Usually the arts and the sciences are held in counterpoint to one another. The arts provide the frills and the sciences the meat and potatoes. No so I tell you! The arts provide many surprisingly cognitive benefits. Research has shown that music alone helps to sharpen many different parts of the brain and improve areas such as verbal learning, working memory, mathematical computation, reading ability, etc. Visual arts help students use visual cues to encode information in their brain. Movement based arts like dance help students keep their brain in peak physical condition so that they are able to better learn information. Overall, the arts help to reach and engage students with a variety of different learning styles.
Environmental educators can incorporate the arts into their programs in many different ways. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Use songs to help students understand ecological concepts (i.e. Seminole Wind and Paradise talk about habitat destruction; songs also help students to connect on an emotional level).
2. Use drawing to help students practice their observation skills. Having students keep a nature journal is a fun and easy idea.
3. Acting and participating in living history programs can help students understand environmental and cultural events from a new perspective.
4. Older students can analyze environmental themes in theater productions, poetry, and song lyrics.
5. Younger students can use dance movements to mimic prairie grass, birds, animals, and water.
I’ve listed only five simple ideas; however, there are many more possibilities out there! The arts are an important aspect that educators need to take full advantage of. Students who are involved and active in the arts are shown to be more cognitively adept, so why wouldn’t we as educators want to use this to our students’ advantage?
Brain-Based Environmental Education 