tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1895143970337850932024-03-06T02:56:24.950-05:00Artful InnovationExploring artistic responses to the challenges of education, organization, and human development in the Age of Innovation.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-22071301894627840532009-05-11T08:51:00.004-04:002009-05-14T19:44:11.537-04:00Quincy Jones Makes Eloquent Plea for Arts Education"Every great society from the Egyptians, to the Greek and Roman Empires, has been defined by its cultural contributions. The commercial benefits of the arts not withstanding -- our artistic endeavors are a consistent source of revenue in the United States and our nation's largest export -- can we really run the risk of becoming a culturally bankrupt nation because we have not inserted a curriculum into our educational institutions that will teach and nurture creativity in our children?" <br /><br />In the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quincy-jones/arts-education-in-america_b_201127.html">Huffington Post</a> (dated May 9), jazz icon Quincy Jones calls for a plan of action to "make music education an ongoing part of the lives of children in the United States."Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-77731158640888248432009-05-07T16:40:00.003-04:002009-05-07T16:49:00.138-04:00Astronaut Mae Jemison on Reintegrating the Arts and SciencesMae Jemison, best known for being the first African American woman in space, presents a new vision of learning that combines arts and sciences, intuition and logic in a February <a href="http://www.ted.com">TED</a> Talk. <br /><br /><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MaeJemison_2002-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MaeJemison-2002.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=533"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/MaeJemison_2002-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MaeJemison-2002.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=533" height="326" width="446"></embed></object>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-50463494403350624772009-05-04T16:26:00.006-04:002009-05-06T11:27:16.370-04:00Making Learning Whole by David Perkins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qwnB8PSOSDCXyAofmrx4gi29cPlGPSOBPzwnMCrrkzh7gZD29Btjmu2PE6gD4wYp0Xzelisww9HplSZF4Lox2KJQDBOF-tbnlgElSr-pj6-ZylEekM5_7_82x-HQwWYG2lq1J6Vy13T8/s1600-h/DavidPerkins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6qwnB8PSOSDCXyAofmrx4gi29cPlGPSOBPzwnMCrrkzh7gZD29Btjmu2PE6gD4wYp0Xzelisww9HplSZF4Lox2KJQDBOF-tbnlgElSr-pj6-ZylEekM5_7_82x-HQwWYG2lq1J6Vy13T8/s200/DavidPerkins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332732854642635426" border="0" /></a>In his latest book <span style="font-style: italic;">Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education</span>, David Perkins presents an alternative to the superficiality and fragmentation inherent in so much of today's teaching and learning. Perkins, who is co-director of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, diagnoses today's education as suffering from "elementitis" (learning all the elements of a subject without learning the whole) and "aboutitis" (learning about a subject without doing it). He presents his seven principles by connecting them to the way countless kids become skilled to some degree in the game of baseball.<br /><br />Here is the complete list of principles is:<br /><ol><li>Play the whole game. </li><li>Make the game worth playing.<br /></li><li>Work on the hard parts.</li><li>Play out of town.</li><li>Uncover the hidden game.</li><li>Learn from the team . . . and other teams.</li><li>Learn the game of learning.</li></ol> "Play the whole game" is the first of the seven principles —and it's the overarching one. Perkins says playing a "junior version" of the whole game, often involving some type of inquiry or performance that crosses disciplines, is what promotes the kind of understanding that students will be able to apply in a range of contexts.<br /><br />"Make the game worth playing" is ensuring "immediately meaningful active engagement.<br /><br />"Work on the hard parts" is isolating and practicing skills and focusing on conceptually difficult knowledge (but integrating them as quickly as possible into the whole).<br /><br />"Play out of town" is promoting transfer by encouraging reflective abstraction and simulating diverse applications of knowledge and skill, as well as making connections to prior knowledge.<br /><br />"Uncover the hidden game" is paying attention to the processes of inquiry, thinking and problem-solving that are beneath the surface of student work.<br /><br />"Learn from the team" is paying attention to the sociocultural context through various group learning strategies.<br /><br />"Learn the game of learning" is promoting self-direction.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-16936861074592697912009-04-28T14:59:00.004-04:002009-04-28T15:15:15.077-04:00Playing for ChangeBetween deadlines, visitors, and traveling, I have been losing my steam, but I will persevere. Before I get back into my Save the World Academy series, I will do a couple of brief posts about randoms things. First, have you seen <a href="http://playingforchange.com/">Playing for Change?<br /><br />A mobile recording studio is capturing music from all over the world. We get to see videos reminding us that we are all in this together. <br /><br /></a><embed src="http://playingforchange.com/player/widget.swf" width="460" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent"></embed>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-24407063886011895682009-03-25T15:40:00.004-04:002009-03-26T10:17:20.716-04:00Robinson's The Element Reminds Us to Tend to the LifeworldMy state, Ohio, has been reeling for some time from the wave of job losses that is just beginning to affect some states. Many people—from blue-collar workers to skilled trades people to educated professionals with solid track records—are contemplating choices they never thought they would have to make. Choices like:<br /><ul><li>Should I wait out this drop in the construction trades or start college at age 40?</li><br><li>Should I go back to college at age 50 for a second degree that will improve my "marketability?"?</li><br><li>Should I move to where the job market is better—which means uprooting my family and selling my house at little or no profit? Or should I stay here and settle for a job that realizes a fraction of my potential?</li><br><li>At what point will I take whatever job I can get so we can keep our house? </li></ul> With those kinds of dilemmas all over the news, the vision of Ken Robinson's book <span style="font-style: italic;">The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything </span>is truly a revolutionary one. The current job market and the jobs President Obama is trying to stimulate seem to be largely for those whose "Element" is science, technology, engineering, and health care. Those certainly are pressing needs that must be met. But I think many who have been hit hard by the economic downturn may not be able to have the dream of working in a job that epitomizes their aptitude and passion. I fear that today's jobseekers who want to avoid major disruptions in their lifestyles will need to find that outside of the job world. I hope today's children and young people won't be in that position down the road.