Leadership in Arts Integration

Making a difference

Christie-Jo Adams has led the arts education work in the Richmond Public Schools. One school started with low-achievement and was facing closure with only 205 students. Christie infused an arts integration model and the success rate soared and the enrollment went to 410. They were awarded Turn-Around Arts funding which provided funding to fully develop ideas.

LESSONS FROM THE LEADER

• Engage Stakeholders: Maintain a 360-degree perspective related to stakeholders. Be nimble in the way you engage with them, as resources, support, and advocates.
• Advocate for Students: Prepare well, take risks, and be ready to face doubt and challenges.
• Be Brave, Take Risks: Continue to learn the lessons of each success and each failure and carry those lessons forward into your next endeavor.

READ THE STORY! from Education Week, Leaders to Learn From, February 20, 2019, written by Alyson Klein.

Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset

A great big thanks to Melanie Crowe, Maine Arts Leadership Initiative Teacher Leader for collaborating to make the Twitter Chat on October 30 on Mindset possible. It is clear that the topic is not just being looked at closely in Maine schools but across the country.

Interestingly enough a day before the Twitter Chat Education Week provided several articles on the topic. They did a thorough job of providing information and resources on the topic. I have included the information from Education Week on the topic. The articles and research provide food for thought in support and opposed to Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset work. I encourage you to continue learning on the topic.

Growth Mindset articles from Education Week:

• Carol Dweck provides a Commentary called Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’. It includes her thoughts on the research that she did for her book Growth Mindset that set this topic in motion. READ MORE.
• Why a ‘Growth Mindset Won’t Work – John Hattie’s research shows that growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset has an effect size of .19 which is below the Hinge Point, and the biggest reason why the growth mindset may not work is in the classroom. Written by Peter DeWitt.  READ MORE.
• Mindset in the Classroom: A National Study of K-12 Teachers. This one is based on results from a national survey conducted by the Education Week Research Center. The report examines the concept of growth mindset as well as key misconceptions that could undermine its effectiveness. READ MORE.
• A Growth Mindset May Counteract Effects of Poverty on Achievement, Study Says written by Evie Blad. A growth mindset may buffer students from the effects of poverty on academic achievement, Stanford researchers concluded after studying test scores and survey results for 168,000 Chilean students. READ MORE.
• Teachers Seize On ‘Growth Mindset’, But Crave More Training written by Evie Blad. As enthusiasm about “growth mindset” spreads across schools, researchers who popularized the idea are concerned that teachers might not have the resources or understanding to use it effectively in their classrooms. READ MORE. 
• Mindfulness in the Classroom: A How-To Guide written by Teacher Linda Yaron shares what elements she incorporates into her curriculum to help strengthen student opportunities for success. READ MORE.

Measuring Student Creativity

Topic of New Report

Can student creativity be assessed in a meaningful way? Should it even be evaluated? And if so, how? These are some of the questions explored in a new working paper published by the global Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Erik Robelen in his February 1, 2013 Curriculum Matters blog post sites the paper called Progression in Student Creativity in School: First Steps Towards New Forms of Formative Assessments and some of the highlights including:

In the new paper, the researchers put forward a definition for creativity focused on five “core dispositions.” Field -tested their work in a dozen schools. A creative mind, they say, is:

• Inquisitive
(wondering and questioning, exploring and investigating, challenging assumptions)

• Persistent
(sticking with difficulty, daring to be different, tolerating uncertainty)

• Imaginative
(playing with possibilities, making connections, using intuition)

• Collaborative
(sharing the product, giving and receiving feedback, cooperating appropriately)

• Disciplined
(developing techniques, reflecting critically, crafting and improving)

Arts and the Common Core

ELA and Math

Here is a webinar that you might want to attend being held on Tuesday, February 19, 2 PM called Art and Common Core. This title is referring to the ELA and Math Common Core State Standards.

As educators work to help students meet the demands of the common-core standards, many arts education advocates are making the case that the arts can be a valuable partner. In this webinar, join two experts who will discuss the potential for arts integration with the common core and offer practical examples. 

