Using The Visual Arts to Enhance Critical Thinking and Language Production in Multicultural Classrooms View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Ana Guzman,  Veronica Alvarez  

Traditionally, US classrooms have emphasized rote memorization and an analytical approach to acquiring the English language, de-emphasizing critical thinking and the experiential. The curricularization of language acquisition has stripped away the sociocultural and implicit knowledge necessary to gain mastery of the language–which is concerning to students pursuing graduation, higher education, and lifelong pursuits. Learning a new language is universal and nonlinear, hence this session examines this phenomena and model strategies on how the arts can support more equitable learning spaces for all multilingual learners throughout the world. In this workshop, Dr. Veronica Alvarez and Ana Guzman, M.A., present research and model evidence-based strategies used in museum settings that enhance critical thinking and language production using works of art. In this session, participants will learn about current scholarship on how language is acquired, participate in accessible discussion-based strategies, and engage in dialogue about equitable and inclusive classroom spaces for all learners.