“Feeling a part of something bigger than myself” : arts integration in one university level course

The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ perceptions of arts-based learning strategies in one university arts integration course. This case study examined one Fine Arts course at The University of Texas at Austin titled "FA 308: Arts Integration for Multidisciplinary Connections" from Fall 2014. This study focused on students' perceptions on arts-based learning strategies learned in FA 308 by collecting artifacts and interviews. The participants for this study were 37 undergraduate students enrolled in FA 308. Four of the 37 participants were interviewed in Fall 2015 to shed light on their perceptions regarding what arts-based learning strategies were most significant to each of them. The findings of this study suggest that the majority of students found several arts-based learning strategies from FA 308 effective. Therefore, it is proposed that arts-based learning strategies contribute to 21st century learning skills that inevitably benefit students as they prepare to enter the workforce.