Importance of Visual and Media Arts for Learning and Development
Early childhood development is an essential phase of learning. What the children experience in their early years influence the learning outcomes and develop certain behaviors that will support their learning attitudes in the future. Incorporation of visual and media arts in school curricula can fosters a child’s holistic development and help cultivate his artistic abilities, fuel his creativity and knowledge. The paper focuses on how visual arts can prove to be an important cultural and educational tool.
Children look first before they do anything or speak. Thus, a useful educational emphasis on artistic images can add to his visual literacy (Williams, 2016). The use of visual imagery can be incorporated within schools, classroom, and curriculum. As there are fewer arts specialists in schools, the educators are often not very sure of how arts learning can be implemented within the classrooms. However, the use of art and visual literacy is absolutely effective in embracing effective teaching and learning as asserted by Williams (2016). Children’s capacity to create art is seen as spontaneous art which is based on their thoughtful intentions. Researching with children offers great insights into their artistic, social practices, their artistic interests, and growth. Children get the first art experiences at home, and the parents are often the first teachers for them as asserted by Richards (2014). John Dewey pointed out in Art as Experience that art should not be seen as an emotional outburst and proper channeling of art could transform the experience and expression of art (Richards, 2014). One can apply Dewey’s concepts to children within the classrooms and promote certain ideas and activities related to art. The artistic expressions among children were the cumulative experiences within their public and private worlds (Richards, 2014). It is their perceptions, emotions, and skills that lay the foundation of their art skills. As stated by Dewey, any negative emotions like anger or fear repressed artistic expression while a positive emotional engagement encouraged art and not just the craft. Fully rewarding artistic experiences were possible with controlled artistic actions and perceptions with the help of external influences.
Most children experience literature through the picture books that are filled with visual images that tell a story. Reading those picture books aloud can contribute to the development of visual literacy among children (Soundy, 2015). Children can use build vocabulary and relationships between the picture and the text and develop valuable skills for future composition. The kind and quality of children’s books can assist the teachers in creating meaningful engagement with the students. Wiesner’s picture book, “The Three Pigs” with colorful illustrations and descriptive interactions between three pigs and the wolf blend different narrative structures and techniques (Flores-Koulish & Smith-D’Arezzo, 2016). Children can make strong connections between the picture books. Postmodern children’s literature must communicate media in a variety of forms to encourage active engagement among the children. Art activities within the class like drawing and painting is a child’s personal creation. The process and experience of art for a child is more about his individuality and originality that needs to be valued. It is essential to appreciate the differences in the artistic styles of the children and appreciate the diversity through artwork (Shedd & Coyner, 2015).
Children as producers of art and not just consumers of art
Children as Producers of Art and Not Just Consumers of Art
Teaching specific elements of visual art can help develop comprehension and creative competencies among the students. “Criticality” and “creativity” carry an intimate relationship as both need the presence of high-quality thoughts (Pantaleo, 2017). Creativity in thinking is associated with designing thought. Children express their thinking better orally than in writing. Educators need to expand their own understanding of visual art and design to develop the right use of images in picture books. Creative and expressive arts practices made available to young children within the class is likely to expand the range of experiences. From the perspective of social semiotic approach, digital art making within the early years of children’s creative play seems promising but is still a relatively new approach when compared to the traditional paper art making (Sakr, Connelly, & Wild, 2016). Creating an inclusive environment for the children within the classroom means accepting differences and facilitating independence through active interactive environments and participation. Different art forms like dance, visual art, music, and drama can be used to create an inclusive environment. Those activities can be made an essential part of the early childhood curriculum (Henderson & Lasley, 2014).
The digital technologies are not only popular, but effective technologies that are being used to introduce are to – to 5-year-olds (Sakr, Connelly, & Wild, 2016). The potentials of children’s digital art making and the integration of digital technologies within the early years of the classroom are still seen at a nascent stage. A study was done on adults with intellectual disabilities who were members of the Visual Storytelling Club (VSC). The VSC meets regularly as an extracurricular art initiative and encourages the memes to express and connect with the help of art (McEwen, Zbitnew, & Chatsick, 2014). They used technologies to manipulate art and experiment with images. The study looks at the potential uses for tablets as both educational and creative tool. The new technologies facilitate both social interaction and increased communication among the artists. It is because the members can create art quickly and share it more readily with others on the digital media. The art-making experience is seen as an alternative way of communication, connectedness and inspired creativity. It fostered critical thinking among the artists as they experimented with different techniques and designs as asserted by McEwen, Zbitnew, & Chatsick (2014).
