Table of contents hide 1 2 3 THE ARTISTIC BRAIN 4 WHY TEACH THE ARTS? 5 MUSIC 6 VISUAL ARTS 7 SCENIC ARTS 8 IN PRACTICE 9 FINAL CONCLUSIONS 10 Why does the human brain need art?
The art in all its manifestations constitutes an essential characteristic that identifies the human being, has allowed to transmit the culture in all its extension and has been and is basic for its survival. Our plastic brain needs art. Already in the first years and naturally the child plays, sings, dances, draws and all these activities are essential for proper sensorial, motor, cognitive, emotional and ultimately brain development that will allow him to learn to learn. And doing all these activities the child has fun, proudly shows his results to others, tries to improve and this is an effective way to train one of the great virtues of the human being: self-control. Artistic education is a necessity not because it makes us smarter but because it allows us to acquire a whole series of competences and mental routines that are in full harmony with the social nature of the human being and that are essential for learning any curricular content. And this is useful for all students, so it becomes a great way to address diversity in the classroom.
THE ARTISTIC BRAIN
Brain neuroimaging reveals some indications of why artistic activities are so important . Thus, for example, it is known that certain structures of the visual cortex only respond to musical tones, that an important part of the brain and cerebellum intervenes in the coordination of all kinds of movements, such as in dance, that in theatrical recreations regions of the brain specialized in oral language that are connected to the limbic system provide us with the emotional component or, referred to the visual arts, that our visual processing system generates real or fictitious images with the same ease (Sousa, 2011).
As we can see in Figure 1, each artistic activity activates different brain regions. Music is processed in the auditory cortex that is in the temporal lobe, the arts that involve movement such as dance or theater activate the motor cortex, visual arts such as painting are mainly processed in the occipital and temporal lobes, while the poetry or prose involve the areas of Broca and Wernicke related to linguistic processing (Posner et al., 2008).
WHY TEACH THE ARTS?
Studies that have analyzed the implementation of artistic education in the classroom have revealed that the most potent effects are found in those programs that are fully integrated into the subjects of the curriculum and that when this occurs, multiple benefits related to the student learning and behavior. Rabkin and Redmond (2004) have identified the most significant:
There is a greater emotional commitment of the students in the classroom.
Students work more actively and learn from each other.
Cooperative learning groups turn classes into learning communities.
Learning is facilitated in all subjects through the arts.
Teachers collaborate more and have higher expectations about their students.
The curriculum becomes more real by relying on project learning.
The evaluation is more reflective and varied.
Families get more involved.
From the neuroeducational perspective, we are especially interested in three essential factors for learning that the arts can improve:
The memory
In a study with fifth graders (10-11 years), didactic units related to scientific subjects (astronomy and ecology) were designed following two different procedures: one used the traditional approach and in the other the arts were integrated into the unit. Thus, for example, in the second case, the students carried out activities with defined didactic objectives that included theatrical performances, poster drawings, recreation of movements or use of the m Physical The analysis of the results revealed that the students who participated in the didactic unit in which the artistic activities were integrated improved the so-called long-term memory, especially students with reading difficulties (Hardiman et al., 2014).
The emotions
In a longitudinal study that lasted three years, we wanted to analyze how the integration of different artistic programs affected the personal development of students aged between 9 and 15 years who belonged They went to disadvantaged socio-economic environments. In the first part of the program, students in the experimental group were allowed to choose between different artistic forms such as music, painting, video recording, script writing or design. o of masks ; in the second one he delved deeper into the means chosen through cooperative work; and in the final stage in which all the students intervened a play was staged and a video about the school community itself was recorded . The three years of application of the program revealed that students improved their artistic and social skills, reduced their emotional problems and, in general, developed a series of interpersonal competencies such as communication, cooperation or resolution of conflicts (Wright et al., 2006).
The creativity
The arts teach children that real problems usually have more than one possible solution, that it is necessary to analyze tasks from different perspectives, that imagination is a powerful guide in resolution processes or that there are not always defined rules when they have to make decisions (Eisner, 2004).
When artistic disciplines are integrated into pedagogical practices, creative and divergent thinking is promoted in students and not only that, but they also develop deeper thinking. An example of the latter could be found in the Artful Thinking program developed by the Harvard Zero Project that used the power of visual images (see figure 2), such as works of art, to stimulate in students processes such as curiosity, observation, comparison or relationship between essential ideas for the development of creative thinking and learning (Hardiman, 2012).
