Teaching the arts as a second language: A school-wide policy approach to arts integration

The arts can be used to teach, not just as activities that enhance learning, but also as the primary medium through which students process, acquire, and represent knowledge. This means the arts can function as a language. If we accept this metaphor, and we truly want students to be fluent in the artistic languages, then the arts can be taught in the same constructive, sequential way language is taught, where the rules of the system are explicitly learned and fluency is acquired through regular application within a meaningful context. This article provides a framework for the implementation of effective arts integration in line with second language learning: Arts as a Second Language. In doing so, it addresses two common problems in arts education: when arts integration is disconnected from artistic development, and when discipline-based arts education is disconnected from other learning. Nine principles for teaching with an Arts as a Second Language policy are proposed. Ultimately, it is a call for pedagogical reform that enables equitable access for all students to learn in, about, and through the arts with school-wide policy that scaffolds artistic learning across the grades, embedded in meaningful contexts.     

Comparing the effects of art education and science education on creative thinking in high school students

What is the link between art and creativity? The purpose of this study was to determine the role of art education in creative thinking. A causal-comparative research design was used. Arts and science high school students (N = 162) participated. Results showed that creative thinking in visual arts students in Grade 10 with high scores differed significantly from that in music and science students; however, this difference was not found among students in Grade 11. A main reason for this result in Grade 10 students might be the non-routine problem-solving process in visual arts education, in which artwork production is an important component in creative thinking development. Considering this result, it was concluded that the effect of different education disciplines—called education department effect—on creative thinking can be significant.     

Liberts’ Wet-in-Wet Painting

This article describes important global and local initiatives that have one common goal: to give access to and equal opportunities for arts/music education to all children and adolescents. The article also discusses the lack of information available to global leaders in arts education—without a worldwide picture of arts education practices, it is difficult to design local or global policies. The case of Brazil is presented, showing a timeline of advocacy campaigns and the success of establishing a law that assures compulsory music education in schools, as well as the challenges of regulating the profession and the need to rethink our pedagogical paradigm in a contemporary world. Regardless of local or international perspective, the establishment of policy needs to be based on research data and include dialogue between policymakers and arts teachers.     

Innovative problem solving by wild spotted hyenas

Innovative animals are those able to solve novel problems or invent novel solutions to existing problems. Despite the important ecological and evolutionary consequences of innovation, we still know very little about the traits that vary among individuals within a species to make them more or less innovative. Here we examine innovative problem solving by spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in their natural habitat, and demonstrate for the first time in a non-human animal that those individuals exhibiting a greater diversity of initial exploratory behaviours are more successful problem solvers. Additionally, as in earlier work, we found that neophobia was a critical inhibitor of problem-solving success. Interestingly, although juveniles and adults were equally successful in solving the problem, juveniles were significantly more diverse in their initial exploratory behaviours, more persistent and less neophobic than were adults. We found no significant effects of social rank or sex on success, the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, behavioural persistence or neophobia. Our results suggest that the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, akin to some measures of human creativity, is an important, but largely overlooked, determinant of problem-solving success in non-human animals.     

Art-Educators Birthday Calendar

Creativity is the cultural capital of the twenty-first century. This article presents an argument for the arts to lead a new wave of education reform that repositions creativity as the centerpiece of an education that prepares a generation of change agents for doing good.     

设计生态系统绩效研究专题导读

面对全球,特别是中国大范围的生态与环境问题,设计生态学应运而生:通过人工设计生态关系,修复、重建甚至创造基于自然的生态系统,已经成为当下生态文明和美丽中国建设的关键途径。人类有关生态科学的研究成果、古老文明的生态智慧积累和当代人对美好生活的向往是设计生态的三大灵感源泉,使设计的生态具有基于自然的、以综合生态系统服务为导向的、科学和艺术完美结合的特质。本专栏发表了对若干人工设计生态系统的绩效研究,研究结果已经给设计生态学在解决中国当下生态与环境问题的前景带来希望,尤其在城乡大规模生态修复方面显示出广泛的应用前景。设计生态学必将成为生态文明时代的一门崭新而极富挑战的新学科。     

