Arts Integration Plan to Jumpstart Your Efforts

2 Min Read  •  Getting Started with Integration

By now, everyone knows Nike’s tagline, right?  “Just Do It“.

Swoosh.

And when it comes to teaching approaches, that’s the advice we typically hear, too.  Want to use this arts integration plan?  Just do it!  How about project based learning? Jump on in and just do it!  Trying to set up choice-based centers?  Just DO it!

That’s easy to say, but I think it’s totally wrong.

To be successful at any of these arts integration plan (or other) approaches in the classroom, you need to have all the information.  You need to feel empowered and supported.  And saying “just do it” doesn’t help much when you’re struggling to really see how this is going to work in your classroom.

Since we focus on Arts Integration and STEAM here at IAS, I’ll be the first to tell you that you can’t just jump right in and expect to see great results.  In fact, you’ll probably flop if you do that.  Instead, I like to provide a Jumpstart Plan to get you the empowerment and support you need FIRST.

WHAT TO NOTICE IN THIS ARTS INTEGRATION PLAN

1. You start slowly and with all the information
When it comes to arts integration and STEAM, doing the research and creating a list of features and benefits for your school/classroom is critical.  You need to know what it is, how it works, and see it in action first.  After you have all of that, then you can begin to think about putting a lesson together.

2. You need a team
Even if it’s just 2 other people (and even if they aren’t super excited from the get-go), you can’t do this alone.  After all, these approaches are both about collaboration and connection.  Building a team makes that possible.

3. It doesn’t need to be “all or nothing”
You don’t have to start with a huge unit or stressful lesson that will take 3-5 class periods.  Start small…ease your way into it! This will help to build up your confidence and make the process so much more authentic to YOU as a teacher.

In our online class The Creative Mindset Blueprint, we share this plan and break out each of these pieces to make it as easy to get started as possible.  Why? Because throwing people into the deep end doesn’t always work. Sometimes, we need to slow it down and work on learning how to pieces fit before we take off.

That’s not to say that we never jump in, though.  There’s got to be a point when we all take a deep breath and “swoosh” with the best of them.  It’s just better to do it when you are fully prepared first!