Scandinavian researchers define how aesthetic learning actually works in schools
A new framework clarifies how students learn through art and creative expression—combining emotion, reason, and imagination into meaningful experiences. The research matters for education policymakers and edtech companies designing curricula that move beyond traditional teaching methods.
Originaltitel: The Scandinavian concept of aesthetic learning processes
<p>Aesthetic learning processes (ALP) are a Scandinavian concept that has proven challenging to define and conceptualise. The artistic/aesthetic and educational fields have described ALP from both medium-specific and medium-neutral perspectives, which has created ambiguities. A clear framework must be developed if ALP is to be a useful and meaningful theoretical model. In this paper, I focus on the aesthetic aspect of the learning process and examine where and how the aesthetic quality shows itself. Based on my hermeneutic interpretation, I argue that in ALP, meaning is created through active reflection on previous and new experiences, where reason and emotions, as well as imagination and creativity, contribute to a form-expression, that carries meaning and moves the learner. This occurs within the aesthetic form-language, where fragmented pieces of content are formed and transformed into coherent wholes in a personally shaped and expressed experience.</p>