Issues in performing arts teacher preparation program evaluation policy

Solid, well-grounded teachers can be instrumental in solving the problems facing our schools and students because it is successful teachers who are the most valuable, in-school contributors to our students' success. The importance of teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in developing quality teachers has been reinforced by researchers who have demonstrated that preparation linked directly to practice benefits teachers in their first year of teaching. In contrast, federal legislation and government officials' statements suggest that TPPs are responsible for many of the problems facing public education, which has resulted in additional regulations and systems designed to evaluate TPPs' success in preparing effective teachers, including graduates' knowledge of appropriate content. In order to analyze the status of TPP evaluation as it relates to arts education, past models for TPP assessment are reviewed, newer models are discussed, and the possible effects on teacher evaluation processes are outlined. Early research and scholarly writing into the noted and projected effect of these models are discussed as well as suggestions and implications for future models and research into TPP effectiveness.     

Creating a bubble…and an understanding of scientific practices

The use of creativity in science practices is many times lost on secondary students. Creativity is seen as something central to the arts and humanities, but tangential at best in the sciences. However, an examination of many great scientific discoveries and the work of everyday contemporary scientists shows the depth and breadth of the use of creativity in the scientific process. Creating a Bubble is an activity that can be used in a secondary classroom to help students understand not only the importance of creativity in science practices, but also the role of communication, the open-endedness of scientific endeavors, and the use of others’ ideas. Students are given a straw, Styrofoam cup, and dish soap and asked to create a big bubble consistently. At first, the techniques that are used produce many small bubbles. Eventually, someone asks how big a big bubble is. Armed with the knowledge that a big bubble is at least 33?cm (13-inches) in diameter, students become very creative in the techniques they try. They learn from each other and eventually are successful in their quest. Frustration and persistence are also key ingredients along their journey.     

The Oslerian Tradition and Changing Medical Education: A Reappraisal

Although only 21 of Sir William Osler''s 45 years in academic medicine were spent in US medical schools (1884 to 1905), he played a major role in shaping modern medical education in this country. The integration of scholarship with patient care, together with the science and art of medicine, was central to Osler''s teaching and writing throughout his career. A classic generalist and a charismatic clinical teacher, he taught by example and was as concerned with the ideals of medicine as with its science and knowledge.Many changes have reshaped the content, process and concerns of American medical education since Osler''s time. Subspecialization and balkanization of medical education and practice have become dominant. Many of the important issues in medicine today do not fit neatly into the domain of any of the established specialties or medical organizations. There is now an urgent need to promote generalist attitudes in medicine, and the Oslerian tradition has much to offer in approaching today''s problems in medical education and practice.     

Theorizing the nexus of STEAM practice

ABSTRACT

Recent advances in arts education policy, as outlined in the latest National Core Arts Standards, advocate for bringing digital media into the arts education classroom. The promise of such Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)–based approaches is that, by coupling Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and the arts, new understandings and artifacts emerge that transcend either discipline. Evidence of this can be seen through fundamental shifts in both fields; in the arts, artists are expanding the creative potential for design through computational flexibility, which affords artists the ability to exceed the limitations of their tools. The infusion of the arts into STEM has shown to be equally transformative, with the emergence of tools and communities that not only engender new content understandings but also invite participation from populations historically underrepresented in STEM fields. Drawing on over a decade of research at the intersection of the arts, creativity, and new technologies from the Creativity Labs at Indiana University, this article theorizes the learning that takes place at effective couplings of STEAM to assist today's educators in realizing the potential for transformative experiences for learners of all levels. This article provides a synthesis of this past work across two compelling cases of STEAM-based tools, materials, and activities (i.e., the media-rich programming environment Scratch as well as the work the LilyPad Arduino used to create electronic textiles), incorporating findings from more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and books, and conceptually outlines an approach to “gathering STEAM” in arts education classrooms today. Implications are explored for policy makers in teacher education to think about preservice curriculum and field experiences; policy makers in arts education to think about tools needed in classrooms today; as well as how art education can play a critical role in STEM disciplines and offer solutions to address STEM pipeline challenges. Such efforts extend current and prior discussions in the arts education landscape about the use of new technologies, and draw our attention to how new technologies can be leveraged for artistic expression.     

