Learning to Think Critically

Abstract

This article examines whether exposure to the arts has an effect on the ability of students to engage in critical thinking. We conduct a randomized controlled trial involving 3,811 students who were assigned by lottery to participate in a School Visit Program at the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Students who participated in the School Visit Program demonstrated significantly stronger critical thinking skills when analyzing a new painting. These effects were larger for students from more disadvantaged backgrounds. In light of recent declines in the availability of the arts for disadvantaged populations, our results have important policy implications for efforts to restore and expand access to the arts.

Museums as Classrooms: The Academic and Behavioral Impacts of “School in the Park”

“…Recent work by Kisida et al (2016;Bowen et al, 2014) significantly advanced the museum education literature by providing experimental evidence of the impact of single museum visits on student critical thinking outcomes. Using stratified random assignment of school groups to museum visits, the authors were able to convincingly isolate the causal impact of a single visit to an art museum on shortterm measures of student ability to critically examine a work of art.…”

“…Some evaluations report improved student problem solving skills after participation (Paris et al, 1998). In most of the evaluations that utilize control groups of similar students or randomly assign the treatment, participating students scored higher on critical thinking evaluations than peers who did not participate (Bowen et al, 2014;Burchenel & Grohe, 2007;Downey et al, 2007;Kisida et al, 2016). One study measures achievement using standardized test scores and finds no statistically significant difference between participants and nonparticipants (Adams et al, 2006).…”

Wayang Sebagai Media Trans-Embodiment Dalam Pendidikan Seni Dan Budaya Pada Anak

“…Improvisasi, terutama pada bagian akhir siklus, bersifat situasional, didorong oleh kebutuhan akan makna yang disampaikan agar capaian pembelajaran dapat terpenuhi. Pengalaman yang dirasakan dari gerakan tubuh atau sensasi kinestetik mendahului subjektivitas individu yang memberikan koordinasi sinestetis dalam tubuh (Dewey, 1980;Bowen, Greene, and Kisida, 2014). Lebih lanjut, sensasi ini disimpan sebagai memori dan pengalaman estetik yang secara tidak langsung mempengaruhi pengetahuan anak (Dewey, 1980;Graham, 1997;Sampurno, 2019).…”

Inside the Black Box: Stakeholder Perceptions on the Value of Arts Field Trips

“…In a study by Bowen, Greene, and Kisida (2014), results show that students exposed to a few hours in a world class art museum in their community were able to recall details about the art many weeks later, were able to use critical thinking constructs to understand new art which they had never seen before, and were able to display improved "historical" empathy, meaning that they were able to better understand their place in the world and in time. An important socialemotional finding of this study was that students exposed to the field trip scored higher on measures of tolerance, which include responses to statements such as "people can have different opinions about the same thing."…”