In order to graduate, Indiana high schoolers have to take tenth grade tests in math and English language arts. The Indiana Department of Education takes a keen interest in seeing school-wide improvement on these tests, which factor into the school’s letter grade.
But an Indiana University researcher has found that students who attend schools where scores are improving don’t necessarily do better on the ACT college entrance exam. In fact, he found that these students actually scored half a point lower on the 36-point ACT than students at schools where the tenth grade test scores weren’t as strong.
“While a half a point different isn’t a huge amount, a bigger concern for us is, in theory, it should be in the opposite direction,” says Adam Maltese, a professor in the IU School of Education. “We should see improvement in these ACT scores in that subject and maybe even other subjects.”
Maltese is a former science teacher. The study’s co-author, Craig Hochbein of the University of Louisville, is a former school administrator. Maltese says their research was born from a concern that frequent standardized testing in math and English mean other subjects, often science, receive less class time and attention.
Whether A School Is Improving Or Declining Matters Little On ACT
So here’s what Maltese and Hochbein did: They looked at how well all of a school’s tenth graders scored on the “end-of-course assessments” to determine if the school was improving or declining. Then they looked at how well individual students who went to that school did on the ACT. Students at schools where scores on end-of-course assessments were improving performed as well or even a little worse on the ACT than their peers at schools where scores on the graduation tests were declining.
But what the researchers found is open for interpretation. Even Maltese and Hochbein caution against drawing broad conclusions from their findings.
Here are a few possible explanations the authors offer:
- Unless they attend a school that is chronically underperforming, college-bound students remain on track throughout their high school careers.
- Most efforts to lift struggling schools focus on students with the lowest scores on standardized tests, as well as students who are “on the bubble” — not college-bound students who presumably are meeting grade-level expectations.
- Limited school resources may be going to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to students who aren’t scoring well on standardized tests, leaving less funding available for enrichment programs for high ability students.
Why End-Of-Course Exams May Not Measure College Success
In an email to StateImpact Indiana, a spokesperson for the IDOE emphasized that end-of-course assessments and college entrance exams are very different measures.
For one, the tests students have to pass to graduate from high school are typically administered to sophomores, two years before they’d be heading off to college, writes Stephanie Sample. (Students sometimes take the tests as juniors or seniors if they’ve fallen behind.)
“You probably need more than a tenth grade understanding of math and English language arts to be successful in college science courses,” Sample wrote.
—Adam Maltese, IU researcher
She also says it’s unlikely the students who are improving on the end-of-course assessments are also taking the ACT:
There’s also the possibility in these schools that are identified as improving, they were low-performing in the past. If that’s the case, there’s the possibility the ACT isn’t as commonly taken in low-performing schools because the expectation isn’t to go to college. As the school improves, that expectation is created, and the ACT becomes more popular. So you might have students taking the ACT in these improving schools who don’t have the additional supports that help students on the ACT (such as AP courses, study sessions, resources, etc.).
More schools offer and more students take the SAT in Indiana than the ACT …. This means the population of ACT test takers may change significantly year-to-year, which makes comparisons of year-to-year achievement inappropriate.
Sample says the IDOE agrees that some college-bound seniors might be insulated from efforts to help struggling students meet minimum standards, as the authors suggest.
But Maltese argues you can’t uncouple the two groups. He says even though Indiana has a waiver from some of the federal No Child Left Behind law’s strictest provisions, things like school letter grades and teacher evaluations are still tied to standardized test scores. Maltese says research is needed on what kind of effect efforts to improve schools are having.


How to Engage Students through Music Education
Students of all ages benefit from musical training and lessons. Whether the student is an adult picking up an instrument for the first time, or a child or teen, music engages parts of the brain not touched by other activities. Recent studies show that music education in early years of development can help foster better reading skills, concentration, and coordination.1
Gone are the days where students just play sheet music over and over again to learn to play a musical instrument. Today, the advent of advanced technologies has provided additional learning tools for music teachers to employ. For example, in Billings, Montana, students are filmed and recorded while they practice. Utilizing these recording methods has provided the students immediate feedback on what they are doing, and allows the teacher to quickly illustrate how to improve.
Children of today are surrounded by technology whether in the form of computers, smartphones, or video games. Technology has captured their minds and as a result, some schools are utilizing tablet computers such as the iPad to help engage students in the process of learning music and producing music.
State-of-the-art technology, such as the GarageBand program can be applied directly to music education and have proven to be effective tools for music instructors for its ability to record performances, and for students, it is an easy interface to learn editing and mixing, and variety of sounds to create music. The iPad app Notion, produced by Notion Music allows users to easily create musical scores by having students directly write music onto a music sheet and immediately hear what they have written.
Technology for Music Education, “TI:ME”, is a non-profit educational organization that helps school systems and teachers employ technology into the classrooms to help inspire imagination and engage students in learning music.2 The organization believes that, “Music technology has the advantage of providing instant feedback and allowing students with varying levels of ability to succeed.” While the organization does emphatically state that musical concepts are the foundation for a good music education program, technology does assist in keeping students interested and motivated.
Teaching in today’s high-tech world can present challenges for instructors. The age old practice of reading and writing alone, does not engage the brains of young students. Our world is filled with an abundance of stimuli and immediate gratification. Harnessing the powers of technology in the classroom, especially for musical education can assist in keeping students excited and anxious for learning about music.
Humanitarian, musician and vocalist of U2, Bono is quoted as saying “music can change the world because it can change people.” In the same way, a teacher has the opportunity to change the world with every student they teach.
1Moreno S., Bialystok E., Barac R., Schellenberg G., Cepeda N. & Chau T. 2011. Short-Term Music Training Enhances Verbal Intelligence and Executive Function. Psychological Science
Retrieved from: http://www.ti-me.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=176:make-time-in-your-classroom&catid=1:latestnews&Itemid=157
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ERIC Number: ED443572
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2000-Aug
Reference Count: N/A
Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. ERIC Digest.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann
In most elementary classrooms, some students struggle with learning, others perform well beyond grade-level expectations, and the rest fit somewhere in between. Within each of these categories of students, individuals also learn in a variety of ways and have different interests. To meet the needs of a diverse student population, many teachers differentiate instruction. This Digest describes differentiated instruction, discusses the reasons for differentiating instruction and what makes the approach successful, and suggests how teachers can start implementing this type of instruction. The Digest notes that teachers can differentiate at least four classroom elements based on student readiness, interest, or learning profile: (1) content--what the student needs to learn or how the student will get access to the information; (2) process--activities in which the student engages in order to make sense of or master the content; (3) products--culminating projects that ask the student to rehearse, apply, and extend what he or she has learned in a unit; and (4) learning environment--the way the classroom works and feels. The Digest also discusses reasons for differentiating instruction, including the ample evidence that students are more successful in school and find it more satisfying if they are taught in ways that are responsive to their readiness levels. Noting that there is no recipe for differentiation, the Digest suggests broad principles and characteristics that are useful in establishing a defensible differentiated classroom. The Digest concludes with suggestions for teachers as they begin to differentiate, begin to differentiate more proactively, or seek to refine a classroom that can already be called "differentiated." (LPP)
Descriptors: Classroom Environment, Classroom Techniques, Curriculum Development, Diversity (Student), Educational Change, Educational Strategies, Elementary Education, Heterogeneous Grouping, Individual Differences, Individualized Instruction, Student Needs, Teacher Expectations of Students, Teaching Methods
For full text: http://ericece.org.
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom; ERIC Publications; ERIC Digests in Full Text
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Champaign, IL.
Identifiers: Curriculum Differentiation; ERIC Digests


