From crayons to constructivist curriculum: Promoting aesthetics and artistic development in young children through teacher preparation

Abstract

One early childhood teacher preparation program includes “Aesthetics As Learning,” a course which emphasizes that aesthetics is another way of knowing—another domain of development. The course has a reading, writing, discussion and experiential component—and all are integrated, but the experiential component (weekly arts activities) is showcased in this article.

One significant and innovative component of the experiential approach is that the students do not react to the use of the arts from a child's perspective but respond as an adult. This provides for an authentic experience with the arts. The college classroom uses a constructivist approach in which students construct their own meaning from their experiences and a feminist pedagogical approach that develops a classroom community of learners. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Notes

*Tel.: +1‐412‐578‐6014; fax: +1‐412‐578‐8816.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ellen J. Dehouske

*Tel.: +1‐412‐578‐6014; fax: +1‐412‐578‐8816.