We comment below, relevant aspects about some of the artistic disciplines:
MUSIC
Music produces wellbeing because it stimulates our brain reward system that releases dopamine and that makes us feel good. It is beneficial from the emotional perspective to listen to music, but from the cognitive perspective it is better to practice it. Thus, for example, the simultaneous activation of sensory and motor areas when playing a musical instrument entails the improvement of general abilities such as working memory or attention (Mora, 2013). However, there are many misunderstandings about it.
Does music make us smarter?
There are several studies that suggest that children who receive music education get better academic results. However, the existence of a correlation does not mean that there is a causality. The child can obtain these best results due to other factors related, for example, with their own abilities or with the family environment in which they develop.
When rigorous experimental designs are used in which there is a randomly assigned group of children who receive musical instruction and another control group that does not receive it, the results are different. And although it may seem surprising, there have been very few experiments of this type and with little illuminating results on the cognitive benefits that musical activity reports.
Elisabeth Spelke's research group has analyzed these issues in a very recent investigation (Mehr et al., 2013). In one of the experiments, 29 four-year-old children were randomly assigned to 45-minute music or visual arts classes for six weeks. After that period of time a series of tests were carried out and no differences were found in those that measured the linguistic and mathematical competence of the children of both groups and a very small difference in the spatial tests. In response to the previous experiment, the researchers designed a similar one in which 45 children now participated who were assigned to the experimental group that received the music classes or to a control group that did not receive any type of instruction. And in this case there were practically no differences between the two groups (see figure 3):
Does this mean that musical instruction does not produce cognitive benefits? Obviously not. On the one hand, more studies are needed to complement this research, and on the other, this study did not measure the general intelligence of the children as others did, but rather aimed at analyzing specific areas such as mathematics. The truth is that, as Elizabeth Spelke herself states, the debate about the importance of music education in particular, or art in general, should not focus on external benefits (such as the mathematical improvement that is questioned in the study commented on) but in the inherent benefits of art such as those related to emotional or social issues. And those do not require any empirical demonstration.
In 1993, an article appeared in the journal Nature that reported a temporary improvement in spatial reasoning in adults when listening to Mozart for 10-15 minutes (Rauscher et al., 1993). This finding was totally distorted by the media, believing that early exposure of children to classical music would improve their intellectual quotient. The truth is that this has never been proven and the so-called "Mozart effect" must be considered a neuromite.
VISUAL ARTS
The human brain has developed an extraordinary capacity to create internal mental images and even, it has been demonstrated in studies with neuroimaging that the same brain regions are activated when seeing a real scene than when imagining it (Thompson et al., 2009). This is very interesting, because visualization is a powerful tool in memorization processes.
What can a drawing class contribute?
If we asked the students what they learned in the visual arts classes, most of them would probably answer that they learned to draw, paint or represent a graphic. It is logical that in art classes the corresponding artistic techniques are learned, however, many more things can be learned. Winner and his collaborators (2006) have identified eight provisions (mental routines) that students can develop in visual arts classes and that can be transferred to other learning domains:
Use of tools and materials : students learn the techniques of the discipline using, for example, brushes and pencils or paint and clay.
Participation and perseverance : students learn to commit to the subject through the projects carried out.
Imagination: students learn to visualize and imagine situations that move away from mere observation.
Expression: students learn to convey a personal vision in their work.
Observation: students learn to use their own eyes and perceive less obvious details.
Reflection: students learn to explain, justify and evaluate what they do with a critical spirit.
Exploration: students learn to go beyond their creations, to take new risks and to learn from their mistakes.
Understanding the artistic world : students learn to relate to art and understand everything associated with it such as galleries, museums, etc.
No one can doubt the usefulness of all these provisions in any of the curricular subjects (see figure 4).
SCENICAL ARTS
Paradoxically, school activities that involve movement, be they artistic like any style of dance or theater or sports as in the case of Physical Education, are being reduced . However, neuroscience research is proving its importance at all levels, including cognitive. For example, dance is a great way to develop three aspects of creative thinking: fluidity, originality and the capacity for abstraction (Bradley, 2002). On the other hand, today we know that the same neural circuits that are activated when performing an action also do so when observing another person doing it. These mirror neurons enable imitation, a powerful way of learning.
Is it worth pointing my son to the theater?
