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Jagpreet
26 August, 2024
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“Intelligence is what you use when you don’t know what to do.”― Jean Piaget
Are you interested in learning how art education affects cognitive development in children? Of course, you are eager to learn that, but you are not alone. Many parents and teachers are also curious to find strategies by which they can improve the quality of their children’s education and strengthen their cognitive abilities. There are many ways to impart education, different schools and colleges offer different approaches and strategies.
However, there are various means of a holistic approach in which you can utilise the best of your knowledge and skills to shape your children’s future. To do that you must understand the value of arts education and should know what arts education offers and how cognitive development will impact it. In this blog, we shall examine the impact of arts education on cognitive development for children.
Arts education comprises many subjects, such as theatre, dance, music, and visual arts. It is an essential component of a well-rounded education since it gives students chances for creativity, self-expression, and cultural enrichment. Arts education is a significant preventive strategy for reducing the risk of negative impacts on adolescents’ mental health. Regular participation in the arts can enhance young people’s relationships, scholastic achievement, and general well-being; these benefits are enhanced after a period of time.
Since ancient civilisations considered the arts to be an essential part of education, the value of arts education has been acknowledged throughout history. In recent years, budgetary restrictions and an increased emphasis on standardised testing in schools have presented difficulties for the arts curriculum. On the other hand, an increasing amount of studies emphasise the special advantages of arts education in promoting cognitive growth and improving academic achievement.
The term “cognitive development” implies the expansion of mental skills like memory, reasoning, thinking, and solving problems. These abilities are developing quickly in youth, and several things can affect how they do so. One such element that has drawn a lot of attention is arts education and its beneficial impact on cognitive development. Cognitive development is significantly impacted by art education. For example, children who learn arts-related subjects can adapt their creative thinking skills to a variety of challenging problem-solving scenarios.
The link between arts education and cognitive skills is imperative.
If you include arts education in students’ curriculum, it will enhance creativity and critical thinking . When you incorporate arts in students’ curriculum they produce creativity, and new concepts are learned by students. They also learn various other activities such as painting, sculpting, and drawing. If you want to build higher-order cognitive abilities then a high level of creativity is required which can be done by incorporating arts education.
Arts education is also known to improve memory and attention in students. They tend to perform in theatres and take part in music competitions in schools. For example, if a student wants to play a musical instrument it requires memorisation and attention to detail. So it will ultimately sharpen the memory of the student. On the other hand, if a student takes part in dancing it enhances focus and coordination. These exercises are part of arts subjects and tend to improve the memory and attention of the children.
Many researchers have shown that arts education impacts overall academic performance. It has positive effects on the overall development of the child. Arts education involves memorising the concept and learning from page to page and this increases the retention power of the children. Pattern recognition skills and thinking skills boost academic performance and children tend to score better.
You can see below the steps to incorporate arts education at home.
Create an Arts-Friendly Environment: You can always make a section in your house where your children will play and can research and explore different games. Also, children should have proper props such as colours, chairs, musical books and paints.
Encourage Participation: You should help your children to participate in arts education. There are many curricular activities in arts education. If you let your children be a part of it, it will create uniqueness in their behaviour.
Incorporate Arts into Daily Routine: It is always advisable to include arts activities in everyday routine. It will generate more social and cultural skills and enhance cognitive abilities. Children should take part in music, dancing and drawing in groups.
You can see below the steps to incorporate arts education in the classroom.
Collaborate with Arts Educators: : A curriculum should be developed by arts educators for students. In this way arts will be given importance and only arts educators know the significant syllabi to incorporate. Therefore, it will give students the platform to improve their cognitive development.
Integrate Arts Across Subjects: Look for methods to include the arts in other courses. For instance, using music to explain mathematical concepts like fractions and patterns or using drama to make history classes more interesting.
Provide Opportunities for Expression: Give students the chance to express themselves creatively. Encourage children to take part in musicals, plays, and art shows at school. These exercises enhance self-worth and confidence.
There are many reasons why arts education impacts cognitive development. Let’s discuss this further.
Research indicates that arts education promotes cognitive development.
If a student participates in artistic endeavours, it enhances a range of cognitive functions, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making.
We can learn more about how arts education improves cognitive capacities and advances intellectual development as a whole by looking at how it affects cognitive development.
Many subjects in arts education enhance academic performance.
Studies have shown that students who take part in arts education programmes frequently exhibit better levels of academic achievement such as increased test scores and grades.
When we study art education and academic performance simultaneously, it positively impacts cognitive development.
There should be a holistic approach to arts education to enhance cognitive development. Teach students the significance of arts, including music, dance, behaviour recognition, and kindness. These things will increase determination, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, empathy and independence among students. These characteristics will ultimately enhance cognitive abilities. These mentioned activities should be carried out at and schools both for good results. Therefore, in conclusion, every small gesture will bring children towards cognitive growth.
Arts education has a great influence on cognitive development. It includes various co-curricular activities such as playing with musical instruments, dancing, singing and drawing. We can monitor behavioural change and academic performance with the help of arts education.
Cognitive theory is basically an outcome of several features such as creativity, attention, memorisation, and knowledge. In arts education, we derive the best of cognition abilities including thinking, perception, thinking, brainstorming, language, and critical thinking.
Making art education enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and spatial reasoning skills. Students who participate in creative activities must be able to analyse, interpret, and make decisions, which can lead to better results in other academic areas.
The art activities improve the cognitive abilities of students as they stimulate their senses and social-emotional behaviour. Students become more creative, enthusiastic and self-aware about themselves.