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A major change in our country’s educational landscape is about to take place: the Department of Education (DepEd) is launching the K-12 curriculum this coming June.
According to President Benigno S. Aquino, “We need to add two years to our basic education. Those who can afford pay up to fourteen years of schooling before university. Thus, their children are getting into the best universities and the best jobs after graduation. I want at least 12 years for our public school children to give them an even chance at succeeding.” In line with this, the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that, “The State shall establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and the society.“ Such mandate gives justice to the basic rights of every Filipino child: the right to quality education and the right to a quality life.
What is K-12? According to the K to 12 Deped Primer (2011), “K-12 means “Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondary education.” Kindergarten points to the 5-year old child who undertakes the standardized curriculum for preschoolers. Elementary education refers to 6 years of primary school (Grades 1-6) while secondary education means four years of junior high school (Grades 7-10 or HS Year 1-4). In addition to this, two years are now allotted for senior high school (Grades 11-12 or HS Year 5-6).
Prof. Lorina Calingasan of the College of Education in UP Diliman explains that “K-12 means extending basic education by two years, so instead of having a high school graduate at 16 (years old), we will have high schoolers graduating at 18.”
The DepEd discussion paper (2010) on the enhanced K-12 basic education program explains that this new setup “seeks to provide a quality 12-year basic education program that each Filipino is entitled to” (p.5). Furthermore, the purpose is not simply to add 2 more years of education “but more importantly to enhance the basic education curriculum” (p.5).
What is the rationale for this program? There is an urgent need to enhance the quality of basic education in our country as seen in the education outcomes of Filipino students and the comparative disadvantage of the Philippines with regard to other countries. The following data would support this explanation:
At present, the Philippines is the only country in Asia and among the three remaining countries in the world that uses a 10-year basic education cycle. According to a presentation made by the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO-INNOTECH) on Additional Years in Philippine Basic Education (2010), the comparative data on duration of Basic and Pre-University Education in Asia shows that the Philippines allots 10 years not just for the basic education cycle but also for the pre-university education while all the other countries have either 11 or 12 years in their basic education cycle.
Achievement scores highlight our students’ poor performance in national examinations. The National Achievement Test (NAT) results for grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 showed only a 69.21% passing rate while the NAT results for high school is at a low 46.38%. Moreover, international tests results in 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science study (TIMSS) show that the Philippines ranked 34th out of 38 countries in HS Math and 43rd out of 46 countries in HS II Science. Moreover, the Philippines ranked the lowest in 2008 even with only the science high schools joining the Advanced Mathematics category.


Electoral Impacts of Uncovering Public School Quality: Evidence from Brazilian Municipalities
School accountability systems that establish the adoption of incentives for teachers and school managers usually impact positively students’ performance. However, in many circumstances, school accountability systems may face institutional restrictions to establish rewards and sanctions to administrators. In that aspect, the Brazilian accountability system is an interesting example: Most of primary public schools are run by municipal officials and federal government cannot enforce the adoption of incentives at local level. However, because mayors of Brazilian municipalities are the ultimate responsible for public elementary education we provide evidence that in 2008 local election, just some months after the publication of the second wave of a new evaluation of public schools run every two years by federal government, mayors became electorally accountable for not improving school quality. The results show that, on average, one point increase in a 0-10 scale index from 2005 to 2007 increased by around 5 percentage points the probability of re-election. This effect is even greater in localities with lower per capita income and those where the fraction of children at school age is larger. Therefore, electoral accountability may play a complementary role in school accountability systems that had not yet been fully exploited by education and political economics and political science literatures.
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- Timothy Besley & Michael Smart, 2005.
"Fiscal Restraints and Voter Welfare,"
STICERD - Political Economy and Public Policy Paper Series
06, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
- Ferraz, Claudio & Finan, Frederico & Moreira, Diana B., 2012. "Corrupting learning," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 712-726.
- Marcos Chamon & João Manoel Pinho de Mello & Sergio Firpo, 2008.
"Electoral rules, political competition and fiscal spending : regression discontinuity evidence from Brazilian municipalities,"
Textos para discussão
559, Department of Economics PUC-Rio (Brazil).
- Chamon, Marcos & Mello, João Manoel Pinho de & Firpo, Sergio Pinheiro, 2010. "Electoral rules, political competition and fiscal spending: regression discontinuity evidence from brazilian municipalities," Textos para discussão 208, Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Getulio Vargas Foundation (Brazil).
- Akhmed Akhmedov & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2004. "Opportunistic Political Cycles: Test in a Young Democracy Setting," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 119(4), pages 1301-1338.
- Drazen, Allan & Eslava, Marcela, 2010. "Electoral manipulation via voter-friendly spending: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 39-52, May.
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"People generally have more feeling for canals and roads than education. However, I hope we can advance them with equal pace." - Thomas Jefferson, 1807.
Sound off on the important issues at
No doubt Jefferson would share my dismay if he could read, now 200 years later, House Speaker John Harris' comment against "dumping a lot of money into day care" (Friday's Juneau Empire, regarding the Masonic Temple). Jefferson often faced this type of attitude toward education as he led the movement for public schools in the 1800s.
Fortunately, the vast majority of Alaskans now realize that high-quality early care and education are critical to help families work and to ensure children enter school ready to learn. A recent survey by the McDowell Group found that 87 percent of Alaskans think it is important or very important for the State of Alaska to provide funding support for early learning and child care (Jan. 21 Empire). Yet state funds provide less than 6 percent of the total cost of child care in Alaska.
Investing in the care and education of young children makes good sense from a business and economic perspective. Federal Reserve Bank economists Arthur Rolnick and Rob Grunewald report investments in early childhood education "reap extraordinarily high economic returns." Their cost benefit analysis of three longitudinal studies show returns ranging from $3 to $17 for every dollar invested; between 7 percent and 18 percent annual returns.
Compare the $185 million the State of Alaska "dumps" into the prison system, against the state general fund investment of $13.3 million total for Head Start and child care for the 62,913 children under age 6 in Alaska. Visit www.fightcrime.org to see why police chiefs across the nation agree that increasing funds for high-quality early learning is one of the most effective strategies for reducing crime. Preschoolers that participated in a high-quality Chicago program serving more than 100,000 children showed a 70 percent reduction in violent crimes committed at age 18 compared to a control group.
Parents can no more afford the total cost of high quality early care and learning than they can the total cost of elementary education or college tuition. Yet the McDowell report found that less than one in seven households using child care services receive any financial assistance. With a cost of between $400 and $900 a month per child, about half of the parents surveyed found it difficult to find child care they could afford, and roughly a third were prevented or limited in their ability to work due to lack of adequate child care. (http://seed.alaska.edu/)
Many large employers find that family-friendly practices such as dedicating space for child care facilities leads to reduced absenteeism and turnover while increasing recruitment and productivity. The lack of available child care downtown may prohibit legislators and staff from serving in office. Yet legislators and staff that are also parents may be most in touch with the issues faced by many of their constituents.
Whether or not the state elects to dedicate space for child care when renovating the Masonic Temple, I do find myself in agreement with Rep. Harris, R-Valdez, on one point. We can't afford to waste the potential of our children on low-quality custodial day care. Our state must join the rest of the nation in advancing the quality of early learning programs and support parents as their children's first and most influential teachers.
Initiatives such as tuition scholarships for high-quality programs, development of a quality rating system and salary incentives for teachers with degrees and professional credentials are all highly effective approaches working in many other states. I applaud Sen. Bettye Davis, D-Anchorage, and Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell, for sponsoring a presentation for legislators later this month on the economic effect of early childhood education in Alaska, and encourage all legislators to attend.
If Jefferson were alive today, he would no doubt advocate to expand our public support of education to include the early years. By the time children enter school, the foundation for their capacity to learn is already established.
Joy Lyon serves as executive director of the Association for the Education of Young Children in Southeast Alaska.


