This past February, York University’s History Department and the Archives of Ontario hosted a Professional Development Day (PD Day) for high school history teachers titled, “Curating the Curriculum: Intersections Between Arts Integration and Historical Thinking.” Led by Alessia Spagnuolo as part of her Major Research Project (MRP), this event brought together twenty-eight teachers from across the region looking to investigate how to use art in the history classroom to improve student engagement.
Throughout the day, teachers participated in various workshops that bridged creative arts and historical education. This included activities such as “Sketching Historical Significance,” “Designing a Monument,” as well as abstract art and painting. While participating, teachers had the opportunity to reflect on their classroom experiences and collaborate with one another to discover new ways of incorporating interactive art in their own history lessons. Key takeaways included finding ways to implement hands-on activities in the classroom, working on strategies to create interdisciplinary lesson plans and collaborating to further enhance student learning experiences.
Alessia Spagnuolo holds a Specialized BA with Honours in History from York University and is completing her MA in York’s Graduate Program in History. Spagnuolo’s scholarly research explores the relationship between visual arts and historical education, with particular focus on how artist practices and projects can be used in the history classroom to teach historical thinking in a meaningful and engaging way.