<br /><br />As we rebuild, I hope to see some new dimensions of economic development emerge—a real attempt to begin making full use of human potential.<br /><br />Thomas Sergiovanni wrote about "lifeworld" and "systemsworld." (Based on the work of sociologist Jurgen Habermas). The lifeworld deals with goals and purposes and is concerned with culture, meaning, and significance. The systemsworld deals with methods and means and is concerned with efficiency, outcomes, and productivity. He said that the two are symbiotic and that the lifeworld should be “at the center as a driving force for what goes on” while the systemsworld should be "at the periphery." With our systems—infrastructure, health care, financial—in serious need of attention, I think Robinson's book is an important reminder of why we are fixing those systems and the vision to which we should aspire.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-70759430518898708502009-03-24T09:50:00.006-04:002009-03-24T11:45:02.838-04:00Ken Robinson's The Element Reveals a Higher Purpose for SchoolsBack in <a href="http://artfulinnovation.blogspot.com/2009/02/ken-robinson-raises-overlooked.html">February</a>, I posted my thoughts on Ken Robinson's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything</span> after watching a video of his remarks on the book. Now that I have finished reading it, I recommend it to everyone thinks about the true purpose of education and wonders how to fulfill that purpose.<br /><br />"The Element," says Robinson, "is the meeting point between natural aptitude and personal passion." When people are in their element, he says, "they find that time passes differently and that they are more alive, more centered, and more vibrant than at other times."<br /><br />Robinson reveals the Element by telling the stories of people who found it. Invariably, those people succeeded in their careers and made a difference in the lives of others. For most, someone early in life recognized their aptitude or passion and provided opportunities for them to enter and grow in the Element. Many of them had to overcome indifference or resistance. Some, including Robinson himself, found the Element after, or perhaps even because of, disabilities or other circumstances most would call adversity. Although Robinson is best known for sharing examples of students whose lives were changed by the arts, the stories in this book reflect the diversity inherent in true success. Some people profiled found the Element through the arts but for others it was through other academic areas, as well as through athletics, entrepreneurship, cooking, philanthropy, and other pursuits.<br /><br />With his trademark humor, Robinson weaves in the themes that he has been writing and speaking about for years. He debunks myths about creativity, such as the common view that it's a quality possessed by an elite few. He opposes the industrial model of education that promotes teaching to the test. He suggests doing away with the hierarchy of "subjects" in favor of a more fluid interplay across disciplines. He proposes that the curriculum be personalized, which entails more freedom for good teachers to work in their own Element. This book reinforces those themes, and makes the case that finding and nurturing the aptitudes and passions of each individual is the path to transformation and growth not only for education systems but also for all other aspects of human endeavor.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-76781805366842363122009-03-23T16:27:00.004-04:002009-03-23T19:40:17.072-04:00Themes Instead of Subjects—Interesting to Consider"<a href="http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20090321T230000-0500_147981_OBS_RETHINKING_EDUCATION_.asp">Rethinking Education</a>," an article by Julian Richardson in Sunday's <span style="font-style: italic;">Jamaica Observer</span>, proposes that Jamaican high schools think about the humanities curriculum in terms of "life themes" that have "obsessed all cultures and all peoples in one way or another." Examples include 'The Origins of the Universe', 'Representations of God', 'Food and Nature', 'The Individual and the Common Good', 'Racial Differences and the Other', 'Gender Identity and Sexual Relations', 'Marriage and Family', 'Civil Life and Political Systems', 'Aging and Death', 'Art and Beauty', and 'Work, Tools and Technology'. (The article expands on each of these.)<br /><br />Richardson proposes students would be more engaged in these themes than they are in things like "history" or "geography." Examples of arts integrated instruction in books such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Third Space: Where Learning Matters</span> by Lauren Stevenson and Richard Deasy from the Arts Education Partnership, certainly could support that hypothesis.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-55440192414499982912009-03-22T09:00:00.011-04:002009-03-23T14:18:34.878-04:00Sunday Arts Education Connection #5: Unity and Variety<span style="font-size:78%;"><br />Third Installment in my series on Arts Elements and Principles</span><br /><br />The complementary arts principles of variety and unity are this week's topic—building on last week's post on contrast. The principles of unity and variety are important in all four arts disciplines. Whether composing music or a dance, writing a play, or creating a painting or graphic design, the artist must strive for wholeness and cohesiveness—unity—while introducing enough variety to prevent a work that is monotonous.<br /><br />Exploring these principles in an arts class could set the stage for other investigations. Consider: In science, children marvel at the vast variety of species while seeking to impose unity through classifying them. In math, they create a whole shape from a variety of shapes. In reading, they look for a common theme that unifies a novel or poem and for the variety of ways the author or poet uses to present that theme. In writing or speaking, they work on making sure they use variety to keep the audience's interest while building on a thesis. In social studies, they consider the many cultures and ethnic groups that make one United States or the many nations that make one world.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX80OJxNZ_JRlVPDwxI7cnJmMvNJHFfBh_dBqODIwf9vzsOyroJkFWITA8D038maswo-kW8LqkrV4UsIxWA1lmf_8JlUmJTBbIKAhDN1-3bBR3yZZfrvkmfOhPUo5Y2XH27BD8-TihzMkl/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX80OJxNZ_JRlVPDwxI7cnJmMvNJHFfBh_dBqODIwf9vzsOyroJkFWITA8D038maswo-kW8LqkrV4UsIxWA1lmf_8JlUmJTBbIKAhDN1-3bBR3yZZfrvkmfOhPUo5Y2XH27BD8-TihzMkl/s400/Slide1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316170485618577170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo Credits:</span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UN_building.jpg">Stefano Corso,</a><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UN_meeting_on_environment_at_General_Assembly.jpg"> <i><span class="extiw">Agência Brasil</span>,</i></a><i> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Source%20%20%20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Animal_diversity_October_2007.jpg">Justin</a></i><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UN_meeting_on_environment_at_General_Assembly.jpg"><i>,</i></a><i> </i><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:11866.0.Biological_classification_L_Pengo_es.svg">Peter Halasz</a>, <a href="http://www.artchive.com/">Mark Harden's Artchive</a></span>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-72833181987129986922009-03-20T19:58:00.001-04:002009-03-20T20:00:34.491-04:00Link to Be the ChangeSorry. I forgot to add the link to the Web site referenced in my earlier post. It's <a href="http://www.yoc2008.com/en/home.do">Be the Change—Year of Creativity</a>.