k ills
1. Obs erving
2. Predicting
3. M eas uring/Counting
4. Comparing/Contras ting
5. Categorizing/Sorting/Clas s ifying
6. Collecting Data/Recording Data
7. Communicating
Reggio Emilia teachers ’ unders tanding of art and
the way natu ral s ciences are embedded in art have
enligh t ened educators about how to create a climate in
which children can produce unique projects related to
the natural world. Thos e projects reflect a connection
to the natural s ciences as we ll a s t o art. It can be
s t ated that art is rooted deeply in s cience projects o f
pres choolers . The following five ele me n t s (s ee
Table 2), which were created by the author in res pons e
to ins piration from t h e Reggio Emilia approach and
bas ed on the ins ights g a in ed in a Reggio Emiliains pired pres chool clas s room, can help pres chool
teachers make art and natural s ciences work together in
ha rmony in Reggio Emilia-ins pired projects . Thos e
elements are n o t neces s arily in any order but can be
followed in different orders and in a s piral way.
Table 2: Five Elements in A rtis tic Science Projects
Five Elements in Artis tic S cience
1. Thin k about the connection between art & s cience
2. Create art & s cience rich environments
3. Guide children to us e their knowledge and
imagination
4. Guide children to tes t their theories /ideas
5. Guide children to expres s their ideas
Five Elements in Artis ti c S cience: 1. Think About the
Connection Between Art and Science. There are things
teachers need to remember before conducting artis tic
s cience projects in their clas s rooms . One of them is the
development of s ymbolic repres entation. In early ages
of children, development o f s y mbolic repres entation is
critical to children’s intellectual development. Davids on
[3]
refers to Piaget’s cognitive de v e lo p ment theory and
defines s ymb o lic repres entation as “us ing an action,
objects , vis ual s ymbol, or word to repres ent s omething
els e” (p. 292). A rt is neces s ary to fa c ilitate children’s
intellectua l development, becaus e along with the
development of s ymbolic repres entation, children tend
to expres s th eir thoughts and communicate with others
in s ophis t icated and creative ways , s uch as with
creating three-dimens ional s culpture projects .
J. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(10): 1375-1380, 2009
A rtis tic s cience creates a platform where children’s
id e a s and theories related to natural s ciences can
develop, be enriched and actualize d, and become
vis ualized. “For young children, s cience is dis covery”
[1]
and artis tic s cience pro jects can provide children
many opp o rt u nities to dis cover, explore the natural
world, develop complex thinking s kills , imagine, and
then work to bring this imag in a t ion into the world in
a creative way. It s hould be noted that the aim of thos e
projects is n o t p roduce “beautiful art” products but
expres s and exp lo re ideas related to natural s ciences .
The following pictures d emons trate examples of artis tic
s cience works cre a t e d in the Reggio Emilia-ins pired
pres chool at a M idwes tern re s e arch univers ity in the
United States :
In Figure 1, Picture 1 demons trates exploring the
wind by s earching books and pictures and painting the
wind pictures ; Picture 2 is a work of explorin g the
wind by blowing through t h e s traw painting to
cons truct ideas a b o u t the direction and power of the
wind; Picture 3 is another work o f exploring various
weather events (e.g., lightening) on the light table; and
finally Picture 4 demons trates s ponge paintin g of
different weather epis odes (e.g., s unny day).
2. Create an Appropriate En v ironment Where
Children Can Be E n gaged with Art and Natural
Sciences. Children come with their natural inqu iry
about the natu ra l w o rld they live in. Teachers provide
a welc oming environment enriched with s ufficient
materials , tools , and s pace which is es s entia l for
children to wo rk on their inquiries and to create artis tic
s cience projects . Similar to an art s tudio, in Reggio
Emilia pres chools in Italy, the art teachers provide
children a varie ty of tools and materials and dis play
pas t projects and works of child re n [ 4 ]. In the art s tudio
or atelier (s ee Figure 2) in the Reggio Emilia-ins pired
pres chool where the current s tudy was co n d u c t ed the
children find opportunities to work on natural s cie n ces
related projects and expres s their ideas and theories in
a way arts involved.
