The impact of art on students' attitudes and learning in science

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how incorporating art into a science unit impacts students' attitudes towards science and their learning gains. There are currently only a handful of research papers that focus on incorporating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) into science classrooms, but not much research on using art in the science classroom to create transformative experiences. In this study paper engineering was used as the medium of art for the intervention group. Paper engineering for this research project is defined as the process of challenging students to create pop-up scenes that are three dimensional, create an effect to convey a message, and can be neatly folded away when done. Three out of four sections of chemistry classes were provided with an intervention of paper engineering (n=36) and the fourth section received traditional teaching as the control (n=16). All four sections took the Science Attitude Survey and a Pre-Content Assessment before starting a unit on atomic and nuclear theory. Throughout the unit the researcher reflected on the lessons being taught by filling out the Reflective Teaching Survey. After completing the intervention unit, all students took the Science Attitude Survey, Post-Content Assessment, and an Open-Ended Survey. Through quantitative and qualitative data analysis strategies, students from the intervention group demonstrated an increase in positive attitude towards science and a small learning gain. In conclusion, paper engineering is an effective STEAM strategy.