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-24950213858935287352009-03-20T13:25:00.004-04:002009-03-20T13:39:12.793-04:00Design Your Own Creative Business CardA design Web site called Be the Change provides a fun way to play with ideas—a business card generator that features dozens of occupations you won't find in the classifieds. Some are thought-provoking—Idea Cultivator, Imaginary World Interior Designer, and Engineer of the Fantastic. Maybe more companies should create these positions. Others are whimsical—Goldfish Hypnotist, Moment Anticipator, and Paper Airplane Pilot.<br /><br />This really made me think about the amazing work graphic designers do.<br /><br />Here's an example:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJ57o8zaxWcOQwEMRJfB0W93c8vx6TdmDB63UvOtLvTvBcG0qIrMzRYOMtQ_Nfgco60mGCWCHAbet8TSo49jpyzmN9-eBRY02KVq705LXoDcPWQiTL9N_HPPZJ7PS0c2vwb2NAVF4-72K/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJ57o8zaxWcOQwEMRJfB0W93c8vx6TdmDB63UvOtLvTvBcG0qIrMzRYOMtQ_Nfgco60mGCWCHAbet8TSo49jpyzmN9-eBRY02KVq705LXoDcPWQiTL9N_HPPZJ7PS0c2vwb2NAVF4-72K/s400/Slide1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315325525111788962" /></a>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-76892646403123045722009-03-17T22:57:00.008-04:002009-03-18T11:43:40.511-04:00Group Shares Thoughts on Human Greatness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaHPqasossfrkNlSwbXReQHKrEeZzP-v-_4Fif4qiELdETjP-25eOGEC6dM0oKUsq4DG9eP1Kr-ikF1mif508HEiFHgEOTn7cFmXy6D4PN-jM-XHhaCnlE2_jra8E7KOe_kp7f7e8GOsY/s1600-h/kite.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaHPqasossfrkNlSwbXReQHKrEeZzP-v-_4Fif4qiELdETjP-25eOGEC6dM0oKUsq4DG9eP1Kr-ikF1mif508HEiFHgEOTn7cFmXy6D4PN-jM-XHhaCnlE2_jra8E7KOe_kp7f7e8GOsY/s320/kite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314553710813431426" border="0" /></a>With all the focus on preparing our next generation for the challenges of science and industry, I like to adjust my perspective by visiting the Web site of an organization called <a href="http://ttfuture.org/">Touch the Future</a>. TTF, led by Michael Mendizza, is an effort to revolutionize "the way local communities mentor parents and the people who care for children." It includes writings from visionary thinkers about what it means to care for children and support their development as human beings. Immerse yourself in those writings and you'll feel a heightened sense of urgency about making the arts a more integral part of the curriculum.<br /><br />One visit introduced me to Lynn Stoddard, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Educating-Human-Greatness-Lynn-Stoddard/dp/1885580169">Educating for Human Greatness</a>. Stoddard's work led a diverse group of educators and thinkers to develop seven principles of human greatness that should be at the heart of education: <p> <strong>1. Identity</strong> – Help students learn who they are – as individuals with unlimited potential, develop their unique talents and gifts to realize self-worth and develop a strong desire to be contributors to family, school and community. </p> <p> <strong>2. Inquiry</strong> – Stimulate curiosity; awaken a sense of wonder and appreciation for nature and humankind. Help students develop the power to ask important questions. </p> <p> <strong>3. Interaction</strong> – Promote courtesy, caring, communication and cooperation. </p> <p> <strong>4. Initiative</strong> – Foster self-directed learning, will power and self-evaluation. </p> <p> <strong>5. Imagination</strong> – Nurture creativity in all of its many forms. </p> <p> <strong>6. Intuition</strong> – Help students learn how to feel and recognize truth with their hearts as well as with their minds – develop spirituality and humility. </p> <p> <strong>7. Integrity</strong> – Develop honesty, character, morality and responsibility for self. </p>Read more about this list at <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/17/65850/0367/282/685186">The Daily Kos</a>.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-5942953995429430772009-03-15T18:30:00.013-04:002009-03-16T15:21:00.156-04:00Sunday Arts Education Connections #4<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;" >Contrast</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-size:78%;">Second Installment in my series on Arts Elements and Principles (<a href="http://artfulinnovation.blogspot.com/2008/12/arts-education-connections-1-elements.html">See overview post</a> <a href="http://artfulinnovation.blogspot.com/2008/12/arts-disciplines-elements-and.html">See introduction to series</a> <a href="http://artfulinnovation.blogspot.com/2009/01/sunday-arts-education-connections-3.html">See entry on Form</a>)</span><br /></span></span></span><br />Contrast is a design principle at work in all the arts disciplines. Listening to or composing contrasting musical passages—high and low pitch, fast and slow tempo—and exploring the effects of color contrasts prepares the senses for scientific observation and opens the writer's mind to how contrasts in sentence structure improve the flow of a composition.<br /><br />Contrast also is a technique used in arts criticism. Critics may highlight the contrasts within a work of art and explore contrasts across periods and movements to heighten understanding or suggest meaning. The critical exploration of contrasts in paintings can be a springboard for investigating differences across societies, ecosystems, and ideologies.