ERIC Number: ED207674
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981
Reference Count: 0
Developing Cognitive Skills Through Art.
Silver, Rawley A.
The recognition that children's cognitive skills are evident in visual as well as verbal conventions has led to the construction of the Silver Test of Cognitive and Creative Skills (STCCS) for the assessment and development of children's cognitive abilities. Research on cognition, the role of language in cognition, and left and right brain hemisphere thinking has led to the following conclusions: (1) even children with inadequate language may be able to construct visual models of reality and represent their experiences nonverbally by drawing images of them; (2) intellectual ability is largely independent of language; (3) language is structured by the development of logical ability; (4) people tend to favor one mode of hemispheric thinking over another; and (5) individuals successful at solving problems tend to use visual thinking as one means of solving problems. Based on findings such as these, the STCCS consists of three main tasks: drawing from imagination, drawing from observation, and predictive drawing. The test is designed to assess children with cognitive or creative strengths who may do poorly on traditional measures of intelligence or achievement. Examples of the use of the STCCS in assessment are provided. Teaching procedures derived from three structures underlying the assessment tasks are described and illustrated. In conclusion, six studies using the STCCS to assess or to develop children's cognitive skills are summarily discussed. (Author/RH)
Descriptors: Cognitive Ability, Cognitive Measurement, Creativity, Creativity Tests, Elementary Education, Elementary School Students, Freehand Drawing, Learning Disabilities, Nonverbal Tests, Teaching Methods, Test Construction
Ablex Publishing Corporation, 355 Chestnut Street, Norwood, NJ 07648 (Contact publisher for price).
Publication Type: Reports - Research; ERIC Publications
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Urbana, IL.
Identifiers: Visual Thinking
Note: To be published as a chapter in "Current Topics in Early Childhood Education," Volume IV, 1982, Lilian G. Katz, Editor.


Literacy policy: Whilst the Early Years curriculum in England has begun to recognise literacy development as embedded in social practice, national and local policy-derived documentation continues to focus on cognitive approaches, and theorised guidance on supporting literacy learning with new technologies is notably absent.
Practitioner beliefs and literacy practices: In the early years setting, there was an emphasis on the acquisition of traditional literacy skills, such as sharing stories, mark-making, phonics, rhyming etc, and staff supported children’s learning in joint shared attention episodes. Although the nursery had diverse electronic resources, their use was only occasionally integrated into pedagogic planning or supported by practitioners, with the exception of provision for children with learning difficulties where computers were recognised as offering choice and control.
Whilst most practitioners acknowledged the centrality of new technologies in the children’s future lives, many lacked confidence in their use, were uncertain about their pedagogic value and/or feared their potential harm to ‘childhood’. Some software and internet access to approved sites offered literacy-learning potential, but only those children who had developed computer skills at home accessed these, either alone or in collaborative participation frameworks with peers. These frameworks were characterised by motivated joint activity, where an ‘expert’ peer used talk and actions to direct and discuss game progression with less experienced peers.
Parental beliefs and literacy practices: At home, the young children experienced a range of everyday literacy practices with diverse media. Home ownership of mobile phones, TVs, satellite, computers and internet was widespread, although two families in the lowest income band (>£10,000 per annum) had no computer, with implications for social inclusion/equality. Whilst safeguarding against their over-use, most parents recognised the potential of new technologies for their children’s learning, but were less sure about how to support screen-based literacy activities. Some children were not allowed computer access at home, but did use mobile phones, TV/videos, and ‘smart’ toys which converged new and traditional technologies (e.g. talking books, interactive toys). We therefore found a ‘digital divide’ where some children in the nursery displayed strategic, meta-level literacy knowledge with new technologies derived principally from participation in supported activity at home, whilst children with less experience only participated in low-level activities or did not use them at all.
Multimodal literacies: Analysis of the children’s engagement with a range of media revealed that becoming ‘literate’ in today’s world involves mastery of diverse practices and technical skills, along with the ability to adapt, improvise, identify relevant features in static and dynamic texts and to navigate around them. It was clear that reading on-screen was profoundly different to reading print. It involved the use and interpretation of multiple modes (images, sounds, movement, layout, spoken and written language), which appeared in non-linear, hyperlinked formats with diverse possible pathways. We are developing a theorised framework for supporting literacy learning in diverse media through ‘collaborative multimodal dialogue’ (defined as the inter-subjective, multimodal meaning-making processes that occur through joint engagement in activity) to enable educators to help all children achieve their full potential as members of a society in which knowledge and communication in both traditional and new technologies are highly prized.


ERIC Number: ED417408
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1998-May
Reference Count: N/A
Daily Journal Writing and Its Influence on Phonics Development in Kindergarten.
Piccirillo, Jean B.
A study examined the effects of daily journal writing on kindergarten children's phonics acquisition. At St. Joseph School in Carteret, New Jersey, 21 kindergartners kept daily journals in addition to normal classroom instruction over a period of 4 months, while the 20 kindergartners in another class received only the normal classroom phonics instruction. Students were grouped heterogeneously. The curriculum, pace and methods of instruction were the same for both classes. At the end of that time, both samples were tested in phonemic awareness of consonants and letter-sound correspondence; results were compared and analyzed. Findings suggest that no significant difference was found between daily journal writing and phonics skill acquisition in kindergarten children. The failure to find a significant relationship between daily journal writing and phonics skills in kindergartners suggests that more research needs to be done to determine the effects, if any, of journal writing on other areas of achievement. (Contains related research and 37 references; test scores are appended.) (Author/CR)
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: M.A. Research Project, Kean University.


