Art integrated learning redefines education

Murali Cheeroth

What is education? The definition changes with the changing times. But it is always based on sustainable progress aiming intellectual and mental development with emphasis on constant transformation, which is the foundation of good education.

However, this goal can only be achieved by cultivating among students thoughts and visions beyond the textbook, thus placing academic learning on a new pedestal. The concept of Art Integrated Learning (AIL) evolved from the idea of ​​fine-tuning the ability of children to acquire knowledge beyond the formal academic framework.

Since this is a completely new concept in education, it is yet to fully crystalise in Indian schools in general. However, we were able to successfully intervene in this area and our view was that classrooms should also be a creative platform for study and that it would nurture the socio-cultural and philosophical thinking of children.

While AIL is a new concept, the prototype of integrating art with the study of other subjects can be seen in Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy of education. He was the first to speak about the bond between learning and art, and founded Santiniketan with the aim of turning learning into a creative experience. Later, Devi Prasad, a renowned artist and educator who studied at Santiniketan, elaborated on this in his book ‘Art: The basis of education’. He says:

“The principles of education worked out by Tagore had totally rejected the notion and practice of teaching based on textbooks. For Tagore, education was a process of learning rather than a mechanical method of thrusting information into, what are supposed to be, the empty minds of children and adults. According to Tagore, the best textbook is life itself, and nature, of which we are an integral part; so also our cultural heritage and its significance in the ongoing processes of our lives. To put it in a nutshell, there are three centres of education: mother- tongue, nature and creative activities...”

Therefore, the concept of art education should also include education through art. There is a Chinese proverb, “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people”. This is relevant even today, though the modes of education have changed.

In order to sensitize students about our local and diverse culture, we have to integrate their basic art, design and soft skills into an aesthetic and intellectual approach. At the same time, the biggest challenge we face in this connection is in the areas of aesthetic thought and process-based technology. We need to enable children to develop aesthetics, creativity, responsiveness and reflectiveness in relation to the environment in which they live, and relate with it from the core of their self.

In addition, teachers have a significant role to play among the people in the field of art as well as the student community, especially at the interactive level. We incorporate collective learning, communication, responsibilities, and intellectual coordination among the students’ social and emotional abilities into various layers of thought and learning on the subject of integrated learning. There is no doubt that education responds very positively to these sensitivities, which bring about a radical change in the field of study and it nurtures the natural awareness and curiosity of the students.

Integrated studio-based activities are open-ended learning that is process-based and experience-based. In this way, not only will they actively enjoy learning, but their love for learning will also sustain throughout their lives. When teachers approach the learning process of children as ‘this is right, this is wrong’, it destroys their natural abilities. As Jiddu Krishnamurthy said, if a teacher can teach children without reward and punishment, it will definitely catalyze their natural thinking.

As Gestalt theory says, we need to think about how to improve consistency to manage time effectively. The greatest way to do that is to creatively use art in the learning process. It tells teachers to encourage children to find the connection between the various components of a problem, or the problem for which an answer has to be found.

Various inconsistencies and gaps are natural in the learning process. These inconsistencies and disagreements make learning so organic. Hence we need not judge the errors and disagreements in them, because the debate stems from disagreements. Therefore, Art Integrated Learning is highly relevant in integrating different perspectives, and this strengthens their skill development, which I have personally experienced as an art teacher.

Another important factor is that it develops social skills and at the same time cultivates socially critical thinking. The impact this will have on teachers and students will revolutionise the classroom culture itself and lead to a new pedagogical approach. This will not only facilitate the integration of art in the study but it will also help in fostering a completely innovative institutional culture that would positively change children. That is why it is said that our education system must be able to open the window of art to them at an early age.

The method of learning by integrating art is very different from the simple mathematical approach of one plus one is two. That is, we must understand a fact in its context. As the perspective changes, so does the fact. It is in this context that Ellen J. Langer’s concept of mindfulness gains prominence. “When we are mindless, our behaviour is rule and routine-governed,” she says. “When we are mindful, rules and routines may guide our behaviour rather than predetermine it.... Virtually all of our facts depend on context.”

Changing of contexts generates imagination and creativity as well as new energy, says Langer, who observes that “Mindfulness can encourage creativity when the focus is on the process and not the product.”

In other words, education is also a culture, which uplifts us in many ways. When education is integrated with art, it also aims to inculcate in children a socio-political thought process, which in turn brings them closer to the society. Yes, education is what makes man a socio-political being. That is why it is said that the process should be taken beyond the textbook and integrated with art. Aurobindo and Jiddu Krishnamurthy developed their educational approach based on the perspective that education is the fullness of the mind.

The importance of Art Integrated Learning comes in this perspective, and many serious researches are taking place in different parts of the world. Bell Hooks, who is an American author, professor, feminist, social activist, and cultural critic, has done some revolutionary researches in this field. She mooted the idea of ‘engaged pedagogy’ in this context only.

Recently I had the opportunity to work extensively in the fields of education, including architecture. This has enabled us to redevelop and coordinate basic foundation courses related to architecture. In many of the schools I taught at, we brought two or three subjects together and even set up a public integrated studio.

Bringing learning out of the textbook and classroom is very important in modern times. As an artist and as a teacher, I was able to think like that because of the training I received.

Santiniketan

In Santiniketan, eminent teachers including KG Subramanyan, Somnath Hore, and R. Sivakumar helped us to resolve various confusions. Growing awareness through debates and discussions not only helped us to acquire the basic skills needed for a student’s overall development, but we can now clearly translate the knowledge and conceptual insights gained then into different areas.

When it comes to education, especially in the context of nuclear families, the children are not equipped to face the challenges or criticism, and also they lack creative communication, which affect their intellectual activities. This ultimately makes students selfish and they lack compassion and empathy. Thus, they are less likely to have the skill to face social challenges and criticism. They could never face any ‘NO’ in life. This means that they do not have the strength to innovate themselves.

That’s why a few years ago when we were designing the curriculum for an architectural course, we tried to bring learning and art together. This led us to the realization that architecture and art have a place to interact mutually. It is very helpful to develop critical thinking as well as the cognitive development and imagination, which would also develop social skills and the courage to overcome social fears and to take up challenges. “Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information,” according to Paulo Freire.

In this context, we need an education system that can take learning beyond the textbook, nurture education beyond mere grades and sharpen the understanding of children. Then only we can create awareness about the harmony of truth among the children, as observed by Tagore. His followers, including Nandalal Bose, were instrumental in bringing this vision to its culmination in Santiniketan, and thus fostering a strong bond between art and craft, and between art and society.

It is in this perspective that we need to see the Kochi Muziris Biennale organized by the Kochi Biennale Foundation. Apart from taking art to more people, it also provided a space for serious debates on art. The Biennale also took a significant step in changing the way we think about the study of art. If we are able to spread that energy generated to other areas as well, it would bring about very impactful positive changes in art education and education through art.