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzhc62d8FfDOiItUSnIpOl4D8czwMA_TQ1R0GVXa11WHyMq811xUk5OyolTJD0EW-ou8hpgIvXQZg-YKnKWNkmkE8L5_5o0Wm7MpuJPxACoeqM6T6B7fKUep5Us_5r_88bbs6sqTQC1lN/s1600-h/Slide1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAzhc62d8FfDOiItUSnIpOl4D8czwMA_TQ1R0GVXa11WHyMq811xUk5OyolTJD0EW-ou8hpgIvXQZg-YKnKWNkmkE8L5_5o0Wm7MpuJPxACoeqM6T6B7fKUep5Us_5r_88bbs6sqTQC1lN/s400/Slide1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313864736447529570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Photos from Flickr and Wikimedia Commons by: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/530858200/">Aussiegall</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobby8/236149399/">Bobbie8</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vincealongi/2480351515/">Vince Alongi</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nez/1346068786/">Andrew*</a>, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/64749744@N00/470199309">babasteve</a>, <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3_week_old_swaddled_infant.png">Azoreg, </a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roberdan/86186044/">roberdan</a><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3_week_old_swaddled_infant.png">, </a><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rainforest_Fatu_Hiva.jpg">makemake</a><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3_week_old_swaddled_infant.png">,</a> <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spinifex_Savanna_Central_Australia.jpg">Thomas Schoch</a>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-90470247110974817432009-03-14T20:35:00.004-04:002009-03-15T18:29:51.767-04:00Arts are an 'R' Too—Mississippi Has the Right IdeaThe central features of Mississippi's <a href="http://www.mswholeschools.org/research/the-arts-are-an-r-too">Whole Schools Initiative</a> are an arts-infused curriculum, instruction in the arts disciplines, and arts-based professional development. An evaluation of the initiative by two independent researchers, Dick Corbett and Bruce Wilson, and David Morse, a professor of psychology at Mississippi State, concluded that schools fully implementing arts integration had significantly better results on tests of literacy. Evaluators suggested that "enriching rather than narrowing the curriculum might be the wiser move in improving students’ literacy."<br /><br />The report says arts learning is a powerful ally and should, perhaps, be considered "the 4th R."<br /><br />I agree. Some people can express their ideas better through an art form than through writing an essay or making a presentation. I think it's important that children be able to use and develop the voice that feels most natural to them. Finding that voice can fuel the desire for knowledge and provide a bridge to other literacies. <br /><br />Also, works of art are vital threads in the fabric of history and culture. If we want kids to really think about the academic content we have decided they need in order to understand their world, I can think of no better way than becoming immersed in works of art.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-8985460072209045862009-03-12T23:31:00.004-04:002009-03-13T11:38:28.967-04:00Ready for National Poetry Month?April is National Poetry Month, and the <a href="http://www.poets.org">Academy of American Poets</a> is inviting everyone to celebrate in some creative ways. First, anyone can sign up to receive a poem a day email. They are trying to get us all to select a poem and carry it in our pockets on April 30 to share with co-workers, family, and friends. Every year, they choose a poster to celebrate poetry (which educators can get for free) They also are having a unique photo competition to "capture and share your own ephemeral bits of verse." The idea is to "write lines from a favorite poem on a sandy beach, assemble twigs on a hillside, or chalk the sidewalk. Take a photo before it disappears and post it in the Free Verse group page on Flickr, or on the Academy's Fan Page on Facebook, or email your photo to <a href="mailto:freeverse@poets.org">freeverse@poets.org</a>."<br /><br />Some really wonderful photos are already online.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-11539521467197883292009-03-11T14:49:00.004-04:002009-03-11T15:25:16.416-04:00Arts and 21st Century Skills: Wisconsin and North Carolina are Moving ForwardTwo states have made definitive statements about the importance of arts learning in developing the next generation of innovators.<br /><br />In January, the <a href="http://www.creative.wisconsin.gov/">Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity</a> published its plan for action. It recommends specific actions for making the arts a more integral part of the state's innovation infrastructure, but there is much in the report that has national application. I particularly liked its description of creative skills and attitudes, followed by what attributes in the environment nurture creativity.<br /><br />North Carolina has published <a href="http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/artsed/resources/">Arts Education and 21st Century Skills</a>, a document that aligns the state's fine arts standards with the competencies outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. This is an eloquent illustration of how much the arts contribute to the development of innovatiove thinkers, and I think it could be used as a model for anyone who is thinking about how to integrate 21st century skills with any academic content.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-44614330263549666192009-03-09T12:15:00.007-04:002009-03-09T14:09:34.954-04:00Arts Learning and Scientific Achievement: Another Piece of Evidence<div class="blog-top"> <div class="blog-description"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychology Today</span> provides links to many blogs on creativity. Today, I looked at "Imagine That! Annals of Ordinary and Extraordinary Genius" </span>by Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein. Their <a href="http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/imagine/200903/arts-and-crafts-keys-scientific-creativity">March 6 post</a> discusses a longitudinal study of scientific creativity by UCLA psychologist Bernice Eiduson. She collected data from 40 young scientists in 1958 about their work habits, hobbies, etc. In looking at the group's successes over twenty years, she noted patterns among those who were most successful including the Nobel laureates Linus Pauling and Richard Feynman and several members of the National Academy: They were much more likely to spend time on their </div></div>avocations and they believed that "knowledge of art, poetry, music, etc. was part-and-parcel of being an educated scientist." They also "used a much wider range of mental "tools" during problem solving than their less successful colleagues, including various forms of two-, three-, and four-dimensional visual imaging, kinesthetic imaging, acoustic imaging, verbal and written forms, diagrams, and so forth."<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Are cuts in arts education and the marginalization of the arts limiting the innovative capacities of future scientists?<br /><br />If you go to Imagine That, also check out their February 11 piece on the arts and economic growth.<br /></span>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-79178560522306495052009-03-03T23:24:00.005-05:002009-03-05T11:52:30.620-05:00Words MatterThe National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE) sponsors <strong><a href="http://www.naiwe.com/words-matter/week.php">National Words Matter Week</a></strong>, a free celebration of the written word, held annually during the first full week in March. They have invited all bloggers to write on the idea that "words matter" during this week. Here are my thoughts:<br /><br />I have savored words that capture and enchant the imagination:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> A fallen flower</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Returning to the branch?</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> It was a butterfly.