Mapping Shared [Art + Science] Discoveries in Educational Settings
How can we deeply merge science and art to create innovative practice the K-12 setting? This presentation maps the journey of an Earth Scientist and Artist/Art Educator's design of a professional development course for science and art educators. This institute was offered through the Kutztown University Art-Education and Crafts Department in summer 2013 and 2014. The emergent curriculum was based on Julia Marshall's (2014) transdisciplinarity, a practice that "rises above disciplines and dissolves their boundaries to create a new social and cognitive space." We ask the question, how can integration enhance the understanding and teaching of art, science, and culture in contemporary society? The course looked at the conceptual frameworks that science and art share and diverge, in part through collective metaphors. We presented diverse models of integration, investigated science topics with depth and breadth and utilized contemporary artists as a catalyst for discourse. Techniques included hands on science labs, studio experiences, and field work to build a more "substantive" form of integration in art and science classroom practice. During the course, educators also explored the intersection of art and science through intensive journaling. Outcomes ranged from arts-based research (Sullivan, 2004), new curricular models, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Using a narrative case study we compare and contrast the wide range of curricular, art, and science practices that developed out of the professional development course.
Associate Professor
Kutztown University
As a planetary scientist, Erin R. Kraal explores the surfaces of objects in our solar system, asking questions such as how the surface of planets can be used to explore their formation and climate history. With tools like field work, remote sensing, numerical modeling, and experimental flumes, Kraal explores how sediment transport and the shape of landforms can tell a story about the history of a planet. As a faculty member, she explores how faculty teach the process of science and how students learn it. She considers the way the integration of art and science, storytelling through podcasting, and undergraduate research can illuminate the creative processes involved in scientific discovery.
