Wendy Decter, M.D.
This unit is conceived for a large public High School in the city of New Haven. The school has an almost exclusively African-American population. The percentage of people living below the poverty level in New Haven is approximately 25% according to the 2000 census. The attrition rate is high. According to an informal survey I conducted, students in the Honors level classes have often taken two or more years of art instruction, but students in other levels generally have not. There is little if any art history taught. This unit, however, can be adapted to any grade or age or subject by slightly changing the emphasis to observation and measurement, understanding proportion, graphing, art appreciation and expression, or writing skills with a common theme of "it's about me and my body".
The Anatomy and Physiology course is generally taken in twelfth grade after completing Biology and Chemistry in the ninth and tenth grades. However it can be modified for Middle School or incorporated within a Biology course or an Art or Art History course. It is designed as the first unit of the course to grab students' interest and draw them into the subject matter. The unit functions as a guide for teachers to modify as they see fit by their own perspective and creativity.
This unit is an inquiry-based exploration incorporating concepts from science, studio arts, art history, language arts, social sciences, and mathematics. It teaches and reinforces skills needed in any area of study at every level of education. Students will be encouraged to be self-motivated independent problem solvers. They will need to apply previous knowledge to solving the problem at hand. Students will continue to develop research and writing skills across the disciplines. In small groups, students will have the opportunity to experience others' points of view and practice critically important interpersonal skills.
Students will have the opportunity to experience and challenge their own creativity.
They will be responsible for their own learning and practice self-assessment. This unit is an exercise in learning how to learn.
The combination of Science and Art is especially attractive in an urban school where Art is not required for graduation and taken by a small percentage of students. One year of art is presented in middle school. In exploring art history and various artistic media students may discover a vital interest, ability, or emotional outlet not previously accessed.
Ideally this unit, indeed the entire course, could be taught in a "Co-Lab", a collaborative classroom involving the Anatomy and Physiology teacher, the Art teacher, and the students in a back to back period, giving them one year of Art credit and one year of Science credit. There would be three one and one-half hour classes per week and one three-hour lab/studio art periods per week. However, it is directed at the conventional Anatomy and Physiology course. Additionally, guest artists, art historians or curators, and anatomists can be invited into the classroom. A museum trip or visit to the Yale Medical School anatomy lab may be considered.