schools to promote ‘visual literacy’
First and second-graders at two North Branford public elementary schools
will study objects in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art as
part of a new pilot program designed to enhance the students’ “visual
literacy.”
The two schools, the Jerome Harrison and the Stanley T. Williams Schools, have
been designated “museum schools.” They are launching a Visual Literacy
Program that connects art to the school’s reading and writing curriculum
to improve literacy development. The program will use the study of objects in
the collections of the Yale Center for British Art to develop language and literacy
skills, increase observational skills and help students construct meaning about
themselves and the world around them.
Funding for the program has been provided by a grant from the Hearst Foundation.
The program has the strong support of the North Branford Board of Education,
the superintendent of schools, and the parents and teachers in the town’s
public school system.
Through its partnership with the North Branford schools, the Yale Center for
British Art aims to establish the museum school as a replicable model of learning
through museum collections. The center will serve as an extension of the classroom
through class visits, in-school projects and activities based on relevant themes
for each grade level. In the program’s first year, students from 18 classes
will visit the Yale gallery three times. Teachers will develop and implement
integrated museum and classroom curriculum with two artists-in-residence — one
visual artist and one writer-in-residence/storyteller. Each participating classroom
will work with both visiting artists. Teachers will also take part in professional
development at the museum.
A school liaison will help implement programming, communicate with administration,
teachers and other related school personnel and administer assessment measures.
The Yale Center for British Art will be accessible to the entire North Branford
community through its array of programs for children and families.
The new Visual Literacy Program expands on the work of Karen Ernst Da Silva,
whose research on visual literacy is the subject of three books published by
Heineman. Ernst Da Silva has been working with teachers and students in the North
Branford public schools for the past five years to bring visual literacy to the
practice of teaching reading and writing. Together, they have developed ways
to link this to current curriculum and preparation for the Connecticut Mastery
Tests. The project supports the North Branford school system’s Strategic
Plan, which designates “design[ing] and expand[ing] instruction and enrichment
programs in visual arts for all students” as a district-wide goal.
The Yale Center for British Art’s Education Department organizes public,
academic, school and family programs that are offered year round. More than 10,000
visitors annually take part in these programs, which include tours and gallery
talks on the subject of the center’s permanent collection, the architecture
of the museum and special exhibitions; teacher workshops; after-school enrichment
programs; “Family Fundays”; art-making activities; concerts; and
film festivals. The department is particularly dedicated to increasing outreach
to school districts to provide engaging and integrated arts experiences.
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