Dialogues in creative science-art education

This case study describes a research project called SciArt designed to explore how encouraging collaboration between art and science supports students’ developing knowledge and understanding about ‘big ideas’ in science. SciArt also explored how participation in a cross-curricular experience of this type affects students’ perceptions of the nature of knowledge and practices used in art and science and, in doing so, allows students to open up ‘dialogues’ between the subjects. Evidence suggests that the public’s view of the epistemology and processes of science is one of an objective and impersonal endeavor (Osborne et al., 2003). There is also a view of science as a solitary and masculine pursuit with little room for creativity (Simonton, 2004). Likewise, art can be perceived as a less academic and rigorous subject than science (Robins, 2016), leading students to consider art as ‘soft’ and less intellectually challenging. These views suggest that science and ‘the