</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Moritake</span><br /></div><br />I have shaken my fist, then hung my head, before words that sober me to realities I wish to see erased—but only if it's easy. Like <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >genocide . . . poverty . . . war </span></span><br /><br />I have cherished words that heal. Words of God that sometimes show up in human form. Like <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >mercy</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >compassion</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >grace</span>.<br /><br />I have been embarrassed for words that are used as ornament when they should be the foundation. Like <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >collaboration</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >community</span>. I wish to reclaim them.<br /><br />I have mourned the abuse of words. I have scratched to no avail at labels slapped on to mask the truth. Like <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >communism</span>—a sure way to silence so many calls for social justice. I have exchanged sad glances with words used to turn off thought. Like <span style="font-family:verdana;">patriotism</span> and <span style="font-family:verdana;">faith</span>—words used to stifle all questions when their power lies in nurturing inquiry. I will be faithful to them.<br /><br />For words, I have done my little bit to defend meaning, to hold fast to words whose powers are being lost through carelessness—like <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >respect . . . belief . . . love</span>.<br /><br />In words, I have heard the music—<span style="font-family:verdana;">shimmer, silence, lovely</span>—seen the radiance—<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >dawn, springtime, eternity</span>—shivered and flushed—<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >exquisite, glorious, poignant, transformation</span>—tasted the nectar and smelled the blossoms—<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >poetry, prayer, peace</span>.<br /><br />To words, I raise a toast of light and warmth.<br /><br />Yes, words matter.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-75629732971909518592009-02-26T11:11:00.008-05:002009-02-26T12:27:27.241-05:00Exciting Arts Education Research-Some Links<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">My Google Reader took me on a thought-provoking Web cruise today. Some of my stops were familiar places with new information while others were exciting discoveries.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I started by investigating a link to the </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://theacademyforearlylearning.blogspot.com/2009/02/teaching-for-success-in-21st-century.html">Academy for Early Learning</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> on 21st century skills. I had to comment on the fresh take Lois Feibus had regarding 21st century tools, and my comment suggested ASCD's </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.wholechildeducation.org/">Whole Child</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> blog.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I visited there and found some promising news about correlations between music education and students' cognitive development and academic achievement:</span><br /></span><ol><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">A study by two Ohio State University researchers, </span><span class="name" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span class="forenames">Darby E.</span> <span class="surname">Southgate</span> and <sup><nobr></nobr></sup><span class="forenames">Vincent J.</span> <span class="surname">Roscigno</span><sup><nobr></nobr></sup>, </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">concludes that "Music participation, both inside and outside of school, is associated with measures of academic achievement among children and adolescents. Future work should further delineate the relevant processes of music involvement, as well as how background inequalities and music involvement intersect in relation to educational performance." (The study appears in </span><i style="font-family: times new roman;"><a href="http://econpapers.repec.org/article/blasocsci/">Social Science Quarterly</a></i><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, 2009, vol. 90, issue 1, pages 4-21.)</span></span></li><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><li><span style="font-size:100%;"><span id="iy_style_article" style="font-family:times new roman;">Schuylkill Valley Elementary School</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> in Pennsylvania has launched a Suzuki violin program for all of its 170 kindergarten students </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >and</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> is planning to work with researchers at Penn State Berks to evaluate the cognitive development and achievement of the students in the program. According to a </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:times new roman;" >New York Daily Record</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11482147">article</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> cited by the Whole Child blog, the program was inspired by </span><span id="iy_style_article" style="font-family:times new roman;">the three-year study, "Learning, Arts and the Brain" by the <a href="http://www.dana.org/news/publications/publication.aspx?id=10760">Charles A. Dana Foundation</a>. </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The Dana Foundation sponsors and highlights neuroscience research on arts education. </span></span></li></ol><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Reading a news item by </span><span id="ctl00_cColumn_InTheNews1_lblAuthors">Janet Eilber</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">t at Dana's site, I ran across a link to </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.artsjournal.com/dewey21c/">Dewey21C</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, a great blog about arts education by Richard Kessler, executive director of the Center for Arts Education.</span> There I found out about the Teaching Artist Research Project (TARP) at the <a href="http://www.norc.org/projects/teaching+artists+research+project.htm">the National Opinion Research Center (NORC)</a> at the University of Chicago. This study looks closely at the work of teaching artist communities in several cities.<br /><br />I better stop now. This could go on all day!<br /></span><br /><span id="iy_style_article"></span>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-91609632433660456142009-02-25T10:28:00.004-05:002009-02-25T10:41:03.397-05:00Congressional Hearings on Arts ScheduledFrom a Media Release Issued by the House Education and Labor Committee:<br /><br />With the arts and music among the many industries being hit hard in economic downturn, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today announced plans to hold a series of hearings this Spring to examine how the arts benefit the nation’s economy and schools – and what can be done to improve support for the arts and music fields. “Like so many other sectors of our economy, the arts and music are suffering greatly – hurting millions of workers and families who depend on these industries for good jobs and the students who benefit from participation in arts and music education in school. Research shows that when students are exposed to arts and music, they perform better in other subjects,” said Miller. “In states and communities around the country, like my home state of California, these industries are vital engines for local economies – making up a large share of revenue and providing employment for a wide array of jobs, from construction to musicians to art teachers to sound editors.”