September 2010
ICI a Partner in Culture-Based Arts Integration Project
How can the curriculum in grades K-8 be made more meaningful for American Indian students and their non-Indian peers while boosting their academic performance? The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) has received a four-year subcontract from the Cloquet [Minnesota] Public Schools to be part of a partnership addressing that question with support from a $1.2 million federal grant awarded to the Cloquet school district. The project is called Culture-Based Arts Integration (CBAI): A New Space for Access, Equity, and Excellence in K-8 Education and it will be implemented in nine elementary and middle school grades in St. Louis and Carlton counties in northern Minnesota.
CBAI expands on work done in ICI’s Project Intersect, which ended June 30, 2010. Building on the work of its predecessor, CBAI will expand the integration of art and Ojibwe culture into the core curriculum of the targeted schools. Specifically, CBAI will:
- Partner with local American Indian artists to infuse culturally responsive American Indian visual and performing arts activities into K-8 arts education, language arts, math, and science education.
- Ensure that this American Indian arts-based curriculum is aligned with state and national benchmarks and content standards in visual and performing arts, language arts, math, and science.
- Research the effectiveness of the American Indian culture-based arts integration model in improving student academic performance in language arts, math, and science.
- Disseminate program results and outcomes for national and statewide replication.
The project will use a research design in which classes and schools will be randomly assigned to either develop culturally-responsive curricula, or maintain their regular curricula. There will be an equal number of classrooms and schools in each group and student achievement in math and reading will be measured based on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment II; in addition, standardized and grade-specific pre- and post-test will be given annually. In CBAI’s third and fourth years, preliminary data and research articles from the project will be posted on its Web site, making the information available to a national audience with an emphasis on practical applications and replication.
“By mapping where teaching about American Indian arts and cultures meaningfully intersects with interdisciplinary learning activities involving other core academic subjects, Project CBAI will develop a new and effective model for integrating Native arts, such as performing, design, craft, or fine arts, in culturally responsive, standards-based education,” said Jean Ness, ICI’s Principal Investigator on the project.
CBAI is directed by Jean and by Assistant Professor James W. Bequette of the University’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Art Education Program, and is being carried out in partnership with Cloquet Public Schools, Carlton County Schools, and St. Louis County, all in northern Minnesota. Funding is from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Improvement and Innovation, Model Development and Dissemination Grants Program – Arts in Education. FFI about CBAI, contact Jean at 612-625-5322 or nessx008@umn.edu.