Artful Learning was inspired by Bernstein's vision that music and the other fine and performing arts could be used to improve academic achievement and instill a love of learning. The model uses powerful art-infused curriculum units developed by teachers to engage and excite children. The four main elements (experience, inquire, create and reflect) encourage and support best teaching practices and improve the manner in which both students and teachers learn. The Model is the only arts-based comprehensive school reform design endorsed by New American Schools. Gettysburg College provides quality implementation support for Artful Learning? Schools.

The Model assists teachers to become more proficient in reliably producing student engagement. The engagement is done with arts-based skills which are grounded in classroom research. Classrooms systematically employ four key approaches to strengthen understanding, retention, transfer and application:

Experience: Students are introduced to a "masterwork" for exposure to rigorous and important ideas and classic works, crating an engaging experience.

Inquire: Students are interested when they are invited to inquire and build their own understanding around significant questions.

Create: Students embrace learning when they actually create something; they enjoy active, hands-on involvement in producing something of value.

Reflect: Students learn more and can apply it when they reflect thoughtfully, through deepening questions, on what they understand.