<br /><br />“President Obama has made it clear that arts and music have a critical role to play in improving our schools, our workforce and our overall quality of life. These hearings will give Congress the opportunity to hear from experts in these fields about how supporting the arts and music can help us build a stronger America.”<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Side Note</span><br />I just joined a new social network called <a href="http://innovate-ideagora.ning.com/">Innovate-Ideagora</a>. It's purpose statement is: </span> <div class="xg_module xg_module_network_description"> <div class="xg_module_body"> <p style="font-size: 1.1em;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Innovate-Ideagora is an open agora, where problems seek solutions, new visions are explored, and the status quo is challenged. </span></p> </div> </div>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-71129383607614225712009-02-18T14:29:00.005-05:002009-02-18T15:01:57.161-05:00Design Firm IDEO Offers Insights to SchoolsEver since <span style="font-style: italic;">A Whole New Mind </span>by <a href="http://www.danpink.com/">Daniel Pink</a> led me to <span style="font-style: italic;">The Art of Innovation</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Ten Faces of Innovation</span> by Tom Kelley, founder of IDEO Design, I have been trying to educate myself more about the world of design and to learn more about how designers think. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20090218/ideos-ten-tips-for-creating-a-21st-century-classroom-experience">Metropolis Magazine</a> is a good source for that exploration—and today it got better with the post "IDEO’s Ten Tips For Creating a 21st–Century Classroom Experience." IDEO has been working on a curriculum design with a nearby elementary school, and the project director makes some good points in this article about engaging students. <br /><br />IDEO also worked with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's SPARK Initiative (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids) to develop <span style="font-style: italic;">Tangible Steps Toward Tomorrow: </span><span id="dnn_ctr586_ContentPane" align="left"><span id="dnn_ctr586_View_lblSummary"><span style="font-style: italic;">New designs for education, ages 0-8</span>. </span></span>This publication details a human-centered approach to evolving the system of early education for the needs and possibilities of the 21st century. It can be downloaded from the <a href="http://www.wkkf.org/default.aspx?tabid=101&CID=168&CatID=168&ItemID=5000407&NID=20&LanguageID=0">Kellogg Web site</a>.<br /><br />I think collaborations like this will be important to the challenges ahead.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-53201875756022911702009-02-12T23:39:00.003-05:002009-02-13T10:02:54.992-05:00Arts and Cognitive Development: What Does the Research Say?Does an arts-rich education make a difference?<br /><br />Based on their review of research on art education and its effects on academic performance, Lois Hetland and Ellen Winner warn against sweeping claims of causal links between learning in the arts and achievement in other academic areas. They found only three instances of causal links between learning in the arts and improved learning in nonarts areas. Here are some excerpts from the executive summary of their report on <span style="font-size:100%;color:#333300;"><a href="http://www.pz.harvard.edu/Pis/LH.htm">Project Zero's REAP</a> (Reviewing Education and the Arts Project):</span><blockquote> "a medium-sized causal relationship was found between listening to music and temporary improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning . . . .<br /><br />a large causal relationship was found between learning to make music and spatial-temporal reasoning. The effect was greater when standard music notation was learned as well, but even without notation the effect was large. . . .<br /><br />a causal link was found between classroom drama (enacting texts) and a variety of verbal areas."</blockquote>Spatial-temporal reasoning is important in geometry and some areas of calculus. Based on what I've read, listening to and playing music activates the same neural circuitry that is used in problems that require spatial-temporal reasoning. So the effect may come come more from the effects of music on brain development than from a transfer of thinking skills or knowledge.<br /><br />Hetland and Winner's analysis indicates that we do not yet have definitive research establishing a broad causal connection between learning in the arts and improved academic performance in math and science, literacy, and creative thinking skills. But it's not surprising that so little is known. Federal and state investments in such research and local investments in the kind of high-quality arts education that would provide the conditions for collecting valid and reliable data have been much smaller than investments in math and reading. In other words, scientific evidence is scarce largely because few are looking for it.<br /><br />Some studies, however, suggest strong correlations between arts learning and positive outcomes. Here are a couple examples from <a href="http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=31"><span style="font-style: italic;">Critical Evidence: How the ARTS Benefit Student Achievement</span></a>, published by National Assembly of State Arts Agencies and the Arts Education Partnership:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">In an experimental research study of high school age students, those who studied dance scored higher than nondancers on measures of creative thinking, especially in the categories of fluency, originality and abstract thought.<br /><br />A group of 162 children, ages 9 and 10, were trained to look closely at works of art and reason about what they saw. The results showed that children’s ability to draw inferences about artwork transferred to their reasoning about images in science. In both cases, the critical skill is that of looking closely and reasoning about what is seen.</blockquote>Both examples come <span style="font-style: italic;">from <a href="http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=10">Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development</a></span>, an Arts Education Partnership research compendium that contains summaries of many such studies. Also, a 2005 Arts Education Partnership book called <a href="http://www.aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=19">Third Space: When Learning Matters</a> details the experiences of ten arts-rich public schools in economically disadvantaged communities with achievement test results that are significantly better than those of schools from the same communities.