Chemistry in Art: Crossing Curriculum

1. What is the title of the project? Chemistry in Art: Crossing Curriculum

2. What is the Question? Can Teaching chemistry be paired with art instruction to boost student performance in chemistry?

4. What strategy is being used to address? This teacher is using crossing curriculum strategies to get her students attention and participation to increase. She crossed chemistry and art into one lesson plan to gain the students curiosity.

5. What evidence is presented that the strategy will work? The research she used was from the book “Art in Chemistry; Chemistry in Art,” by Barbara Greenberg and Diane Patterson. She also had help from Dr. Sasan Karimi, an associate professor of Chemistry at Queensborough Community College.

6. How will data be collected to determine if the strategy will work? The teacher collected data pertaining to the attendance from last year to the present school year. She used her own personal journaling to gather information about student’s attendance and how many times they were skipping class.

7. How was the data analyzed? The data was analyzed after she gathered information from both school years. She watched student’s tardiness, attendance, attention & focus, and motivation before and after the lesson plan was taught.

8. What were the results? The results showed that the teachers overall problem was starting to get solved. The students became much more interested in chemistry because of the excitement that art added to the lesson plan. She learned that you must make connections between art and chemistry in order for the students to understand why the information is relevant. She also learned that you need support from other teachers to make the lesson plan for successful. You must answer the question “Where are we going with this? If you have a clear path you will be able to have much more confidence while teaching. Her last suggestion was to stay positive and confident that no matter what you’re doing you’re working towards a change.

9. How do the results inform teacher practice? Integrated curriculum must be carried out by teams of teachers. Teachers must maintain an awareness of topics and integrated subjects. The payoff for integration subjects will give the students much more motivation.