An Interdisciplinary Approach in the Art Education Curriculum

This study investigates how interdisciplinary lessons are taught in an art education classroom. The teaching strategies used are: Integrated models, the use of "Big Ideas" (Jacobs, 1989, 2003), the use of constructivist methods (Freedman, 2003; Brooks and Brooks, 1999; Milbrandt, 2004), and the use of essential question inquiry (Erickson, 1998; Mallery, 2000) and teacher collaboration (Jacobs, 2005; Erickson, 1998; NAEA, 2005). I am the only participant in an autoethnographical study. In the Literature Review: Why arts integration is important is explored. Positives and negatives of teaching integrated disciplines are addressed. I include four units from my interdisciplinary curriculum in art education and observations with teaching reflections from the units taught in elementary and middle school. The models that are described are: Parallel Disciplines, Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary, and Integrated (Jacobs, 1989, 2005: Mallery, 2000;). The study results reveal how interdisciplinary teaching can be implemented in an art education classroom. IDEX WORDS: Thesis, Interdisciplinary, Integrated, Art Education, Big Ideas