<br /><br />The difficulty is this: A school's success in creating an outstanding arts education program may be an indication of other exceptional assets, such as committed parents and community partners or outstanding leadership and an innovative faculty. This is certainly true with many schools for the arts, whether they audition students or select them from a lottery. More kids with strong support networks—involved parents or mentors—go through the process of applying.<br /><br />Still, isn't it a reasonable hypothesis that the arts played <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> role in the higher academic performance and other positive behaviors typically found in arts rich schools? And shouldn't clear effects on brain development be a rationale for more research on the benefits of arts education? Isn't that what innovation is all about—pursuing promising paths that lie outside the mainstream of what works?Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-90977720441920141072009-02-11T15:57:00.003-05:002009-02-11T16:13:29.619-05:00Art & Soul: Edutopia Pleads the Cause of Arts EducationThe February issue of <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Edutopia</span></a> is entitled "Art and Soul: Why Arts Education Must Be Saved."<br /><br />There are articles about the latest research and cutting edge programs. One that describes Opening Minds Through the Arts in Tucson, Arizona, is the most exciting thing I've seen in awhile. <a href="http://www.omaprogramaz.org/">OMA</a> also provides some really good rubrics and other materials for arts integration.<br /><br />My favorite article is "Art in Schools Inspires Tomorrow's Creative Thinkers" by Jeffrey T. Schnapp<span style="font-weight: bold;">—"</span>director of the Stanford Humanities Lab at Stanford University, a prominent twentieth-century cultural historian, and a frequent curator of art exhibitions in Europe and the United States."<br /><br />Schnapp's passionate essay begins: <blockquote>"Education minus art? Such an equation equals schooling that fails to value ingenuity and innovation. The word <i>art</i>, derived from an ancient Indo-European root that means "to fit together," suggests as much. Art is about fitting things together: words, images, objects, processes, thoughts, historical epochs. <p>It is both a form of serious play governed by rules and techniques that can be acquired through rigorous study, and a realm of freedom where the mind and body are mobilized to address complex questions -- questions that, sometimes, only art itself can answer: What is meaningful or beautiful? Why does something move us? How can I get you to see what I see? Why does symmetry provide a sense of pleasure?"<br /></p></blockquote>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-46897864733551198462009-02-10T19:10:00.010-05:002009-02-11T13:59:42.060-05:00An Intermediate Space for Creative ThinkingBy clinical standards, research has a long way to go before anyone could propose that instruction in art and music is a key strategy for improving student performance in science and math. But I think the idea of arts education as the nucleus of developing creative thinking has merit.<br /><br />I am not an expert in the teaching of science, but I have to agree with those who assert that students need some degree of scientific content knowledge before creative thinking in science becomes relevant and meaningful to their development as potential scientists or engineers. As Simonton says (see yesterday's post), creative scientists operate under constraints posed by the prevailing theoretical framework of their domains while artists have more creative freedom. That suggests to me that mastering content knowledge remains critical in math and science and should not be jeopardized. Although creative thinking needs to develop throughout their educational experience, children need to learn the difference between empirical facts and natural laws and their flights of imagination about the seen and unseen components of nature.<br /><br />That's why it makes sense to me that—at least for the short term—schools should create an intermediate space for developing students' creative thinking skills. In this space, there should be opportunities for unadulterated fancy but also for creative problem-solving that requires them to use what they have learned in math and science.<br /><br />Because highly effective arts educators offer the most evolved form of instruction in pure creativity and have the greatest freedom to reward originality, I think they should be the lead creators and keepers of that space.<br /><br />Of course, educators from all disciplines should should take advantage of the space, and they, as well as school leaders and the arts and business communities, should contribute to its development.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-3370569440043689022009-02-09T16:16:00.003-05:002009-02-10T14:34:59.244-05:00Scientific Creativity and the Arts: Some ObservationsChance, Logic, Genius, and Zeitgeist—those elements are the stuff of scientific creativity, according to Dean Keith Simonton at UC Davis. Simonton's 2004 book <span style="font-style: italic;">Scientific Creativity</span> examines the people, contexts, and underlying processes associated with original discoveries that have a significant impact on scientific knowledge and practice. He says chance "appears to be the most proximate cause" of scientific discoveries while "logic, zeitgeist, and genius impinge upon, intensify, modify, and qualify or in some other manner adjust the operation of chance." In other words, the more original a discovery is, the "less likely it is that logic played a causal role in the event." (Of course, this doesn't mean scientists just roll the dice. It's just that the factors are so complex and there are so many possible interactions that it appears random for all intents and purposes.)<br /><br />Does Simonton's analysis of each component underlying scientific discoveries and innovative breakthroughs—and how those components interrelate—add potential value to dialogue about developing students' creative and innovative thinking skills? I'd like to share some of my preliminary conclusions about that based on points from the book.<br /><ol><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Simply improving science and math knowledge and skill is not enough. American education also must produce more STEM graduates who are creative thinkers.