Running Head: Assignment 4.

3 Capstone

Assignment 4.3 Capstone Assignment Becoming an Expert

Stephanie Wagerer
Fresno Pacific University

The Aesthetic Domain

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

The early childhood education classroom is a special environment that serves to provide
children, from birth to second grade, with exceptional opportunities to learn, grow, and develop.
Within this environment, careful consideration is made into how the space is set up and utilized
in a way that allows the young child every opportunity to explore, discover, and respond to their
environment. The role of the aesthetic domain is vital to the classroom environment and
childrens learning as it exposes them to the arts from an early age. Though the arts can pertain to
every discipline in the classroom, the four major key points are dance, music, drama, and visual
arts.
Aesthetics are defined as the ability to perceive beauty through the senses. It can also be
applied to the love of and pursuit of the beauty found in music, visual arts, dance, and life itself.
Many early childhood approaches have included the arts in their curriculum. The most notable is
the Reggio Emilia approach. The schools are focused around artistic expression, feature an art
studio, and bring in a teacher who has special training in the arts to teach the children in the
studio. This model allows children to explore and experience art in an immersive environment
and to respond to their experiences and peers in a way that ties directly into their own personal
interests.
The role of aesthetics has been considered by some as a soft domain but evidence has
pointed towards the necessity of an educational experience that is rich in the arts. Kirkwood &
Shulsky (2015) in an article titled Beyond Tempera Paint, state Art has a natural presence in
early childhood classrooms. As such, it provides a rich vehicle through which layered learning
can be explored. Taking this into consideration, educators must take care to set their classrooms
up in such a way that facilitates learning and art integration. The NAEYC has several standards

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

that address the aesthetic domain and includes examples of materials, classroom set up, and areas
to address.
The Classroom Environment
Early childhood classrooms need to be set up in a way that addresses the arts in a
developmentally appropriate fashion that creates an authentic experience for children. Art is so
much more than just tempera paint and paper. Materials to create art with can be found
everywhere and can be manufactured such as chenille stems and pom-poms, natural such as bark
and pine needles, or recycled such as marker caps and corks. High quality childhood classrooms
should provide materials that promote drawing, painting, three-dimensional art, and collage
materials. (Kirkwood & Shulsky, 2015) Children should be allowed to be creative directors of
their own learning and to dictate their interests in an artistic fashion. It is simply not enough to
have a few easels, jars of paint, and brushes in the classroom. While such materials are a decent
starting point, they lack diversity in what could and should be present in a developmentally
appropriate setting.
Art can, and should, be integrated into all domains within the classroom. Dramatic arts
spill over into the dramatic play area as children act out stories and social settings. In this area,
children need to be supplied with costumes; raw materials such as printed fabrics and books, and
play things such as telephones, kitchen and house wares, child size seating, and toys from other
areas. Music arts can be fostered through the introduction of multicultural music that reflects the
cultures of the children, various musical instruments that can be manipulated by children, and
opportunities to dance and play music that is meaningful to them. Visual arts can be developed
and encouraged in many ways as well such as studying artists, attending art galleries, and being

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

provided with the opportunities to critique others work. Children should also be able to select
pieces of their work for portfolios or to showcase in the classroom. (Kirkwood & Shulsky, 2015)
Children Construct Knowledge
Constructivist theorists such as Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky were among the first to put
forth the idea that children construct their own knowledge and contribute to cognitive
development. Dawn Baker (2013) states, Vygotskys theories regarding the development of
higher psychological functions is dependent, in part, on a childs ability to think in concepts or
concept development. Developmentally appropriate art education allows children this ability to
create higher thinking and cognitive growth. The arts provide a vehicle by which to demonstrate
learning that has taken place.
When given the opportunity, children demonstrate knowledge by utilizing the four
aesthetic domains of visual arts, drama, music, and dance. Illustrations, comics, costumes, and
masks utilize visual arts as children use materials to create a visual representation of what they
have learned. Children use drama by creating skits, performing dramatic storytelling, performing
in plays, and engaging in dramatic play. Musical expression allows children to create their own
songs or sing music that pertains to their own learning, but also allows them to recognize
patterns and instruments, create lyrics, or set words to music. Dance allows children to express
themselves in physical ways, move to rhythm, and create new poses based off an idea or person.
(Baker, 2013)
Implementation of the Aesthetic Domain
Kostelnik, Soderman, Rupiper, & Warren (2014) argue that, Planning activities in the
arts is easier and more educational when teachers target specific goals. It is teachers that need to

