When you think of Leonardo da Vinci, do you think of art or science? Or both? Leonardo fused the two disciplines together like no one had ever done before – or probably will ever do again. But, do you know why he insisted upon the marriage of the concepts? According to Forbes, Leonardo da Vinci studied science so he could become a better artist. I do the same thing, only reversed. Using art to teach science is an essential educational hack!

Using Art to Teach Science

Why I Hated Being a Teacher

I tried teaching for a year, and I’ll be honest with you. I hated it. Most of my students had no interest in learning, but were surprisingly smart enough to deduce that they didn’t have to do anything to pass my class.

“Why did you give him a 50 on his report card?” my principal asked.

“A 50 is generous. The kid sleeps in my class non-stop and won’t even write his name on a paper, let alone do any work!”

“You can’t fail students unless they miss a certain amount of days,” he responded.

“If I can’t send them to the office for disrupting lessons and I can’t fail them for doing nothing, then I can’t teach them! I can’t even teach the few students who want to learn, because of the other kids’ obnoxious behavior. I’m busting my ass, working 70 hours a week and attending incessant meetings about how to get ‘my grades’ up. These aren’t ‘my grades!’ I was a good student when I was in school! None of this makes any sense!”

Art in Science Education - Integrating Art Into Science Lesson Plans

Clearly, trying to teach 8th graders was tough, until I started utilizing art in science education! It was a game changer. Here’s why.

Art Cut Through the Chaos of the Classroom

One of the reasons middle school kids are so difficult to teach is because they are very social and talkative creatures. All my students cared about was who was dating who, who got beat up on the playground, and which of the two rappers was hotter – Cardi B or Nicki Minaj. Learning about cells never made their list of priorities, unless it was about which rapper was in a prison cell. Their endless chatter made most forms of learning impossible. Reading, writing, and even watching videos were all off the table.

But, art cut through the chaos of the classroom like nothing else I tried.

When I gave students an art assignment, I didn’t need them to be quiet. They could collaborate on projects like drawing different sized stars and still talk about who got beat up on the playground while they were coloring. My students were far more productive when they realized they could talk and work at the same time.

And for the handful of students that actually wanted to learn – art projects allowed them to concentrate on their studies while their peers argued about which flavor of Cheetos was best.

Visual Learning

Many scientific concepts are inherently abstract and can be difficult to explain without the use of art, like the components of an atom for example.

Some people learn better by writing. Some learn better by hearing. Some learn better by doing. But, many people absorb the most information through visual learning, especially students who speak English as a second language, as was the case for most of the students at my school.

Visual learning is so powerful, it even forced unwilling students to learn a few things!

Ha! Got ’em.

I’m a visual learner – big time. As a licensed water operator, and soon to be wastewater operator, I’ve always got my nose in a book. I’m constantly drawing visual aids to help me learn and memorize things.

Using Art to Teach Science Made My Job Easier

Using art to teach science made my job easier which was crucial to my mental health, because as I mentioned, I was working about 70 hours a week and my stress level was at a boiling point.

I went from waiting in line after the work day to battle error-prone industrial printers for worksheets to waltzing into my classroom with an assignment on the projector screen that said something like, “Grab a sheet of blank paper and some markers, and draw, color, and label the solar system as seen here.”

In addition, grading artwork was a breeze as compared to worksheets! I never graded on artistic talent. I only graded students on their willingness to complete a project and would even let them collaborate to do so. For example, an artistic student would do the drawing while the non-artistic student would do the labeling.

Using Art to Teach Science is Affordable

The supply budget for teachers at my school was a joke. There was no way I could have afforded supplies for multiple science experiments throughout the year, and I wasn’t about to use my own money for such things! Using art to teach science is affordable. One of the things I did use my spending budget for was Play-Doh. Even my worst classes behaved on Play-Doh days!

Art Made Me Look Good as a Teacher

Whether a parent was visiting during open house or a member of administration was lurking and judging, hanging visual evidence on the walls proved that my students were learning something. It made me look good as a teacher, and it made my class look better too! Some of my students were fantastic artists! I wish I had saved some of their work to post here.

What I learned As a Teacher

Overall, teaching was a disaster that took a huge toll on my mental health. But, at least I learned a few things:

1. Teaching is not for me.

2. Not having kids was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life!

3. I am a very visual learner!

By teaching a class, I learned how I learn best. Using art to teach myself scientific concepts has been a life-saver for me in the water industry!