A Historical, International Comparison of Integrated and Dis-Integrated Arts in Curriculum and Pedagogy
Archeological and anthropological studies indicate that the arts for prehistoric humans were of an integrated nature, that is rituals employed mixed use of visual arts, language arts, music, dance, and theatre. Cognitive science tells us that the brain is by nature an integrative system. We take in information through our senses in response to experience, store that information and then, as new experiences arise, we retrieve and compare stored information as needed to make sense of new experiences. We use the left and right hemispheres, the reptilian and mammalian areas of the brain, etc. As more and more humans became agricultural beginning in the late Neolithic period, cultures arose in response to the needs posed by the geographic locations of large populations. Different cultures had different effects on activities, including the role and structure of the arts and education. This study compares the role and structure of the arts and education with particular attention to integrated and not (dis-) integrated arts in curricular and pedagogical practices. This paper relies heavily on current research in the “International Handbook of Research in Arts Education (Bresler, Ed., 2007). Findings indicate that (1) the arts, both in formal education and in societies at large, tended to go from integrated towards not (dis-) integrated as cultures evolved, (2) the early twentieth century progressive education movement influenced a rise in re-integrating the arts in education, and (3) changes in late twentieth and twenty-first century pedagogy and curriculum as well as trends in professional fine arts show evidence of growing interest in integrated arts.
Keywords: Integrated Arts, Curriculum, Pedagogy
Dr. Teresa Cotner
Assistent Professor in Art Education, Department of Art and Art History, California State University


School music funding aims to reach less well-off
- 7 February 2011
- From the section Education & Family
The government says funding for music in England's schools will increasingly be targeted at the less well-off in a bid to close a "musical divide between rich and poor".
Responding to a review of school music, the government announced plans to bring more music graduates into teaching.
A National Plan for Music Education has also been promised for later this year.
School music funding will remain at £82.5m for next year - the same amount as funded through councils this year.
Following this transitional year, the education department says it will work with music services "to manage future budget pressures".
The review was led by Darren Henley, managing director of Classic FM.
He was asked to look at how public funding could be used to give every child the opportunity to learn an instrument and to sing.
He was also looking at how to improve classroom teachers' skills and confidence in giving music lessons.
The Education Secretary Michael Gove had said it was a "sad fact" that many state school children did not have the chance to learn an instrument.
The government says it will keep its school music budget for 2011-2012 at the present level of £82.5m next year.
The shape of music education after this will be determined by a forthcoming National Plan for Music Education.
There have been fears about public spending cuts damaging music education.
Many schools arrange music lessons and instrument hire for children through local bodies called "music services" run by councils and some of those have said they fear cuts or even closure.
The music services are funded through local authorities, central government grants and parental contributions.
Councils in England are facing a budget cut of about 25% over the next four years.
The musicians' professional body, the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM), recently accused some councils of going 'too far, too soon" by cutting budgets for children's music lessons, before details of national funding had been revealed.
That was echoed by the the Federation of Music Services (FMS), which said a handful of councils were publicly proposing "pre-emptive cuts" as part of wider cost savings, which could "irreparably undermine" services.
On future funding, the government has said it will work with local authorities and schools inspectors Ofsted to "ensure the most disadvantaged children are targeted".
Also, it is to launch a scheme called "Music Teach First", through which it aims to recruit musicians from leading music schools to go to teach in "the nation's most challenging schools".
And it says it wants to make it easier for leading orchestras and musicians to help improve music education in schools.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "Music has the power to touch the soul. It is a universal language understood by people of every culture. And it gives us all the chance to be transported by beauty.
"But access to the best musical education is not universal and the opportunity to benefit from great instrumental tuition is not shared equally.
"Many disadvantaged children are denied the music education they deserve. And that's why we need to bridge this musical divide."


Nancy F. Cason1
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of instructional aids for art history survey students. Use of an interactive multimedia (IM) computer program designed to help students acquire and retain a deeper understanding of works of art is compared to traditional slide study. Analysis of students' written responses to works of art revealed that IM users searched more extensively for information, demonstrated both more understandings and misunderstandings, and experienced carryover effects from the first experiment to the second. These results indicate that once students are familiar with the technology, IM is an effective instructional format for facilitating the acquisition of advanced knowledge and skills necessary for insightful responses to works of art.
Over 30 years ago, Elliot Eisner recognized a newly emerging trend in art education toward educating students' responses to works of art (Eisner, 1966), an observation that was confirmed in the mid 1980s with the formulation of DBAE theory (Getty, 1985). Today, proponents of both DBAE and multicultural education agree that a general goal for students is to acquire and demonstrate an understanding of works of art (Delacruz & Dunn, 1995). Educators are now grappling with the issues of which works to study and how to make them accessible to students.
Art educators have assumed that with instruction in formal analysis and exposure to relevant contextual information, students can construct meaning from works of art at increasingly higher levels of expertise as they continue through school (Clark, Day & Greer, 1987). Recent research in contemporary cognitive learning theory has suggested a need for curricular models to accommodate the complexity of art understandings (Efland, 1995). However, it is important to recognize that there are numerous students who have limited opportunities for art instruction in elementary and secondary schools, and many who have their first and only encounter with art in college courses such as the art history survey.
The art history survey is a course intended to initiate undergraduates, both art majors and non-art majors alike, into historical study of the visual arts. Typically, the survey satisfies general education requirements for liberal arts students, and therefore its impact is felt across the curriculum. Because of its role in general education and in the preparation of future art teachers, the art history survey has always been of interest to college art educators, but particularly now that the survey is undergoing radical revision (Collins, 1995).
Ideological issues emerging over the last two decades from feminism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism (Silk, 1995) have stimulated a reconceptualization of not only the structure and content of the survey, but also its instructional methodology. Art history professionals and art educators alike are questioning whether pedagogical methods traditionally employed in introductory college art courses are adequate for meeting the goals of visual literacy which includes the development of critical and analytical skills necessary to understand works of art (Alpers, 1995; Clayson & Leja, 1995; Condon, 1995; Sowell, 1991).
The traditional format for the art history survey is the instructor-moderated slide lecture. Affectionately known as "art in the dark" this instructional mode introduces students to vast numbers of unfamiliar images under conditions more conducive to sleep than intellectual stimulation. Because of the large size of most survey classes, opportunities for students' questions or in-depth discussion of works of art are rare. Prescribed study methods outside of class are generally limited to reading survey texts and reviewing slides, assignments of which only the most motivated learners take advantage. Assessment in the survey course traditionally takes the form of the multiple-choice slide identification or short-answer objective questions in which the student is typically asked to recall names, dates, periods, and stylistic characteristics. …


