This document summarizes and compares two case studies on integrating arts into education. Case study one examined the effects of integrating music lessons into math instruction for 3-5 year olds, finding those students scored significantly higher on standardized tests. Case study two explored how integrating drama into reading lessons for 4-8 year olds, including English language learners, helped develop literacy skills. Both studies found arts integration increased student engagement and supported learning across subjects.

1. Kristen Just, Ashley Garaas
& Whitney Fridley

2.  This case study was designed for students who ranged from the ages
of three to five years of age. Students underwent this study for a six
month period. This case study was completed to determine if
students who received music enriched lessons out performed
students who did not receive music instruction in their lessons. The
research from this study suggests that students who received music
enriched lessons scored significantly higher then students who did
not.

3.  Throughout this six-week case study researchers tried to discover
the effects that process drama would have on the development of
literacy skills for four to eight year old students. Some of the
students even spoke English as their second language. The research
from this study suggests that through the use of process drama in
the reading curriculum, teachers may be better able to help students
develop both basic and higher level literacy skills.

4. Case Study One Case Study Two
 Applied music skills such as:
pitch, dynamics, duration,
timbre, and form
 Developed listening, vocal, and
motor skills
 Used critical thinking skills
involved in counting,
calculation, number
conventions, and number facts
 Explored multiple and
alternative viewpoints
 Identified and attempted to
solve problems
 Applied own logic
 Used skills necessary in critical
reading
 Applied language development
 Applied content knowledge
 Explored and understood
written texts and picture books
Both studies applied critical thinking skills, although case study two
utilized more skills than case study one.

5. Case Study One Case Study Two
 Dance
 Clapping rhythms
 Vocal expression through the
use of singing
 Acting out concepts through
the use of drama
 Drama
 Dramatic play
 Role-playing
 Improvisation
 Using imagination
Both studies were equally effective in the use of creative expression.

6.  Both of these case studies were process orientated.
 The connection in case study one was made by integrating music
with mathematics.
 The connection in case study two was made by integrating drama
with literacy.
 Both of these studies were seamlessly integrated by using the arts to
help teach core subject areas.

7.  In both of these case studies students were more engaged in their
core subject areas through the use of art integration.
 In case study one students were not only more actively engaged but
also scored significantly higher on standardized tests when music
was integrated into their math lesson. Through the use of singing,
clapping, and dancing student involvement increased because all
learning styles were addressed.
 In case study two students were also actively engaged through the
use of process drama and role-playing to develop basic and higher
level literacy and language skills. Integrating process drama into
reading lessons was especially useful in getting English Language
Learners more engaged.

8.  In our own classrooms we could see ourselves incorporating the arts
from these case studies (such as music, movement, drama, and
role-playing) into all subject areas.
 Arts integration would allow our students to be more actively
involved in our lessons because it would encourage creative
expression and critical thinking. When students are more actively
engaged and lessons utilize more learning styles, students achieve
significantly higher.

9.  Using drama to act out stories, writing ideas, math word-problems,
and social skills
 Using music and movement to develop a deeper understanding of
concepts in almost any content area
 Using visual arts to create illustrations for a class book or a piece of
their own writing
 Puppetry
 Storytelling
 Creative writing such as narratives, poems, fantasies
 Using dramatic play in all content areas

10.  Harris, M. A. (2007). Differences in mathematics scores between
students who receive traditional Montessori instruction and students
who receive music enriched Montessori instruction. Journal for
Learning through the Arts, 3(1).
 Montgomerie, D., & Ferguson, J. (1999). Bears don't need phonics:
An examination of the role of drama in laying the foundations for
critical thinking in the reading process. Research in Drama
Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 4(1), 11
- 20.