“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” -William Butler Yeats²²

With art integration in the regular curriculum, students gain a spark of interest that overflows into other more standard subjects. This allows for different types of learners, such as visual and kinesthetic, to attach to the material in their own unique ways. When there is an overlap between subjects, the material is engrained deeper and understood at a greater level. One principal, who’s school did not have a full-time art teacher, saw that every time an artist-in-residence was brought into his school, students and teachers across the board lit up with energy and excitement because of the new approach to their learning. From this, an arts-integration program was developed at the school, despite staff members thinking it was a waste of money and resources. But their apprehensions were soon proven wrong because with the coming of an arts-integrated teacher, test scores on state assessments were improved.²² To improve student achievement through arts integration, professional development of teachers is necessary. In order for this to happen, teachers must work collaboratively with each other across disciplines.²¹ Research continues to prove that the arts impact all learning in and out of school in both social and academic ways. Neuroscience research has also been done to prove the fact that incorporating the arts into a school curriculum allows adolescents to retain information in a greater capacity.²² Because of this, more and more teachers are participating in workshops sprinkled throughout the school year in order to create effective integrated lesson plans that align with school standards. The teachers who have participated, reported an increased understanding of the arts, had improved collaboration skills in order to deliver lessons with other teachers, improved capacities to design aligned assessments, and an increased understanding of what students were learning by reflecting on their work. These areas can strengthen as teachers participate in workshops for multiple years. This integration led to a more rigorous curriculum for the students.²¹ The “STEM” focused schools are realizing the arts are an important aspect to schooling and therefore many are transitioning into “STEAM” oriented schools. Incorporating the arts into math and science is a great accompaniment and allows students to think in more innovative and creative ways. Schools must give students opportunities to learn across these different disciplines and infuse art into what has been known as the “core curriculum.” It is the role of teachers to facilitate STEAM learning to their students in order to engage them at a high level to prepare them for a successful future.²² The costs and benefits of this professional development result in a successful learning environment, but is timely and costly. The frequency and duration of cross-disciplinary curriculum planning must be researched further in order to find the most effective balance that increases student and teacher learning.²¹