obama ’ s 2008 platform on the arts

Obama’s 2008 platform on the arts

•To remain competitive in the global economy, America needs to reinvigorate the kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great. To do so, we must nourish our children’s creative skills. In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to compete in the new global context, we should also encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts education. Unfortunately, many school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education.

“Due to budget constraints and emphasis on the subjects of

high stakes testing, arts instruction in schools is on a downward trend.”

President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, 2011

May 2011

Minor role, strong TRANSFER claims...

Studies have shown that involvement in the arts helps kids increase test scores and promotes academic achievement. Kids who are involved in the arts are--4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance

“Saving” kids through the arts“We’re going to try to move forward all the kids who were left behind by ‘No Child Left Behind’ – the kids who have talent or a passion or an idiosyncratic perspective. Those kids are important too and they should have a place in society. It’s very often the arts that catches them.” Rocco Landesman Chairman of NEH 2009“Landesman doesn’t defend arts

education as a rigorous discipline…Instead, the purpose is salvation. Some students don’t fit the NCLB [No Child Left Behind] regime and other subjects don’t inspire them. Talented but offbeat, they sulk through algebra, act up in the cafeteria, and drop out of school. The arts “catch” them and pull them back, turning a sinking ego on the margins into a creative citizen with a “place in society.” Bauerlein 2010 Education Next

Why expect transfer?

Difficulty of demonstrating

transfer...even with plausible

hypothesisDesign of study

Quality of arts instruction

Our forthcoming OECD book reports

on:•Creativity Outcomes •Cognitive Outcomes •Motivational Outcomes •Social Skills Outcomes •Brain Outcomes

Multi-ArtsMusicVisual ArtsTheatre (Drama)Dance

{

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

Multi-Arts Significant Null/Inconsistent

REAP Correlational (10) Significant ES

REAP Experimental (6) Non-significant ES

Music (0)

Visual Arts (0)

Correlational (2) Significant, but 1 study self-reported originality

Quasi-experimental (1) Non-significant

Theatre (0)Correlational (1) Significant

Experimental (2) Significant

Dance (0)

Correlational (1) 0 Non-significantQuasi-experimental (2) Significant

Experimental (2) Significant

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

Motivational Outcomes: Multi-Arts

All correlationalReap and post-REAP

Students taking arts score higher No difference

Academic self-concept 2 0Attendance 6 1Aspirations 3 0Attitude 1 3Drop out 1 1Engagement 13 2Persistence 1 0

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

A claim that does not hold up

Example of Correlational Finding: SAT Data from College Board

Verbal SAT Score as a Function of High School Arts Courses

455 452

413422

427432

390

400

410

420

430

440

450

460

None 1 yr. 2 yrs. 3 yrs. 4 yrs. Over 4yrs.

413

422

427432

455 452

Example #2 of Correlational Data: James Catterall

Arts and math/verbal/composite achievement (REAP)

International Studies Fail to

Replicate•UK: Arts track: lower performance GCSE

•Netherlands: no difference

Non-Causal Explanations

FamiliesSchoolsDriveStrategy

Hypothesis: arts improve academic learning via the indirect route of changing school culture

--more constructivist, inquiry based, project based learning?

• •

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

2009

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

•4-6 yr olds randomly assigned to music listening/painting group computerized lessons led by teacher 2 hr/wk, 5 days/wk, 4 wks.• •

•

• musically trained children do well in school above and beyond what would be predicted by their IQ (Schellenberg, 2006).

• Higher IQ children study instruments (Schellenberg)

• Personality trait of conscientiousness, which is known to be related to academic performance, predicts persistence with an instrument. (Schellenberg)

• If lessons in other art forms involved the same combination of school-like activities...

Multi-Arts and Cognitive Outcomes: What We Know Thus Far

•Training in looking closely at paintings and describe them in detail improves doctors’ ability to diagnose disorders from photos of people (but this need not involve art)--Dolev et al. 2001

•Training in looking at and describing works of art improves 9-10 year olds ability to interpret a scientific image (a fossil record of two intersecting footprints)--Tishman et al 1999

BRAIN OUTCOMES

Our Approach

3 stepsStep 1: Analyze learning in parent domainStep 2: Assess learning in parent domainStep 3: Test plausible hypotheses about learning

transfer

Potentially Transferable Cognitive Habits of Mind

Stretch and Explore

Just play around and maybe you’ll learn a new technique

ObservationLearning to See

potential transfer domains? biology...writing...

Envisioning What You Can’t

SeeGenerating and

Manipulating Mental Images

potential transfer domains? geometry...geography

Explaining

Evaluating

Reflection Meta-cognition

potential transfer domains? everywhere!

Expression“Art is beyond technique”

potential transfer domains? writing with a personal voice...

Don’t look for transfer unless you could explain it if you found

it....unless you believe in magic

ConclusionsMore experimental (not correlational) studies

Studies should be based on hypotheses related to learning in the relevant art form

Greater transfer should be predicted by greater learning in the art form

Examine effects of teaching a non-arts domain by integrating the arts; compare to traditional method of teaching same domain

Consider the hypothesis of arts as entry points but only for certain kinds of students

No transfer = lack of justification•Intrinsic merits

•Double edged sword: direct always better

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