Elements of Form

At the center of the Integration of Abilities philosophy was the exploration of what Baker called the Elements of Form. The Elements of Form were line, shape, texture, color, movement, rhythm, sound, light, and space. Baker saw it necessary to incorporate the observation with, and use of, the senses in order to learn and create. 

This style of sensory learning became a hallmark for the Baylor and Trinity children's theater and eventually Jearnine Wagner's Learning About Learning educational foundation. Wagner and Baker's wife Kitty wrote the foundational text for this creative process with children which was called A Place for Ideas: Our Theater. 

Baker would later write about its use in a K-12 learning environment in Making Sense with the Five Senses which reflected on a program at the Waelder Independent School District in the 1990s.  

The Integration of Abilities and the Elements of Form would be carried through a number of teachings from Baker's proteges, including his daughter Robyn Baker Flatt at the Dallas Children's Theater; the Booker T. Washington Performing and Visual Arts Magnent School in Dallas; as well as The Missing Alphabet, written by Marcus, Monday, and Herbert.

Click on the caption of each Element of Form to learn more.