A s Gandini[4] indicated, the importa n c e of thes e art
s tudios or ateliers does not rely only on the creation of
art, but on the children’s us e of the tools and materials
related to art. This is cons idered an integral part of the
ins eparable cognitive work of s ymbolic expres s io n in
the lea rn in g p roces s . In Reggio Emilia-ins pired
pres chools , it is s een that natural s ciences are
embedded meaningfully in children’s artis tic s cience
projects both in terms of us ing bas ic s cien ce s kills and
learning s cientific ideas related to the natural world.
3. Guide Children to Use Their Creativ i t y &
Imagination. Re g gio Emilian teachers let children
engage w it h materials and tools , give them time to
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work, and guide them to purs ue their intere s t s .
Imagination permits children to give credence t o
a lt e rn a t ive realities , differences , plura lis m, a n d
heterogeneit y [ 8 ] . A s a res ult, children can open their
minds to alternatives , and become more a w are of other
pos s ibilities in the world. Each project for c hildren,
which is the product of their imagination, is cle a rly a
proces s of making s ens e of the world in which they
live.
W hile children are working on p rojects , teachers
are documenting everything from beginning to end. The
documentation of th e s e projects would be the moment
or the s eries of moments from that imaginative p roces s
providing vis itors or parents an opportunity to witnes s
at leas t the las t part of the proces s .
The Reggio Emilia-ins pired projects are mos tly
bas ed on the interes ts of the children. A s s ugges ted by
Verwys [1 5 ], it is es s ential to s e t as ide our preconceived
s chemas and t u c k c urricular worries into back of our
minds s o “children could be p ro tagonis ts in their
learning” (p.100). Starting from pre s choolers ’ interes ts
a llows teachers to create a curriculum which is
res pons ive to pres choolers ’ divers e backgro unds .
Projects developed by c h ildren reflect how children’s
ideas de velop and become res tructured through the
theorizing proces s and expres s ed in creative ways . The
theorizing proces s might include the bas ic s cience s kills
for young children, s uch as obs erving, as king ques tions ,
clas s ifying, predicting, manipulating, and tes ting. Thes e
projects , which are e mpirically bas ed, reflect the
harmony of ideas from natural s ciences and the
expres s ion of thos e ideas through art.
4. Guide C h i l d ren to Test Their Ideas. W ien,
Keating, Co a tes and Bigelow [1 6 ]s tate, “a move that
does not work well is not s een as an error, but rather
as a s tep tow a rd w h a t will work: teaching is s elfcorrecting” (p.84). In the cu rre nt s tudy, teachers help
pres choolers critique their ideas in various w a y s , s uch
as hands -on activities , s ite-vis iting, o r res ourcec h e c king. The current s tudy s howed that in Reggio
Emilia-ins pired c las s rooms , teachers do not s pecifically
aim to teach children s cientific facts or art fa c t s . T heir
main goal is fo r c h ildren to follow their interes ts and
inquiries meaningfully us ing critical thinking s kills . A s
Barret [2] s ugg e s t s , t e a c h e rs u s u ally create an
environment where child ren can dis cus s their own art
and demons trate critical thinking about art and make
connection to the world. Similarly, Reggio Emilia
projects are bas ically reflecting children’s critical
thinking and inquiries about the world.
Teachers ’ documentation of children’s work is s o
informative in terms of s howing “creativity” and
“dis covery” in the projects that Reggio kids produced.
J. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(10): 1375-1380, 2009
Fig. 1: Pictures from the W eather Project
5.
6.
7.
8.
