Here is a series of online and printed references dedicated to the use of thinking skills in the teaching of Art. A short description accompanies each entry.

• Using thinking skills in Art and Design: Gifted and talented students. National Curriculum online Art and Design site. "By using thinking skills, pupils can focus on knowing how, as well as knowing what, to learn. Art and design includes activities that enable pupils to reflect on their own thinking processes and clarify and reflect on problem-solving strategies."
• Thinking Skills in Art and Design: Powerpoint presentation by Karen Read of Kingsfleet School.
• Thinking Skills in Art and Design: Cultural Islamic Tiles: Unit of work described by M. Wray of Clough Hall Technology School.
• Eisner, E. W. (2001) 'The Role of the Arts in Cognition and Curriculum', in Cost, A. L. (ed.) Developing Minds: A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, pp. 310-316. Argues that 'the arts are cognitive activities, guided by human intelligence, that make unique forms of meaning possible'.
• Farha, J. L. and Milbrandt, M. S. (1989) 'Beyond lollipop trees': teaching thinking skills through Art, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, March-April 1989 (ED 307 968). Seeks to determine the effect of an innovative art education program on the art content learning and general achievement of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Experimental students outperformed controls on learning of art content; effects on achievement were inconclusive.

© 2003 D. R. Wilson