An Ode to Joy … or the Sounds of Silence? An Exploration of Arts Education Policy in Australian Primary Schools

The arts are an integral and important component of our everyday lives. As such, they need to be a vital part of our children's education. However, this has rarely been the case in Australian state primary schools over the past two hundred years. This article explores the history of the arts in Australian state primary schools since the colonization of Australia to the present day. I examine how arts education has been subject to policy changes and inquiries that have not seemed to significantly benefit the arts in our schools and that have at times seemed to marginalize the arts in primary schools. The article concludes with a challenge to arts educators and other stakeholders to develop and implement a long-term approach to policy and practice to ensure that the arts serve as an “Ode to Joy” rather than dissolving into “Sounds of Silence.”     

探索医学研究生的《分子生物学》教学改革

培养具有创新思维和独立创新能力的高素质人才,是医学研究生教育的培养目标,也是新的历史时期对培养高等医学人才 的要求。《医学分子生物学》课程对于研究生教学至关重要,已成为医学研究生的重要基础课程。我们在多年教学经验的基础上, 通过调整理论教学模式、优化知识结构、合理设置教学内容、扩展前沿知识领域、改善考核方式等多个举措,着重培养研究生的独 立科研创新能力,使得研究生《医学分子生物学》教学改革取得一定成效。     

Paradoxes in Western Creativity

Statistical data, showing percentages of creativity in the various arts and philosophy among different nations during the history of Western civilization, can now be presented. This covers the ground quantitatively which Kroeber's Configurations of Culture Growth covered qualitatively. The study not only reveals different patterns among nations, but indicates the nature of the problem to be overcome if mankind is to achieve a universal maximum release of creativity for all in the future.     

The palm has its time: an Ethnoecology ofSabal uresana in Sonora,Mexico

Participant observation and formal interviews were used to learn what local people understood of palm natural history and how palms were managed. Ecological and ethnographic methods were combined to assess traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and traditional resource management (TRM). Palm workers understood TEK and TRM for palms. This knowledge was not general in the population, however. Residence, harvester status, and gender were strongly correlated with TEK and TRM. Harvest practices included limiting access, “sparing,” controlling harvest times and levels, and choice of leaf age and palm size. “Alpha” management is proposed as practices which maintain populations long-term. In this case, sparing was the single most important practice. “Beta” management is shorter term and important for obtaining good quality product in sufficient quantities. Although the impacts are more subtle, it can affect population structure over time. This study provides one prototype for identifying practices which function as de facto conservation traditions for wild-harvested species.     

Improve your Frames with Inserts

The field of education in the United States is in a period of unprecedented change. Educators in all disciplines are challenged to understand and respond to the waves of reform sweeping over the national education landscape. Linking these reforms to meaningful outcomes that will produce more rigorous and effective measures of quality and performance in our schools is an ongoing goal for all educators as they work to respond to calls for educational reform. Changes in the general field of education have direct implications for arts education policy and practice. Arts educators find themselves in the position of making sense of these landmark reforms and changes in the context of arts education and determining what courses of action and responses they should pursue on the road to meaningful reform. This report provides an overview of a selected number of contemporary developments in the general field of education, brief summaries of consequential studies and education-related reports, and an examination of some policy issues these developments and reports raise for arts educators as they work to shape the future landscape of arts education.     