Presenters:
Susan M. Riley, expert in arts integration, curriculum innovation and resource development specialist, Anne Arundel County public schools, Md.

Lynne Munson, president and executive director, Common Core

Moderator:
Erik Robelen, assistant editor, Education Week

You do need to register beforehand and can do so by clicking here: https://vts.inxpo.com/scripts/Server.nxp

Summer Reading, Watching, Listening, and Learning

Points of interest wrapped up in one blog post

The information in this blog has come across my desk from a variety of sources and people. I have rolled it into one post to make reference easier for you… I am guessing there is at least one story here that will peak your interest.

• A 5 minute+ film about John Baldessari created by Tom Waits. He is recognized for his height 6′ 7″ and his white beard and hair.  He is been called the Godfather of conceptual artist, surrealistic for the digital age. He has had over 200 solo shows, and 1000 group shows and has received many awards. You can learn more about him and watch the entertaining 5 minutes and 55 second video by clicking here. John has a great website as well – http://www.baldessari.org/.
• While looking at the Baldessari film I discovered the website called Short of the Week which contains links to short videos. The topics are varied. This might come in useful as a resource for you and/or your students.
• Thanks to MAAI teacher leader, music teacher at Aetna-Dixmont Jen Nash who sent me this info. I talked to Kern Kelley, who is the technology integrator for us. He shared this blogspot link with me and in her words: “The students picked a piece of art and had to put a video together. They had to talk about the different aspects of the piece of artwork and incorporate music. I thought that this would be neat to share.”
• Will Richardson is one of those people who I find very interesting. He encourages me to think differently about school. This is a TEDx where he talks about young people and learning and starts out by referencing his daughter playing the piano.     
• Eight schools across the country were selected to receive over $14.7 over a three year period to integrate dance, music, theater, and visual arts into the curricula. The President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities working with the US Department of Education hopes to prove that failing schools can be impacted by encouraging the expansion of creative expression. Public Radio has an interview that you can listen to by clicking here. And you can read more about the Turnaround Arts Initiative.
• Not to long after I posted Eagles Have Landed about Suzanne Goulet’s art classroom at Waterville High School being the center of the viewing stage for the new born eagles someone sent me this video of young robins.
• Mystery of a Masterpiece was aired on Public Television in January 2012 and tells the story of a painting that was sold for $20,000 in October of 2007 and now is thought to be a Leonardo da Vinci worth more than $100 million. Cutting-edge imaging analysis solves the mystery. You can watch the 52 min. program by clicking here. Thanks to Wiscasset Middle School art teacher Molly Carlson for sharing this information.
• Playing for Change Day – changing the world through music. All over the world on September 22nd there will be people collaborating to inspire people to support music education. Portland is one of the locations, planned by the Maine Academy for Modern Music, and it will happen at 8:00-11:30 PM.
• The photographs are amazing! Starstruck: The Fine Art of Astrophotography at the Bates College Museum of Art provides local teachers a FREE resource to explore a meeting point of art and science. 36 photographers from around the world are included in one of the very first exhibitions to examine astrophotography as a fine art genre. Starstruck opened June 8 and will be on view through December 15, offering ample opportunity for science and art teachers to plug in. Companion shows at the Bates planetarium are an option. To learn more or to schedule a tour, contact ashostak@bates.edu or cjones5@bates.edu. A full color catalogue with essays by the jurors is available.