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

be aware of what goals they want their children to be able to meet as well as take responsibility
in setting up the classroom environment to facilitate the implementation of those goals. Teachers
need to be aware of the age group they are working with and the developmental level of their
students so that the goals they are teaching are being taught at a developmentally appropriate
level.
Teachers are the first step to an appropriate art educational experience. As teachers create
meaningful instruction they should model their own enthusiasm, prepare aesthetics friendly
classrooms, organize a creative arts center, and provide a wide variety of artistic tools and
supplies that include recycled and natural materials. Teachers should set up centers with a variety
of musical instruments and materials including song books and CDs. Teachers should sing and
teach children new songs as well as sing familiar tunes, add in open-ended problem solving
ideas, and provide a number of props to encourage movement and dance such as scarves, hoops,
and streamers. Large areas where children can act out stories and songs are important as well as
the addition of props such as hats, clothing, and items that suggest roles such as phones, helmets,
menus, a mailbox, and empty food containers, these things promote creative drama.
Within the classroom environment, teachers can help children develop a sense of respect
for the things they use, engaging them in clean up and showing them how to care for materials
such as paintbrushes, watercolor pans, and markers. Teachers also need to motivate creativity
and encourage imagination through talk, role play ideas, artwork placed at eye level. Juvonen,
Nevanen, & Ruismki (2014) suggests that teachers and children need to work together in
classrooms in their statement, The enjoyment of working, playing, and thinking together with
adults creates in the child an interest in learning. Teachers and children work together within the

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

educational setting as students learn from teachers, and teachers learn and discover new things
about their students as well.
The Problem With Art Education
While it is abundantly clear that art education is vital to the physical, emotional, and
cognitive development in children, there is a downside to teaching an art based program. The
problem lies, not with the source material, but with the teachers themselves, and sometimes the
parents. Boyd & Cutcher (2015) note that mastery in art is developed by ongoing exposure and
practice, rather than novel experiences that are different every day. Children can also be critical
of others artwork and need to be reminded that everyone has their own unique style. Parents can
also create problems when they show little to no interest in their childs artistic effort, though
children often encourage their parents to become involved based on their own personal
enthusiasm.
The biggest problem lies with teachers who are, themselves, not confident in their own
aesthetic knowledge. These teachers shy away from creative artistic endeavors due to the fact
that they lack pedagogical content knowledge. Other teachers value pre-made art such as print
out coloring pages, stencils, or paint by number simply because they feel as though they lack
knowledge or creativity. Often the argument is that they are unable to draw even a stick figure
and so they limit themselves to what they feel they are capable and confident in, rather than
continue to expose themselves and their students to a wider variety of aesthetic components.
(Boyd & Cutcher, 2015)
The Solution?

Assignment 4.3 Capstone

Despite the problems that educators face in teaching the arts, the solution is not to give up
or hold back from teaching the arts. The solution must come then from a willingness to learn.
Rather than refuse to teach a subject that is unfamiliar, teachers should immerse themselves in
the arts. Educators do not need to be a master painter or artist to introduce aesthetic elements into
their curriculum. What the teacher lacks in skill can be made up through access to materials,
ample time to create art, and a dedication to providing a well rounded educational experience.
Education in the arts can be as much of a learning experience for an educator as it is for the child
and it can be meaningful and connect to childrens learning and their world.

References
Baker, D. (2013). Art Integration and Cognitive Development. Journal for Learning Through the
Arts, 9(1)
Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., Warren, A. P., & Rupiper, M. L. (2015). Developmentally
Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education (6th ed.).
Place of

publication not identified: Pearson.

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Learning from early childhood philosophy, theory and pedagogy: Inspiring effective art
education. (2015, February 1). Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 40(1),
91-98.
Nevanen, S., Juvonen, A., & Ruismki, H. (2014). Does Arts Education Develop School
Readiness? Teachers and Artists Points of View on an Art Education Project.
Arts

Education Policy Review, 115(3), 72-81. doi:10.1080/10632913.2014.913970

Shulsky, D., & Kirkwood, D. (2015). Beyond Tempera Paint: Authentically Exploring Visual Art
in Early Childhood. Childhood Education, 91(5), 363-369.
doi:10.1080/00094056.2015.1090851