Dancing to the top: How collective action revitalized arts education in Boston

In 2009, a group of local foundations, the school district, arts organizations, and the Mayor's Office launched the Boston Public Schools Arts Education Initiative (BPS-AE)—a multiyear, citywide, public–private initiative aimed at increasing BPS students' access to in-school arts education. Managed by a strong local intermediary with deep experience in education, this initiative used several complementary, overlaid strategies: direct service, system building, and community engagement—all of which were supported by a philanthropic collaborative of local and national funders. Today, 17,000 more BPS students receive arts education; nearly 130 additional full-time certified arts teachers have been hired; and district spending on arts has risen to $26 million annually, compared to $15 million in 2009. There is also growing demand from the larger community for more and better arts education. In 2015, BPS-AE produced a case study that provides a more detailed explication of the multitiered strategy it used to achieve these results. The study offers recommendations as to how other cities can involve diverse key constituencies to advance this kind of initiative, create leadership structures that support effective citywide collaboration, engage community stakeholders in participatory planning processes, leverage private philanthropy to boost public funding, and develop a centralized support system for school principals and arts teachers.     

Drama as a valuable learning medium in early childhood

ABSTRACT

Theater arts encompass unique art forms comprising highly developed pedagogical applications apart from theater as performance. Specifically, the use of drama as a learning medium, referred to in the field as process drama, is most emphatically applicable to the education of young children. Young children actively gain skills in dialogue, collaboration, and creative problem solving, by collectively pretending, with teacher guidance, to be in an imaginative elsewhere—something most are well adept at from their own natural dramatic play. This article argues that ages 3–8 represent a critical time for children to benefit from process drama integrated into the curriculum and highlights the unique impact process drama can make when it is used to explore a particular problem, situation, or theme, referencing related national core arts. Documentation from well-established programs is presented, and recommendations for training drama teachers on how to work in early childhood and for early childhood teachers on how to integrate process drama into their curriculum are presented.     

The Materials Revolution

In the final essay of this series the gaps between biology and engineering are examined, and methods are suggested for crossing them. Creativity is seen as the essential, and TRIZ （the Russian Theory of Inventive Problem Solving） is recommended as the best set of methods both for stimulating creativity and for solving technical problems. When the catalogue of Inventive Principles of TRIZ is used to bring biology and technology to the same level of detail, the comparison shows that the similarity is only about 12%. The differences largely reside in the reliance of energy as a controlling parameter in conventional technology and the replacement of energy by information in biological systems. Although we might be moving slowly in this direction, a numerically based comparison such as this should provide more impetus.     

Envisioning ecological engineering education: An international survey of the educational and professional community

Nearly half a century ago, H.T. Odum envisioned a sustainable approach to systems design where human intervention would be supplementary to nature. He referred to this concept as ecological engineering and suggested that practitioners should receive an education beyond the rigors of engineering. To understand natural processes needed to design, develop, and restore natural systems successfully, Odum suggested ecological engineers should have an expanded knowledge of environmental systems and ecology. Furthermore, he recommended broadening educational exposure to social science and liberal arts. The field of ecological engineering has blossomed in the years since Odum expressed his vision, but universities have not adopted his suggested curriculum, and undergraduate engineering students have generally seen a reduction in social science and liberal arts courses. This paper compares Odum's vision with the surveyed visions of an international group of ecological engineers, who assessed the value and characteristics of an ecological engineering undergraduate education. The respondents’ perspectives vary with their location, education, and profession; however, most participants in this survey share Odum's vision, and are dissatisfied with existing curricula. Participants outside of the United States were more confident that something approaching Odum's vision for a program in ecological engineering could be delivered at the undergraduate level.     

Principles of antibody therapy.

The success of monoclonal antibodies in clinical practice is dependent on good design. Finding a suitable target is the most important part as other properties of the antibody can be altered by genetic engineering. Antibodies that target lymphocyte antigens offer less toxic immunosuppressive treatment than currently available drugs and the first monoclonal antibody approved for human use is an immunosuppressive agent for treating rejection of renal transplants. Human trails of monoclonal antibodies to treat septic shock have been done and antibodies are also being developed to target common pathogens such as herpes simplex virus. Although monoclonal antibodies against cancer have been much heralded, their success has been limited by the poor access to the inside of tumours. Treatment of blood cancers has been more successful and a human antibody against B cell malignancies is being clinically tested. As knowledge about natural immune responses and antibody engineering increases many more monoclonals are likely to feature in clinical practice.