ARTICLES

• How and why a middle school teacher approached collaborative learning in his classroom from Education Week, May 30, 2012, written by Rob Kriete called No More Whack-A-Mole: My Conversion to Collaborative Learning.
• How are you doing incorporating technology into the arts classroom? This is an article on how one teacher tried twitter and facebook and what they found. Published online in Education Week, May 30, 2012, written by Paul Barnwell called Why Twitter and Facebook Are Not Good Instructional Tools.
• If you are out traveling this summer and happen to be in Kansas you might want to drop by the National Teachers Hall of Fame. Read about the recent inductees (5 each year) in this Ed Week article from May 14, 2012 written by John Wilson called National Teachers Hall of Fame is a Gift.
• Grade the Work, Not the Behavior. Not sure if that is language you’ve been hearing or not in your school but it is being discussed across the state in many schools. And that is what this article with that title is all about. From Education Week, May 8, 2012, written by Cindi Rigsbee.
• This article called Curriculum the Missing Ingredient in School Reform, Book Says reviews a book just out argues that the part that is being left out of the reform conversation these days is the curriculum. The book called Tyranny of the Textbook: An Insider Exposes How Educational Material Undermine Reforms written by Beverlee Jobrack. Missing Piece published in Education Week, June 14, 2012 and written by Erik Robelen.
• Read about what teachers are saying on specific topics for professional development in the Education Week article called Roundup Post: Characteristics of Meaningful PD, June 4, 2012, written by Leanne Link. Be sure and check out the discussion topics on the right side of the webpage that has the article.
• Travels in Education
• Study: Teacher PD Needs More on Emotions
• Shifting Assumptions About Teacher Evaluation and Professional Learning
• Let Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning

Khan Academy

Salman Khan interview

In 2008 Salman Khan was creating videos for his young relatives to tutor them in math. Today there are thousands of videos that are online tutorials for anyone to access. In this interview written by Lesli A. Maxwell and published on March 5, 2012 in Education Week you can learn more about the work that Mr. Khan is doing.

ARTS Articles, Articles, Articles

The news is peppered lately with articles about the Arts

This post provides you with links to articles that I found interesting and think you will as well! Some of the articles below are on the newly released, April 2012, report: Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1999-2000 and 2009-10 from a congressionally mandated study on arts education in public K–12 schools. You might wonder why I would include all of the articles on the same topic?! It provides you with the perspectives of different writers. Of course, I urge you to go to the report itself which is linked above.

• Arts Instruction Still Widely Available, But Disparities Persist

Article written by Erik Robelen, April 2, 2012, Education Week. Thank you to colleague Paula Hutton for sharing it.

• Not Extra, But Essential: New NEA Research Report Shows Potential Benefits of Arts Education for At-Risk Youth

March 30, 2012, Art Works, National Endowment for the Arts

• Arts Instruction Remains Prevalent, For Some

ASCD Capital Connection, April 10, 2012.

• Report: Arts Engagement Linked to Academic, Civic Involvement

Written by Erik Robelen April 3, 2012, for Curriculum Matters blog, published in Education Week, April 16, 2012. Thank you to my Washington state colleague AnnRené Joseph for sharing this link.

• An Online Art Collection Grows Out of Infancy

Written by Roberta Smith, April 11, 2012, Art & Design from the New York Times. Thank you to colleague World Language Specialist Don Reutershan for sharing it.

• Software program allows for smarter music education

Article by staff and wire services reports, February 15, 2012 from eSchool News Thank you visual art teacher Lisa Marin for sharing it.

• No Obituary Needed for Arts Education, Study Reveals

Written by Erik W. Robelen, Education Week, April 16, 2012.

• Use Project Based Learning to Innovate the Music Classroom

Written by Andrew Miller, Edutopia, March 5, 2012. 

• Philadelphia Museum of Art

Featured Company from the Directory of Teacher PD Sourcebook.

• What assessments do you use to measure your students’ overall growth in your art class?

This isn’t exactly an article however, it is from National Art Education Association from Linkedin. The question was asked by an art teacher from New York and many teachers answered the question. It provides many ideas and resources that you might find useful. Thank you to Leah Olson, art teacher from Hampden Academy, for sharing this link.

• Maine Voices: Establishing educational standards raises difficult questions

The Portland Press Herald, by Mark Schwartz, April 11, 2012. Thank you to Maine Arts Assessment Leadership Team member, Bates College teacher, Bronwyn Sale for providing this link.