An analysis of how children negotiate digital art making within the classroom shows how children can make sense of digital art making without any adult input. The study highlights how children approach digital resources and what kind of creative ways they use (Sakr, Connelly, & Wild, 2016). However, careful planning is needed here and the children using digital technologies should be given the right support. An outstanding method of creating authentic arts education can be seen in the Botanics series of apps that cover drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. The students develop their ability to read images effectively prior learning and expand their visual literacy. The digital content is delivered using attractive contemporary technology and creates quality art activities and experiences (Williams, 2016). The students add to their visual literacy through guided questioning by the teachers and through quality art experiences via innovative apps. That goes on to show that children are not just consumers but producers of art culture.
Role of Visual and Media Arts in the Cultural Lives of Children
Visual and media arts can enrich the cultural lives of children. According to Soundy (2015), the younger artists use basic visual artistic elements like line, color, shape, and texture to create visual texts. Educators now realize that children’s drawings reflect their process for thinking and communicating. The pictures and drawing can work as an aesthetic and creative medium that can create new ideas with a touch of imagination. Children’s rich and complex ability to identify drawings from multi-modal and semiotic perspectives have motivated the educators to think more about the textbooks (Soundy, 2015). Educators need to be aware of the various forms of verbal and visual representation. However, communicating with the child about art through meaningful adult-child interactions can be most productive if the adults are patient towards the child. However, it requires a long-term commitment to understanding and interactions that focus on the child’s art experiences (Richards, 2014). Lack of meaningful interactions at home and school as well as lack of meaningful social interactions an at preschool can enhance their artistic expressions. The schools and teachers need to develop a stimulating and supportive environment for the students to explore their art experiences. The complexity of children’s’ experience of creating art from observation or their imagination relies on their interactions and experiences in both private and public facets. Visual and Media Arts engage students in creative thinking and thus enrich their cultural lives.
Mayesky (2015) urges teachers to keep the children at the center of their teaching practice and rely on their professional judgment. It is essential to implement creative activities to promote the development of the young child. The teachers can implement fun and creative activities for young children within the classroom. However, in order to do this, the school and the educators need to make a careful selection of children’s books and activities to work creatively with children. The educator should develop a nurturing environment for the students to explore, test themselves and solve problems during a shared experience like painting a collage. Children learn about the skills of others as well as the pleasure of togetherness. Active learning through the arts creates excitement. Art is also used to meet the unique needs of students. An inclusion atmosphere in the classroom can motivate the children to think for themselves (Henderson & Lasley, 2014). However, the educators need to plan the activities based on individual needs, abilities, and interests of the students.
It is essential to transform the curriculum to promote the creativity and imagination within every child, who deserves the opportunity to learn and expand. The arts curriculum can be reformed to develop a rewarding experience for the students in the arts (Roy, Baker & Hamilton, 2015). The contemporary sociocultural curricula must encourage meaningful social interactions to impact children’s art experiences positively.
Conclusion
Learning to appreciate visual aesthetics and create art is seen as an essential aspect of development for the next generation of children. The educational experts cannot ignore the importance of visual and media arts within the classroom. Children need to be seen as confident producers, not purely consumers of art culture. They need to represent and express themselves as involved learners. This is possible only if they get a suitable atmosphere within the classroom and right mediums of expression. The digital and interactive information technologies are the new media are being studied as an innovative platform for participation and inclusion.
References
Flores-Koulish, S. A., & Smith-D’Arezzo, W. M. (2016). The Three Pigs : Can they blow us into critical media literacy old school style? Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30(3), 349-360.
Henderson, C. M., & Lasley, E. (2014). Creating Inclusive Classrooms through the Arts. Dimensions Of Early Childhood, 42(3), 1-624.
Mayesky, M. (2015). Creative activities and curriculum for young children (11th ed.) (Chapters 3, 5-6, 12). USA: Wadsworth Cengag,. 1(1), 11-17.
McEwen, R., Zbitnew, A., & Chatsick, J. (2016). Through the lens of a tetrad: Visual storytelling on tablets. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 19(1), 100-112.
Pantaleo, S. (2017). Critical thinking and young children’s exploration of picture book artwork. Language & Education: An International Journal, 31(2), 152–168.
Richards, R. (2014). The private and public worlds of children’s spontaneous art. Studies in Art Education, 55(2), 143-156.
Roy, D., Baker, W. & Hamilton, A. (2015). Teaching the arts: Early childhood and primary education (2nd ed.) (Chapter 9).Cambridge University Press. 1(2), 1-392.
Sakr, M., Connelly, V., & Wild, M. (2016). “Evil Cats” and “Jelly Floods”: Young children’s collective constructions of digital art making in the early years classroom. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 30(1), 128-141.
Soundy, C. S. (2015). Making Sense of Children’s Drawings and Semiotic Explorations. Dimensions Of Early Childhood, 43(3), 39-46.
Shedd, M. K., & Coyner, R. L. (2015). Every Color on the Canvas. YC: Young Children, 70(3), 84-87.
Williams, V. (2016). Digital apps supporting the explicit teaching of visual literacy and visual art. Practical Literacy: The Early & Primary Years, 21(1), 42-43.
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