Using the Arts to Foster Students' Interest, Engagement, and Learning in a Distance-Learning Environment

Y

18

Student Interests; Learner Engagement; Distance Education; Active Learning; Student Projects; Educational Environment; Multicampus Colleges; Undergraduate Students; Foreign Countries; Instructional Effectiveness; Visual Arts; Systems Approach; Art Materials; Web Sites; Textbook Content; Case Method (Teaching Technique); Cartoons

2547-9652

In this article, we discuss the lessons learned in a system thinking course developed in a multicampus, distance-learning environment. Forty-six undergraduate students were involved; the students were from four campuses of the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. We explain the course design, curriculum and online components. We analyze the effectiveness of the use of art (visual art, literature, performing arts and media arts) in fostering the students' interest, engagement and learning. In order to gather data, we used a convergent parallel mixed method approach. We made systemic analysis of the data collected. We found that the use of music, poetry, stories and films helped students to make connections between theory and practice, thereby improving their learning. Students' use of these materials also increased their enthusiasm for the course. We also found that the visual arts, in particular, fostered the students' curiosity, increasing their engagement in the proposed activities.

As Provided

2020

EJ1244473