By Irene Moreno-Jimenez
Educators in Centretown are committed to helping children learn through art.
Both the Ottawa Public Library and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) have recently developed ways for students to express themselves through various art forms, which psychologists say are an important part of the learning process.
“Through the arts, all senses are cultivated so that all learning is vivid and all students with different learning styles can be reached,” says Dale Taylor, art consultant for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
The school board’s belief that the arts are beneficial to students’ learning process led to the launching of Learning Through The Arts — one of the largest public school initiatives in the world.
The program is offered through the Royal Conservative of Music and operates in 300 Canadian schools.
It links teachers with artistic educators to give them ideas to use in their classrooms and offers training in writing of lesson plans and curriculum development.
Earlier this week, six artists put on a carousel of workshops for elementary school teachers.
The Ottawa Public Library is also using art to help students tap into their learning potential.
To that end, the library offers free space on the second floor to allow local youth to exhibit their artwork.
Though the space does not have a lot of art at the moment, the library is stepping up its promotion efforts, says Suzanne Delisle of children and youth services at the library, adding “we want to encourage local talented youth to come and leave their works with us.”
Delisle says teachers from a number of Centretown schools – including Glashan Public School and Cambridge and Elgin Street Public Schools — encourage their students to create art and exhibit it at the library.
Carleton University psychology professor Robert Coplan also encourages parents to promote art among their children.
“Creativity … allows children to solve problems in ways that are not immediately evident,” says Coplan. “It allows them to think outside the box.”
And, says Coplan, when it comes to learning through art, no one art is better than others.
“I do not think it really matters what they do,” Coplan says. “But the experience of being artistic in any avenue will help their creativity.
“It is going to make them feel good about themselves and will allow them to share things that are inside them with the outside world.”