Fig. 2: A Reggio Emilia-ins pired pres chool atelier
Their creativity s kills and d is coveries are guided with
their inquiries and q u e s tions , which become the s eeds
of long term project s . A s Kirkwood [9] s tates , teachers
focus on “what’s in children’s heads ” a n d let children
purs ue their own ques tions . From the current s tudy, the
following lis t dis plays s ome ques tions from the proje ct
“Ins ects and W orms ”, as ked by Reggio kids aged from
3 to 5:
Inquiring about ins e cts and worms : Ques tions for
“Bob the bug guy”
1. Do worms have mus cles ?
2. W hat do worms eat?
3. How do you tell if the worms are girls or boys ?
4. Do worms have eyes or legs ?
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Do worms ever get to have fur like wheeler?
How could we make ants live in our ant farm?
W hat do ants eat? Bees ? Butterflies ?
W hy do bugs have big eyes and hams ters have
tiny eyes ?
9. W hy are caterpillars fuzzy ? A re they the s ame as
worms ?
10. Do worms live in a hous e?
A s king ques tions lay at the heart of the Reggio
Emilia-ins pired projects . Thos e ques tions might s how
how s trong children’s imagination c a n b e and this
imagination become a bas e for a big a rt is tic s cience
projects . Interes ts may s tart with s uch kind of
ques tions , and then follow with a deep s earch, like
hands -on tes ting, book reading and s ite vis iting.
Projects come to a live s lowly, with more tes ting,
inves tigation, and thinking.
5. Guide Children to Express Their Ideas. Reggio
Emilia teachers us ually focus on proces s of le arning
ins tead of product. Learning s hould be a joy, not a job
to children. The s ys tem s hould not force children to
memorize knowle d g e ; ins tead it s hould let children to
cons truct their own knowledg e t hrough dis covery and
creativity. For example , the s hadows project, in which
pres choolers worked on s everal conc e pts related to
s hadows , s uch as light and colors , s hows both
dis coveries of s cientific facts as well a s us age of
crea t ive ways of expres s ing what they think and feel.
J. Appl. Sci. Res., 4(10): 1375-1380, 2009
Through the s hadow project, which las ted a few weeks ,
the pres choolers us ed various creative ways of
expres s ion, s uch as playing, painting and dancing with
the lig h t , and reflecting images through the light (s ee
Figure 3). The proces s of project gave c h ildren many
opportunities to experience bas ic s cience s kills , s uch as
obs erving and tes ting, and to reflect their ideas through
art, which is s ymbolic way of expres s ion.
proces s of making art and utilization of art ma t e rials to
make s ens e of their world” (p. 7). T his s ugges ts that,
as M axine Gree ne [8] indicated, art is one of the
windows that open to the alternatives , differences ,
s imila rit ie s , and pluralis m in the world. In the current
Reggio Emilia-ins pired pres chool clas s room, it was
s een that art lets pres choolers repres ent their ideas
related to t h e natural world in innovative, varied ways
where “creativity” as well as “dis covery” embedded.
In s hort, thos e projects , called “artis t ic s cience”
projects , provid e children opportunity to purs ue their
s cientific inquiries in which arts embedded, a n d work
on both art and s cience dis ciplines s imultaneou s ly. A s
Tarr[1 4 ] s tated , t h e word “embedded” –not art as a
s eparate center, a s ubject or activity to be completedimplies “‘rooted deeply’-fixed firmly into the earth of
the lived curriculum and children’s and te a c h e rs ’ lives
together” (p.20). A ccordingly, the projects developed in
the Reggio Emilia-ins pired pres chool prove that artis tic
s cience projects are not only aes thetically beautiful but
als o full of s cience informa t io n and us age of s cience
proces s s kills , and communicative in t e rms of
children’s reflections and in-depth thinking.
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Teacher: We were just here by the o v e r h e ad, we were
noticing something. I put my hand up a g ainst the
screen, it was very little, my shadow was very little.
Preschooler: Yes, she was.
Teacher: What happened when I was far away, Mark ?
Preschooler: Bigger.
Teacher: My hand got bigger, my shadow got b i gger.
We were k ind of noticing that.
Preschoolers: Mine too, mine too, mine too.
Fig. 3: Explorin g c o lo r s hadows : Color s hadows
projected onto the large s hadow s creen
1.
2.
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5.
Conc l u s ion: Reggio Emilia teachers believe that there
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