• Success fuels Osceola School for the Arts’ popularity

Written by Leslie Postal for the Orlando Sentinel, April 7, 2012. Thank you to colleague Mike Muir for sending me this information.

• Learning Differences and the Arts

Written by Sarah Clune, American Graduate Education Health, March 22, 2012, PBS News Hour.

This and That

A few good stories

I have been cleaning out as I start 2012 and found over 20 drafts for blog posts. Each of the segments below could be full blog posts however, in the nature of “cleaning up” I have compiled them into a “this and that” post because I didn’t want to leave any out. Enjoy! There may be another post similar to this one since there are still 14 drafts!

• Gospel for Teens: 60 – minute segment

This is a story about a woman named Vy Higginsen who brings young people together each weekend in Harlem to study gospel music. Her original intent was to save the music however it has turned into a much greater project. She has auditions each fall for 13-19 year olds to select the participants. Vy says: “Learning the music of gospel as an artform.” And a comment from a viewer: “In Gospel for Teens, we see in the faces of the youth how lives are transformed when they are granted a vehicle of expression.” I suggest you take a look at these when you have a few minutes to view them them from beginning to end.

View Part 1 by clicking here.

View Part 2 by clicking here.

Thank you to Pete Mickelson for sharing this information.

• TEDx: Diana Laufenberg: How to learn? From mistakes

A teacher describes her teaching experience with experiential learning. Students using their own voice to explore their learning. She has taught in several schools in different states and presently in a school in PA with one 2 one laptops.

Thank you to Pete Mickelson for sharing this information.

• STEM/STEAM

Article from the Art of Science Learning written by Martin Storksdieck that you can read by clicking here.

Thank you to Pete Mickelson for sharing this information.

• World Children

The International Child Art Foundation has served as the leading art and creativity organization for American children and their international counterparts since 1997.  ICAF organized the Arts Olympiad, hosts the World Children’s Festival, and publishes the ChildArt magazine for the development of students’ creativity and empathy. The link below will take you to the Children’s World Festival celebrating peace and diversity. Please click here to learn more. And one of Maine’s students artwork will be included in the event. Read about it by clicking here.

• Art and Neuroscience

For Art and Neuroscience check out this article about an exhibit at the Franklin Institute on Automaton. Please click here.

• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation

Providing opportunities for artists to pursue their learning and creating the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation website gives you an overview and information. Please click here.

Thank you to Nancy Salmon for sharing this link.

• Karen Montanaro on the theater

When well-coached and inspired, kids are miraculous performers . . . and, they all deserve the opportunity to feel the nervousness and thrill of performing . . . shining as brightly as the spot-light they stand in.

Suzanne Farrell (George Balanchine’s muse) is quoted as saying, “The only place to learn is ‘out there,’ on the edge, when the beginning and end of your career hinges on that one performance, that one moment.”

Even though kids aren’t looking for a performing career, there is something about “being on stage” that demands their total commitment to every word they speak, every gesture they make, and every stage-direction they follow.  They also experience the dynamic interplay between themselves, the other performers and the audience.  In fact, I think the stage teaches one of life’s biggest lessons . . . the universal appeal of one’s vitality, awareness, presence and spontaneity.

Karen gives her permission to quote her with the above statement on the theatre.

• Education Week article

The article written by Eric Fox for the December 13th issue is called “Every Student Is At Risk. I found it has ‘food for thought’ and recommend it. Please click here.

• Art Knowledge News

I am not sure when I stumbled upon this site but it has some good information that you might want to check out. Please click here.

• Leighton Art

Mrs. Girbino is an art teacher for grade 3, 4, and 5 at Leighton Elementary School. She has a blog with many wonderful ideas and examples of her students’ art work. You can check it out by clicking here.

• Victoria Wyeth’s grandfather Andrew said…

“My grandfather taught me a valuable lesson, that there are a lot of boring people out there, the more unusual the people you hang out with, the more fun you’re going to have.”