The egg drop challenge is one of my favorite science activities for kids! I love all the critical thinking involved in this science activity, but my favorite part is the excitement kids feel when taking part!
Are you following our Science for Kids Pinterest board?
Be sure to also check out our 2014 egg drop challenge! You’ll find even more examples of contraptions created by kids!
Have you heard of the Egg Drop Challenge? It’s such a fun way to incorporate critical thinking and problem solving into your home learning or classroom.
Basically, the challenge is to create a container that will protect an egg from cracking or breaking from a high fall. You can make this as simple or complex as you want depending on the amount of time you have and the ages of kids you are working with. I love that this is such a rewarding experience for such a wide range of ages. And the kids always get super excited to do this project so get ready for lots of screams of delight!
(This is the perfect time of year to do it too~ Although the challenge is usually done with raw eggs, you could still do it using some of the Easter eggs you never got around to eating or that you may have decorated with an inedible dye and don’t want to go to waste.)
Materials for the Egg Drop Challenge
You can use anything you want! Listed below are just some examples of materials you could use.
- cardboard tubes
- old boxes
- tape, glue, rubberbands
- popsicle sticks
- Come up with an idea of some type of container you can make to protect an egg from a high fall.
- Build your container and place the egg inside.
- Drop the egg from someplace high. (Be sure it’s safe and an adult is with you.)
- After you drop it look and see if your egg cracked or remained intact. (Remember to wash your hands after touching raw egg!)
Questions to Spark More Curiosity & Critical Thinking
Describe your design. Why do you think it will protect the egg? Did it work? Why or why not? How could you improve your design?
Want to go even further?
Even more activities to inspire creativity and critical thinking for various ages.
- Try dropping the egg from increasing heights. Does it eventually stop working?
- If your initial design did not work, redesign it and try to improve it. Can you get it work the next time?
- Fill a box with a large amount of materials that could be used for this project. Then allow each child to only choose 3 items from the box to build their design.
Egg Drop with Fourth Grade
Later, we took this challenge to Daddy’s 4th grade classroom. The students brought in supplies from home and built their own containers in class. It was so fun to see what they came up with!
After the students were finished planning building, they placed their eggs inside their containers, and then we headed outside to test them.
For the first round the eggs were dropped from a height of about 7 feet. All but one egg made it past that drop. The second drop was about 11 feet high and only 2 containers protected their eggs from that fall.
Once the students were done testing their containers, they went back into the classroom to discuss what worked and what didn’t work and shared theories as to why. It was definitely a successful lesson!
Here is a free printable your child or students can use to plan out their designs.
Have you ever taken part in or done an egg drop challenge?


Over 3,500 years ago, Australian Aboriginals created unique handprints on cave walls by blowing a mixture of red ochre and water from their mouths over their hands. Artists also created unique rock paintings alongside their blown handprints to document their life. Traditional Aboriginal art uses lots of patterns and vibrant colors.
Teach your child about the art of ancient Australia by creating your own handprint art just like Aboriginal artists did thousands of years ago. It's a cinch with watered-down tempera paint and a spray bottle.
What You Do:
- Before starting the art project, take a look at Australian Aboriginal art and cave paintings online with your child to get an idea of the designs, patterns, and colors of this art style.
- Help your child dilute the red or black tempera paint with water in a spray bottle until it's thin enough to spray through the bottle.
- Place the brown construction paper in front of your child. The brown paper will stand in for a cave wall. Ask her to place her hand on the paper, spreading her fingers far apart.
- Help her spray the diluted tempera paint around the edges of her hand to create a handprint outline, just like Indigenous Australians did.
- Let the handprint dry while she washes her hands.
- Once dry, encourage your child to decorate around her sprayed handprint using colorful tempera paint and the tip of a cotton swab, making dots and creating lines and shape patterns. Dipping the cotton swab into paint and pressing it onto the paper is a great way to boost her fine-motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Display your child's finished handprint in a fun location, such as her bedroom door!
Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.


Programming for Primaries Day
Friday 11th March 2016
ComputerXplorers has earmarked Friday 11th March 2016 to be the date for this year's Programming for Primaries day to raise awareness of the need to introduce programming skills to children at an early age. Part of 2016's British Science Week programme of activity, it's a great way to get your school involved.
The aim of the event is to shine a spotlight on the support and resources available both directly to children and to help schools and teachers deliver great programming classes in primary schools. Coding and programming is an integral aspect to so many science and STEM-related careers these skills are key to this generation of school children's future success.
As part of that initiative, and our link with British Science Week, ComputerXplorers is offering FREE programming classes for children or for teachers.
'Year 8 is too late'
‘Year 8 is too late’ is the clear message when it comes to inspiring and encouraging children to learn programming and coding skills.
By the time they arrive at secondary school too many children have already decided that computing is not for them. Whether that self-selection is as a result of gender, economics, interest level or lack of exposure to inspiring opportunities, they miss out.
It is vital to engage and inspire children at a much younger age. In spite of some progress in recent years too many children never grasp those vital skills that enable them to become creators and not just consumers of technology and set them on a path of great career options.
Those children will forever be on the wrong side of the digital divide.
ComputerXplorers - primary programming pioneers
ComputerXplorers has pioneered the introduction of programming classes for primary school children and pre-schoolers. Since 2006 the company’s programming and coding classes have inspired children to develop and broaden their computing skills alongside a wide range of technology classes from 3D animation and modelling to Minecraft and web design - all with computational thinking, creativity and critical thinking at their core.
We share the belief that computer skills are central to economic progress at an individual level as well as at a national level. Those skills are just as valuable to children who go on to work outside of the technology sector as they are to children aspiring to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.
Primary National Curriculum for Computing - helping schools and children
The Government’s revised national curriculum for England from September 2014 has started to put the spotlight on Computing. It places significant emphasis on teaching children how to write code.
Pupils aged five to seven will be expected to "understand what algorithms are" and to "create and debug simple programs". By the age of 11, pupils will have to "design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems".
Free programming sessions for pupils or teachers
ComputerXplorers Programming for Primaries Day
As part of the ComputerXplorers Programming for Primaries Event and our affiliation with British Science Week 2016 ComputerXplorers is providing FREE programming classes to local schools in our areas - talk to us about a date around British Science Week (11th to 20th March 2016) that suits you. Check out our areas here.
At ComputerXplorers we specialise in igniting young children’s interest in computing with accessible, engaging classes. Our classes don’t simply teach skills – they give pupils a hunger to stretch their abilities and try new things.
The free classes are available to a group of children (Year 4+) or to a group of teaching staff.
We come to you!
We will come to your school to deliver the class to your pupils or your teaching staff, or teachers from a school cluster can group together for a combined session at one school venue.
The FREE classes will be held from March 2016 onwards.
Programming for Primaries Day is 11th March 2016 (British Science Week is 11-20 March 2016) but don't worry if that doesn't quite fit your schedule - we will work with you to arrange a time that works for you and us.
FREE programming session for primary school children
FREE programming CPD session for primary school teaching staff
The session will be delivered at your school.
Please register your interest now by clicking on the button below as places are limited.
Supporting ComputerXplorers Programming for Primaries Day
The drive to engage children in all aspects of computing, including coding and programming, needs to come from all parts of our community - from teachers and schools to volunteers and industry professionals alike. ComputerXplorers Programming for Primaries Day is part of that drive.
We know a significant number of jobs in the future will be in the IT industry and we want young people to be ready to take those opportunities, regardless of their background - that's why coding is part of the primary school curriculum and we have increased the focus on subjects like computing. Nicky Morgan, Secretary of State for Education


