USING CREATIVE PRACTICES TO FOSTER ARTS INTEGRATION: SUPPORTING EXPERIENTIAL PEDAGOGY FOR TEACHERS

Abstract

Few educators receive experiential professional development and coaching that support them in articulating and nurturing their creative voices and mindsets. The purpose of the participatory action research (P AR) study was to examine how supporting the pedagogical experiences of three teachers in an arts integrated school influenced their professional identities as they transferred arts integrated practices to classrooms. The theory of action for the study was: If teachers engage in arts-based, creative practices, they can co-create and implement arts integrated instructional experiences for students. I used participatory action research methodology informed by activist research methodology to investigate how teachers' artistic experiences influenced their teaching. As a result of engaging in creative practices as adult learners, they expanded their capacities to design and implement arts integrated curricula that promoted equitable access and rigor. Two findings are: (1) Teachers who articulated their creative practices strengthened their teaching through self-power and being art forward in their thinking and practices; and (2) teachers who engaged in experiential learning re-imagined themselves as teachers who nurtured their creative mindsets, found joy in teaching, and transferred the creative practices to classrooms. The findings have implications for schools and teachers in expanding and deepening their capacities to change curricular and pedagogical practices to promote equity.