Enhancing Learning Abilities of Students with ADHD
via Art-enriched Teaching
The Aesthetic Experience
Many philosophers and theoreticians deal in the description of the aesthetic experience, its influence and the essence of the human urge to engage in such a sensation. Defining the experience is difficult, due to its multi-faceted aspects and in the variety of cultural contexts from which it may emerge. However, in this work, we have chosen to present the opinions of those who support the importance of introducing art into mainstream education and learning processes, and in particular, when considering our students with attention deficit disorder.
The degree of aesthetic experience that occurs while exposed to a piece of art is based upon the readiness of the individual to sense and perceive it (Kreitler, 1980). Such readiness is dependent upon the will and the expectations of the individual towards the encounter. This is a state-of-mind that enables the perception of the artistic representation, its interpretation and actively interfacing the gaps with prior knowledge in order to get the most out of the experience. It is a complex process that weaves cognition, memory and physical sensation. A strong aesthetic experience is often associated with shivering, crying or catharsis that manifests itself as physically detectable changes, such as rate of heartbeat and blood pressure. Although the feelings that emerge from such an experience are subjective in their composition and intensity, the confrontation between suddenly conflicting feelings amplifies the experience for everyone who surrenders to its impact.
We all know the feeling of immersing ourselves in the plot of a book, play or movie, to the extent that we are totally oblivious to our immediate surroundings. The plot draws us in, and our very tangible excitement can be measured in muscle tension that builds till a highly anticipated denouement of the story allows for the release of heart and mind. The pleasure we gain from such an experience attracts us to relive it in different variations time and time again. Feelings that emerge during the process of surrendering ourselves to the imaginative characters, creates within us a deep-rooted empathy that allows us to intensify our own emotional states via the aesthetic experience.
Freud compared the writing of novels and books to a child�s imaginative play in which s/he creates a virtual world, filled with emotions and thoughts, but which exists in isolation from everyday reality. In his opinion, the creation of fantasy originates from an unfulfilled dream or aspiration. Freud considered fantasy an illusion in which adults immerse themselves when they want to detach from reality; the adult version of children�s games.
Anthony Storr (Storr, 1983) argues with Freud�s assertion, claiming that creativity and fantasy are not attributable to irrational thrusts, but rather are a natural consequence of the basic human need to structure and organize our perception of reality. During the course of a game, a child can experiment and validate assertions and behavior towards life situations, which results in the creation of templates for relating to and reasoning about reality. Later, the adult critically examines reality within those identifiable templates in order to develop or modify rules that enable a new, more effective perception of reality. Along with this, we develop an ever-maturing ability to express emotions, in an authentic manner, in our need to share and communicate our individual understanding with others.
Currently, in our school system, we emphasize two methods of reasoning, namely the paradigmatic (logical, mathematical) reasoning and the narrative (experience based) reasoning. These historically accepted forms of thought are, however, insufficient in today�s world of subtle nuances. There is, therefore, an urgent need to begin teaching aesthetic reasoning � reasoning which allows for creating and decoding messages of a more complex nature (Eisner, 1998) - in order to provide students with a richer venue from which to mediate the modern spectrum of life in our times. The aesthetic experience, itself, is directly linked to the desire to find context and structure in new and original ways.
Anthony Storr uses the creation of music as an example (Storr, 1983) of such an experience. A musical piece is a collection of musical templates, which repeat periodically and predictably. At the point where the listener comes to expect a particular structure, the composer breaks out of the template and creates tension by modifying the rhythm or harmony. Finally, when the original template order is restored, the listener regains confidence and draws pleasure and gratification.
Many forms of art, such as dance, acting and martial arts to name a few, involve a series of intense and vigorous body movements in direct and unmediated body language. As the audience watches, they sympathetically tense and relax their own bodies along with the dancers, the acrobats or the Karate warriors, in identification typical of those undergoing an aesthetic experience.
The level of the symbolic abstraction and aesthetic sophistication of the body movements can become very complex, based on communication either culturally dependent or open to intuitive perception. Human body motion is directly connected to emotion and offers itself as an instrument to convey non-verbal messages. The form of this artistic domain is composed of basic spatial movement templates that are periodically repeated, in multiple variations, in order to deliver a message of particular content. In this domain, as in music, information is decoded by identifying templates and tracking their order and organization.
Visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, and their combinations) are characterized by their unique ability to isolate experience in a timeless context. They freeze the temporal moment, thereby focusing our attention on the artist and her/his chosen context. Because of the strong visual impact, the message is perceived as a unified whole, or snapshot, separate from the mainstream of life events. This static quality allows the observer to relate to what has happened before or after in a rush of associated stories or events, always returning to the artistic presentation as a representation of stasis. This unique characteristic is a very powerful focusing tool, a perfect venue for communicating such non-verbal states as emotions or memories. The structures that artists employ are rich in their diversity, each artist choosing her or his own unique organizing element(s). Quite often this establishes a private language that observers need to learn in order to correctly interpret the artwork. Nevertheless, the pleasure derived from color composition and organizational form contributes to our attraction to visual aesthetics, even when the underlying meaning is obtuse.
Integration of all art forms into one whole is manifested in the dramatic genres of theater, cinema and television. Most often these art forms are labeled �entertainment� as opposed to �art�, partially due to their mass popularity. There is no doubt, however, that great skill and creativity are required in order to reach a level of competence within these domains.
Through the examination of the nature of the aesthetic experience, it may be observed that a wide range of human needs is addressed and satisfied. Emotions ranging from anxiety to tranquility are stimulated by each art form in its own way as we are invited to search for meaningful organization of our sensory experiences. We find ourselves attracted to the beauty and pleasurable appeal of artistic renderings. Thus, as teachers, it is in our interest to use the arts as a powerful means to attract and focus the attention of our students. In particular, when we wish to address those students with a dominant right hemisphere, who are naturally tuned to decode non-sequential or visual forms, the arts can provide an emotional and meaningful link to the curriculum, stimulating students� focus, attention and ultimate feeling of success.
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