Use simple storytelling props to act out a favourite traditional tale of Little Red Riding Hood in imaginative play! There are so many opportunities for early literacy development in this type of exciting dramatic play and it is developmentally appropriate for young children.
Welcome to a brand new series called Playful Storytelling that we are co-hosting with Ness who writes over at the gorgeous One Perfect Day. We are very excited to share a whole range of wonderful ideas for celebrating books and stories with our children in a completely playful, hands on way.We will be bringing you a wide range of activities from puppet making, oral storytelling, dramatic play, book making, creating story props, designing masks, making story boxes and small world story scenes to name but a few! We have been busy planning many genres and themes that we will be working through over the next few months and we very much hope you will follow us as we do so.
Keeping early literacy fun and playful is essential. Too much pressure to read and write can be intimidating and plenty of young kids get turned off learning way too early in life because they’re forced into it too soon. The foundations of good literacy skills dwell in comprehension and language skills, which are fostered best through listening to stories and retelling them in a fun way. This series will address this incredibly important way of learning and will be packed full of ideas for parent and educators to use with 0-7 year olds (and beyond!)
Our first series of ideas are all based in Nursery Rhymes and Traditional well-loved tales, the ones that we all know and love from our own childhoods and that don’t even need a book to accompany them. My girls love all of these so we are having lots of fun at the moment retelling them together!
We gathered some very simple props for dressing up and story telling from the story of Little Red Riding Hood. I found a red scarf of mine that could fit over their heads to become a little hood. Then we found some fabric flowers, a wolf puppet and a basket with some wooden food. Cakie got our copy of Little Red Riding Hood and we read it again together to refresh their understanding of the main events of the story. Then we divided up the parts and acted it out!
Cakie was able to tell the story herself as the narrator, with me filling in the parts as tshe directed. She wanted to be Little Red and Pop was instructed to be Grandma. First she walked through the woods and gathered some flowers to add to her basket for Grandma. Then she met a wolf who was decidedly up to no good! And hurried on to Grandma’s house to find a wolf-shaped Granny tucked up in bed.
Together we retold the familiar words and Pop joined in too. If she forgot any of the details I added them in as a narrator and she picked up the thread again herself. After she got gobbled up, I came along as the woodcutter and chopped open that naughty wold to free them both! They celebrated together with “yay, the big bad wolf is dead!”
The end of our story finished with “and they all lived happily ever after”. There was a lot of emphasis on using storybook language and keeping the main events in the right order throughout. This whole set up took all of 4 minutes to gets ready and was decidedly unprepared and natural, rather than spending ages creating the perfect costume or fashioning props, we just went with improvisation and had lots of fun. In that way it was achievable and something we could do again as a quick play idea at any time of day, which is important for busy parents!
What they are learning as they play:
literacy: oral storytelling, sequencing events in the right over, using storybook language, narration, opening and closing stories, simple story structuring, developing story book characters, remaining in role during dramatic play
phse: working together to perform a story retelling, organising each other during play
Now check out the gorgeous Hey Diddle Diddle Storytelling Sticks at One Perfect Day!
Follow our brand new Playful Storytelling Pinterest board!
Search for more playful literacy ideas here, there are hundreds in our archives!
Here are some other Traditional Tales Ideas:


An aesthetic distinction between good music and the good in music is crucial for a philosophy of music education. Ultimately, it is not the music's fault, as it were, that someone may view it as being 'not good' in either a social or aesthetic context. Regardless of how music is colored it remains an entity unto itself and thus untouched by our pronouncements. Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations recognized the falseness of such propositions as biased pronouncements taking the form of bad 'x' or good 'x.' Thus we may seek the good within the music if we know how to define what we mean by that. This approach allows music to be conceptualized and framed in a meaningful educational context. In such a way Plato and Aristotle attempted a conceptualization of the 'good' and the 'ungood' in the music of their time, as did Adorno in the preceding century. Although this context still does not allow pronouncements of music as good or bad, it does allow a seeking of its educational utility and unlimited potentiality in the name of an aesthetic and moral understanding.


The Music program prepares students for transfer to four-year colleges and universities and for careers in music, music education, commercial music and related fields. Students learn the major theories and artistic movements in Music from the ancient to the modern world, and evaluate the influences that social, political, and religious institutions have in the creation of music. The program covers technical skills and concepts and technologies involved in the creation of music. Music history, theory disciplines and practices are reviewed. The program emphasizes critical thinking in the creation, analysis and interpretation of music.
The Music program offers both an Associate of Arts in Music for Transfer AA-T degree and a Commercial Music Associate of Science degree.


John Howell White Kutztown University
In conjunction with other pos[structuralist moves away from an objectivist world, neo)pragmatism can provide art educators with useful theoretical perspectives to guide inaterpretations of works of art, pedagogy and curriculum. Interpretive strategies that are drawn from the pragmatic tradition and that utilize concepts such as contingent wholes (belief), demystification (alternative interpretations) and recontextualization (change), can provide art educators with alternatives to objectivist interpretive strategies, such as those promoted by Feldman (1994) and Barrett (1994) in art criticism and Tyler (1949) in curriculum. A neopragmatic analysis can bring teachers and students into a more satisfactory relationship with contemporary works of art, such as Gerhard Richter's October 18, 1977, contemporary issues affecting curriculum, and contemporary perspectives related to art education's role in general education.
Throughout much of this century, powerful metaphors about learning and teaching have been transferred from 19th-century science (psychology and biology) to learning and schooling in general. In response to these interests, Franklin Bobbitt wrote The Curriculum (1918) as an objectivist argument for an ordered and measurable approach to teaching. Along with education, American pragmatism grew out of America's faith and interest in science. This paper is a reconsideration of the relevance of pragmatism as a tool for interpreting issues related to art education. Among the relevant issues that an analysis based upon pragmatism needs to address is the role of the contemporary, embodied in works of art such as Gerhard Richter's October 18, 1977, in shaping decisions in art education.
Progressive education in the early 20th century was driven by pragmatism's investment in science as an authoritative source. Early 20th-century educators such as Edward Thorndike were profoundly affected by the faith in scientific understanding of pragmatists such as Peirce (1878), James (1907), and Dewey (1934). This faith in science was incorporated into general education as "curriculum development" or "curriculum design." Over time, educators held onto a 19th-century vision of science as objective truth, emphasizing those aspects of pragmatism that spoke to a utilitarian approach to learning. Educators de-emphasized two aspects of pragmatism: one that valued belief as the ground from which learning proceeds and another that valued unforseeable emergent forms as possible outcomes for educational processes. It is these discarded aspects of pragmatism that neopragmatists such as Rorty (1989) and Schusterman (1992) attempt to bring forward and integrate with ideas generated as a result of the "linguistic turn" in philosophy. Neopragmatists emphasize communication and, as a result, value the role of belief, contemporary culture, and the merits of open-ended outcomes as useful in inquiry.
Pragmatism began with the writings of C. S. Peirce (1878). Peirce, credited for his pioneering work in mathematics and semiotics, introduced to science the concept of fallibilism, wherein the fixation of belief is contingent upon future reinterpretations by the scientific community. Peirce's concepts of scientific verification and fallibilism were extended by Dewey2 to a participatory democracy that included both a wider field of interpreters and a wider conception of consciousness. Dewey (1902) valued not only a relationship between propositions and observed behaviors but a full range of intellectual, emotional, and practical dimensions of experience. These non-instrumental aspects of pragmatism, contingency, emotion, and democratic conceptions of judgment had been left behind by educators, such as Thorndike and Franklin Bobbitt from the beginning of the century and E. D. Hirsch today, in favor of a more deterministic interpretation of the philosophy. Neopragmatic art educators value the process through which students reorient their beliefs to themselves and to the events that they encounter. …