</span> Simonton says that within any scientific domain, there is a small creative elite (about 10%) that accounts for something like 50% of publications. This suggests that STEM education should look not only at how to produce more students who have mastered advanced science knowledge but also at how to increase the percentage of those students who exhibit scientific creativity. In fact, wouldn't doubling the number of STEM majors exhibiting a high degree of scientific creativity give U.S. global competitiveness a bigger bang for the buck than doubling the number of STEM majors? Of course, both would be preferable, but considering the analysis of the <a href="http://skillscommission.org/executive.htm">New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce</a>, America can't lead economically unless it leads in innovative breakthroughs. <br /></li><br /><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Building time into the school day for generating and playing with ideas may be part of the solution. </span>Simonton says the process of scientific creativity consists of associative play followed by justification of the best ideas. "First," he says, "the scientist freely plays around with ideas, the logic participating only after the associative process has converged on a good combination." Also, he says most creative scientists generate more ideas than other scientists. Interestingly,<span> the ratio of successful ideas to unsuccessful ones is about the same for the most creative and least creative scientists. In other words, creative scientists have more good ideas largely because they have more ideas. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Should't we get students used to idea generation?<br /></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-style: italic;">Building creative thinking into the science curriculum may be only part of the answer. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">A visual art, dance, theater, or music composition class—or projects that integrate these with science—might also be useful.</span> Simonton says the most creative scientists are more likely to be working on several diverse projects at the same time and to have more outside interests. He also says that revolutionary contributions often come from people who are new to the field. Frans Johansson makes a similar observation in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Medici Effect</span>: The most extraordinary innovative ideas are "intersectional"—that is, they are found where domains, disciplines, and cultures intersect. <span style="font-style: italic;">We need a complete curriculum!</span> <br /></li><br /><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The kinds of thinking creative scientists exhibit can be developed in an arts context. </span> In comparing artistic and scientific creativity, Simonton says scientific paradigms place more constraints on scientific creativity and suggests that creative scientists exhibit more analytical intelligence than creative artists. But his analysis of how creative scientists think suggests to me that the actual creative ways of thinking in science and the arts are similar. Creative scientists, says Simonton, form a flatter hierarchy of associations (which means they connect ideas that other people would not connect) and are more open to "irrelevant stimuli." Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott make a similar point in their book <span style="font-style: italic;">Innovate Like Edison</span>. They call it "kaleidoscopic thinking"—generating lots of ideas, letting them flow, playing with them. <span style="font-style: italic;">I think arts activities outside of science can be an excellent "brain gym" for such thinking in general, and arts integration can be a way to introduce creative thinking into the science classroom. <br /></span></li></ol>I think creating strong arts education programs AND increasing instructional time in the arts is a good starting point, along with a commitment to studying arts integration. Students need the content knowledge and rigor they get in math and science classes. Taking too much time out of that to play with ideas—especially before teachers have received the professional development they need to do this effectively—could weaken the foundation of academic achievement in science.<br /><br />In short: An expanded arts learning environment may be the better incubator for more purposeful instruction in creative thinking. Tomorrow, I will explore this further.Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189514397033785093.post-62858972248061495082009-02-07T10:47:00.012-05:002009-03-24T11:36:31.432-04:00Ken Robinson Raises Overlooked Questions<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqxRqa0EP7UaR4RbXND35KLQsX5lJdKtdg-xey1GK7XpcRj-D2P6bUX-4SQ8j4KAcxer4xROCz9NA6JjvWhh9W1JNga_KpwmPbZ90hIh1ht0SdoNgcRYBGa3GYNplRcvEWcuTSxdDF5G7/s1600-h/Death_valley_flowers_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbqxRqa0EP7UaR4RbXND35KLQsX5lJdKtdg-xey1GK7XpcRj-D2P6bUX-4SQ8j4KAcxer4xROCz9NA6JjvWhh9W1JNga_KpwmPbZ90hIh1ht0SdoNgcRYBGa3GYNplRcvEWcuTSxdDF5G7/s200/Death_valley_flowers_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300103061248440530" border="0" /></a>Ken Robinson's new book <strong style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">says, in a nutshell: People do their best when they are in their element—when they have a capacity for something and love doing it.<br /><br />Yes!<br /><br />In a talk at the Los Angeles Public Library titled <a href="http://fora.tv/2009/01/29/Sir_Ken_Robinson_A_New_View_of_Human_Capacity#chapter_07">A New View of Human Capacity</a> (shown on FORA.tv, he says: "When you start to connect with your own talent . . . the environment you inhabit modulates around you. It becomes different. The world you're in becomes different. It's changed by your relationship with it and it unfolds differently as a consequence and we can't predict what that consequence will be."<br /><br />He made a striking analogy: Death Valley had unusually high level of rainfall in 2005. Consequently, seeds that had lain dormant for years produced a breathtaking burst of wildflowers—<a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7182113/">a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence</a>. He says people are like those seeds, which adapted to the desert environment by developing a hard coating. T</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">hey</strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"> become self-protective when they are in environments that don't allow them to be in their element. He cites many examples of people whose capacities and interests did not fit the traditional academic mold but who had the opportunity to do what they loved. They succeeded, earned respect, and contributed.<br /><br />Should the architects of education ignore the vision of economists, the scientific community, and industry? Should they scrap academic standards and hope that enough kids decide to pursue STEM careers? Of course not. But maybe it would be useful to think about new ways of helping each student find his or her element—or at least pay greater attention to the as yet undiscovered potential of each student. It's messier, I know. But diversity is a fact in America. We can't afford to let any talent become dormant.<br /><br /></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">As <a href="http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php?categoryid=31">Joseph Campbell</a> said, "Follow your bliss!" </strong><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Photo by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Death_valley_flowers_1.jpg">Mila Zinkova</a>.</span>Deborah Vrabelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06975012729271097708noreply@blogger.com0