In an investigation in which Catterall (2002) analyzed the studies carried out on the effects of theater in school environments, it identified many benefits, some of them directly related to curricular subjects and others, which are the most It is important, with the integral development of the person himself. The most representative are the following:
Turn abstract concepts into concrete concepts.
It addresses the curricular contents from a more attractive perspective.
Improve your vocabulary.
Bring learning to the real world.
It allows students to reflect on what they do and compare their opinions with those of others.
Promotes tolerance and respect for others.
It improves your self-control and self-esteem.
It provides a feeling of freedom accompanied by responsibility.
In my particular case, I can assure you that some of the greatest satisfactions in my teaching experience come from having verified as students with learning difficulties or to interact with classmates they acquired a whole series of interpersonal skills through the theater that made them better students and especially happier people.
IN PRACTICE
We have already talked about the relevance of the arts as such, but the most important thing is to integrate artistic activities in each of the different curricular subjects assuming a transdisciplinary perspective. It will be a creative act (we cannot ask our students to be creative if we are not) that will arouse the student's curiosity. And as we have commented so many times, this emotional charge will facilitate attention and with it learning. When we are motivated, everything is easier.
Let's look at some concrete examples (more information in Sousa, 2011):
Visual arts . The chemistry teacher asks his students to draw a graphic organizer in which the most important phases of an experiment are shown.
Music. The history teacher asks his students to reflect in the lyrics of a popular melody the most significant events of the French Revolution.
Poetry. The math teacher asks his students to write a stanza of a poem about the steps to follow when solving a mathematical equation.
Theater. The English teacher asks his students to write an alternative ending of the play Romeo and Juliet and make a theatrical recreation of it.
And we can follow everything our imagination allows us. We can find examples in any subject and at any educational stage.
On the other hand, in the case of specific artistic curricula, we have already commented that project-based learning is a very good option because it encourages more cooperative work, reflection or self-evaluation than traditional approaches, also generating greater intrinsic motivation in student.
LAST CONCLUSIONS
It cannot be denied that artistic activities are rooted in the development of the human being since birth and that they constitute a natural brain reward necessary for learning. Because the practice of any of the artistic manifestations is associated with an emotional component that motivates us and allows us to contemplate the world around us from a different, more aesthetic, deeper perspective. Artistic Education is essential because it allows students to acquire a series of basic socio-emotional skills for their personal development and that, in addition, make them happier. And that is true learning, which prepares them for life. The human brain, which is a complex organ in continuous restructuring, appreciates the challenges and needs art.
Jesus C. Guillen
.
Bibliographic references:
Bradley K. (2002): "Informing and reforming dance education research." In Deasy R. (Ed.), Critical links: learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Arts Education Partnership.
Catterall J. (2002): "Research on drama and theater in education." In Deasy R. (Ed.), Critical links: learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Arts Education Partnership.
Eisner, Eliot W. (2004). Art and the creation of the mind: The role of visual arts in the transformation of consciousness. Paidós
Hardiman, Mariale (2012). The brain-targeted teaching model for 21 st-century schools. Corwin
Hardiman M. et al. (2014): “The effects of arts integration on long-term retention of academic content”. Mind, Brain and Education, 8 (3).
Mehr SA. Et al. (2013): "Two randomized trials provide no consistent evidence for nonmusical cognitive benefits of brief preschool music enrichment." PLoS ONE 8 (12).
Mora, Francisco (2013). Neuroeducation: you can only learn what you love. Editorial Alliance.
Posner, M. et al. (2008): “How arts training influences cognition”, in Learning, arts and the brain: the Dana Consortium on arts and cognition, Danna Press.
Rabkin N. and Redmond R. (2004). Putting the arts in the picture: reforming education in the 21st century. Columbia College
Rauscher et al. (1993): "Music and spatial task performance". Nature, Oct. 14.
Sousa, David A. (2011). How the brain learns. Corwin
Thomson W. et al. (2009): "Two forms of spatial imagery: neuroimaging evidence". Psychological Science, 20.
Winner E. et al. (2006): “Studio thinking: how visual arts teaching can promote disciplined habits of mind”. In Locher P. et al. (Eds), New directions in Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Baywood
Wright R. (2006): “Effect of a structured performing arts program on the psychosocial functioning of low-income youth: findings from a Canadian longitudinal study.”. Journal of Early Adolescence, 26.
Source: https://escuelaconcerebro.wordpress.com/
Why does the human brain need art?