Democracy and Religion: Gladstone and the Liberal Party 1867-1875by J. P. Parry
Pub. Date: 03/28/1989
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
This book relates the political history of mid-nineteenth-century Britain to the assumptions which then prevailed about the abstract moral purposes of political activity. A great number of mid-Victorian writers and politicians expressed far-reaching hopes for the future development of British society, indeed for its regeneration; and such hopes were inspired by… See more details below
This book relates the political history of mid-nineteenth-century Britain to the assumptions which then prevailed about the abstract moral purposes of political activity. A great number of mid-Victorian writers and politicians expressed far-reaching hopes for the future development of British society, indeed for its regeneration; and such hopes were inspired by their religious outlook. They contended that these aims would be promoted by the pursuit, by governments, of particular educational, ecclesiastical, Irish and other policies. Part I of this book examines at length the varying aspirations, in this direction, of the different elements of Gladstone's Liberal party. In addition to Gladstone's own views, those of whigs, broad churchmen, theist intellectuals, high churchmen's interests are all analysed, in an account which ranges far beyond the time limits suggested by the book's title. Part II recounts the disputes within the party which these conflicting aims provoked between 1867 and 1875. These years were marked by the rise and fall of Gladstone's first and most active government, by the disestablishment of Irish Church in 1869 and the passage of the 1870 Elementary Education Act. In addition, politicians were introduced to a long series of broader and more intangible problems with connotations for religious and political stability - including those thrown up by the 1867 Reform Act, the Vatican Council, the Franco-Prussian war, the progress of the free-thinking movement, the rise of the home rule party in Ireland, and the growth of ritualism within the Church of England. Dr Parry shows how the attempt to tackle these issues slowly paralysed the effectiveness of Gladstone's government, leading to its fall in 1874, and to a crisis about the identity of British Liberalism which was never subsequently resolved. A long introduction and conclusion reassess the history of the Liberal party between 1832 and 1886, in the light of the book's findings. Dr Parry's work offers a radically new synthesis of political, intellectual and ecclesiastical history. It challenges the view that nineteenth-century politics can be understood properly if it is treated in primarily secular terms.
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- Cambridge Studies in the History and Theory of Politics Series
- Edition description:
- Product dimensions:
- 5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 1.14(d)
Table of Contents
List of tables; Acknowledgments; Notes on text, index and footnotes; Introduction; Part I: 1. The Whig-liberals: I; 2. The Whig-liberals: II; 3. Gladstone, high churchmen and liberal Catholics; 4. The radicals; Part II: 5. Searching for unity: the Irish Church question, 1867–9; 6. Education, establishment and Ireland 1869–71; 7. The religious problem intensified, 1872–3; 8. The fall of teh government, 1873–4; 9. Disunity explicit, 1874–5; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.
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MICK: A Design Environment for Musical Instruments
[ Abstract ]
[ Photographs and Video ]
[ Documents ]
[ Researchers ]
A growing body of educational research has shown that children learn most effectively when they are engaged in designing and constructing things that are personally meaningful to them. Consequently, the challenge facing many researchers and practitioners has been to design a diverse collection of construction kits that support learning about many powerful intellectual and artistic ideas. In this thesis we report on the design and the implementation of a toolkit, called MICK, geared towards rethinking music education. MICK is a musical instrument construction kit that enables novices, particularly children, to design and build their own musical instruments. The electronics components and software tools in MICK make it possible to rapidly prototype a wide variety of instruments and other devices. The process of constructing a musical instrument with MICK also provides learners with many authentic opportunities for exploring and reflecting on important mathematical, scientific, and engineering ideas.


The Evolving Art of ASHANTI KENTE WEAVING in Ghana
Ross, Mariama, Adu-Agyem, Joe, Art Education
Art reflects life; therefore changes in beliefs, technologies, economic factors, and political agendas all elicit responses in the art world.
While teaching art education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, we often escorted our students to some of the Kente weaving sites in Bonwire Village. On one such excursion on April 5, 2002, we noticed that a young woman named Gifty sat at a narrow strip loom weaving Kente cloth on the veranda of her family house. As we passed by we were shocked at this unusual scene. Everyone in Ghana knew that only men wove Kente cloth. What was going on here? We were compelled to find an explanation for what was clearly a major deviation from existing research, as well as what we believed to be true about traditional Kente cloth production. Much later, after conducting a study, we realized that although this day stood out in our minds as highly memorable, in a broader sense, it marked evolutionary changes in social and cultural norms being played out in the world of Ghanaian art.
As art educators, we face constant challenges to understanding the impact of contextual issues on artistic production. Part of that understanding should be an acceptance that philosophies and practices in art change with the times. Art reflects life; therefore changes in beliefs, technologies, economic factors, and political agendas all elicit responses in the art world. Many multicultural art education scholars agree on the need for more contextual information on non-Western arts, recommending research that connects areas of art and culture in an anthropological sense. In addition to the art historical or formal analysis perspectives used in Western art, this approach includes the numerous issues that influence art production and use (Bastos, 2006; Chalmers, 1996; Chanda, 1990; Collins 8c Sandell, 1992; Daniel, 1990; Delacruz, 1996; Hart, 1991; McFee, 1998; Stuhr, 2003). Kader (2006) stressed the need to understand cultural arts in their complex and fluid socio-historical contexts. In this article, we examine the centuries-old art of Kente weaving on the cusp of change, at the moment when it is evolving in response to various social and economic factors, from its traditional position in the social structure of Ghana, to a new model, whose significance is yet undetermined.
It goes without saying that we should be aware of the multiple agents of cause and effect in our own cultural context, a job that is difficult enough, but the challenge to understand factors influencing arts from cultures unfamiliar to us is particularly daunting. The body of information on the art of foreign cultures is vast and often inscrutable, making it very difficult for us to absorb and teach with accuracy or depth. With the demanding teaching schedule most art teachers face, the natural tendency is to utilize information that is easily accessible, even when it is limited and outdated. Such superficial contextual accounts often fail to reveal the fluid nature of the artistic process, one that is responsive to cultural change as it occurs.
Gender Roles in the Arts
One role of art historians and other critical scholars is to update our perspectives on matters that previously seemed set and fixed. Such critical research has helped to alter Western perspectives on women in the arts. For example, in the early 1970s, art historian Linda Nochlin uncovered little-known information on aspiring women painters in the Western art world. She drew our attention to causal factors that impacted women's success, or lack thereof, in the arts. In her groundbreaking work, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" (1971,1973), Nochlin provided a nuanced view of male hegemony in the European art world, a view of which most of us were unaware. Her research deepens our understanding of the circumstances and forces that curtailed women's access to artistic training and exhibition venues.
Activism is another force that brought about change in the gendered world of Western art. …


