Arts Learning

1) More than 500 grade five students in four Eden Prairie elementary schools participated in a 12-week art residency where they learned four distinct fiber art forms (wet-felting, batik, adinkra, and molas) taught in conjunction with their historical/cultural contexts (ancient history/Mongolian sheepherders; Balinese in Indonesia; Ghanaian in West Africa; and Kuna tribe of Panama). Further, the art was presented in conjunction with earth science (wetland ecosystems). Eighteen 5' x 5' collaborative artworks were produced. 2) Student learning was measured through sharing in the classroom, the physical art, and written reflections where students chose their favorite fiber art and told why; they identified the steps in a fiber process; they wrote of a world culture and explained why they thought it was important to the people; they linked art to nature. Teachers and education coordinators provided ongoing feedback and participated in a qualitative/quantitative evaluation (results mailed). 2: 1) More than 500 students learned fiber arts through hands-on lessons and learned about world cultures. They then created fiber art collages, which were used to make large-scale collaborative artwork for each of 18 classrooms. 2) Students wrote reflections about their learnings where they described such things as: their favorite project and process, one of the world cultures and why fiber art is important to their everyday lives, things they learned about wetlands, and described what viewing audiences might learn about art or wetlands when looking at their projects. The art was exhibited to the public at the local art center and is now on display in the schools. Teachers provided verbal and written feedback in an online survey. 100% agreed that the program was a valuable learning experience for students (80% strongly agreed that it was valuable.) Minnesota state education standards in art, science and social studies were met by the lesson plans presented during the program.