The performing arts have been proven to increase a child's mind. Yet sports keep the mind and body strong. This is a debate that has being going on for the past 20 years. On whether funding should be used to fund sports or the performing arts. People argue for both sides. Today I am arguing for the performing arts.
Music education being the right of all children it must be taught in appropriate ways suggested by the geographical cultural and social environment (3). And yes, that is true. Every child should have the write to experience. Every person, in every culture is introduced to some form of music. Whether a person lives in Asia, Africa, Italy, or the USA. That person is introduced to the kind of music in that culture. But scientists have said time after time that "Music lessons appear to strengthen the links between brain neutrons and build new spatial reasoning, says psychologist, Frances Rauscher of University of California-Irving.
The thought of teaching music in schools did not even begin until the late 1970's. According to Bill Ivey who is the Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts " By the late 1970's, we began to realize that along with scientific knowledge and physical fitness, we needed to feed the imagination of students with arts (Ivey, 56)." Which says something about the United States. This country is always saying how everything is done for the future of this country, the children. Then, how come the idea of teaching music wasn't thought of till then?
But at least the USA decided to mandate that the arts be taught in schools from elementary to high school. "Not just in elementary schools or in high schools as electives, but as a comprehensive, sequential curriculum taught by qualified teachers, beginning with pre-school instruction and continuing with required courses for high school graduation (Ivey, 55)." Later, into the 1980's the United States slowly began to evaluate what music did to the mind. How the mind was scoped by music, what music did to the brain and etc? The Music Education Association says, " They feel that the arts will play a major roll in the future success of the educational system (6). "
"By the late 1980's, Congress mandated that the National Endowment of the Arts to report on the status of arts education (Ivey, 56). And it was proven that children who study the arts score higher on test, do better in school, and even scored higher on the College Boards SAT's. "Our case for the critical importance of the arts is also bolstered by the College Boards report that students who study the arts in general, and music in particular, score considerably higher on both the verbal and math sections of the SAT (Ivey, 55). " Music has also been shown to do better with high school students, "It has been shown that high school music students have higher grade point averages than non-music students in the same school (6). " Music students are out performing non-music students on the SAT's. College bound seniors with coursework or experience in music performance scored 52 percent higher on the verbal portion and 37 points higher on the math portion.
Other groups have also studied the effects of music and the arts on the brain and on people. J.W. Flohr and D.C. Miller used an electroencephalogram to investigate subtle changes in brain electrical activity (Teaching Music, 41). The study showed that the activity in the temporal regions of the brain were higher then an average child. Proving that music does do something to the brain. Many other groups have done research or have seen what music does to a child or to people. Bob Schaffer of Colorado who is a member of the House of Representative says, " recent scientific studies confirm what teachers of old have always known- music and the other arts stimulate higher brain function (11). "
According to the Music Education Association and Rauscher...


A Metronome is a vital tools in music education. Guitarists, pianists, violinists, and bass players, all use metronomes during their practice, therefore it’s not surprising that drummers, the “time keepers” of music, do too. In order to be a good drummer, you’ll need to keep good time, and practice with a metronome can help you do that.
The very basic drum practice is simple left, right, left, right… drum strokes. Start very slowly to develop good technique. You can set your metronome at 80 beats per minute, and strike the drum every other beat. This pace will give you enough time between strokes to concentrate on your form. Try to land on the drum exactly with the metronome’s beat. This will require you to lift your stick a bit before the beat.
Once you feel comfortable with your technique at the speed you’re going, adjust your metronome and increase your speed a bit. As you practice, never go much faster than you feel comfortable, or your form and technique will go to hell, and if you practice with bad technique, you’ll learn bad technique. Not good! Once you start going really fast, instead of having the metronome go crazy, you might want to do several drum strokes for every one metronome beat.
You should also practice any drum beat you play with the metronome. You’ll probably find that keeping up with the metronome beats is a little more difficult than playing it “free style”. When you practice a beat, make sure the metronome’s accented sound starts the beat’s measure.
Practicing with a metronome will improve your time keeping almost by magic. You might not feel your sense of rhythm improving while you work with a metronome, but you’ll sense it when you later play without one.


Don't toss those paper bags— turn them into some special stockings to decorate your home this holiday season. Your child can experiment with cutting, painting and gluing paper bags to create one-of-a kind stockings! This is a great activity to keep the kids entertained. And, it's a great project to use up all those bits and scraps of wrapping paper, ribbon and string!
What You Do:
- Invite your child to select a brown paper bag to use for creating his recycled bag stocking. He can cut the sides and through the bottom so that he has two flat pieces of paper to work with. He can even leave the handles to the bag attached for easy hanging later!
- Now he can use a black marker to draw the shape of the stocking making it large enough so that it almost touches the sides of the bag.
- Encourage him to use scissors to cut out the stocking, staying as close to the line he drew as possible, which hones his hand-eye coordination!
- Now your child can turn the paper bag over so that the side showing is the one without any markings (or the insides of the paper bag). Have him glue the two sides together using a thin line of glue.
- Invite him to start decorating the outside of the stocking using bits of recycled wrapping paper and ribbon.
- Next he can carefully write his name with glue on the paper bag stocking and sprinkle it with glitter for a wonderful finished touch—and to ensure Santa knows which stocking is his!
- Your child's finished stocking can be hung by the chimney with care—especially if the fire's going!
Homemade decorations bring extra warmth and cheer for the holidays. And your kids will be so excited to create them with you!
Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.


ERIC Number: ED404270
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995
Reference Count: N/A
Drama and Music: Creative Activities for Young Children.
Rubin, Janet; Merrion, Margaret
This book presents sequentially ordered activities designed to foster young children's native creativity. The book is organized in three parts. Part 1: "Unleashing Your Creative Potential," introduces the types of activities found in the body of the book and provides teaching suggestions. Part 2: "Activities, Activities, Activities," gives a collection of creative activities beginning with foundational experiences and progressing to more complex creative exercises. These activities include: (1) Name Games; (2) Finger Plays; (3) Nursery Rhymes and Chants; (4) Noisy Stories; (5) Scavenger Hunts; (6) Body Sounds; (7) Vocal Sounds; (8) Found Sounds; (9) Rhythm Instrument Activities; (10) Orchestrations; (11) Sound Journals; (12) Songs; (13) Concentration Game; (14) Musical Puzzles, Questions and Answers; (15) Movement; (16) Body Sculptures and Living Pictures; (17) Creative Movement; (18) Pantomime; (19) Quieting Activities; (20) Sequence Games; (21) Circle Games; (22) Characterization; (23) Improvisation in Music; (24) Improvisation in Drama; (25) Story Creation; (26) Accompaniment; (27) Choral Reading; (28) Listening; and (29) Story Dramatization. Part 3: "Furthering Your Creative Potential," offers suggestions for extending the activities and researching further resources in order to enhance creative lessons. Appendices include "Suggested Stories"; "Suggested Poetry Collection"; and "Music Resources." The book concludes with lyrics scores for 18 chants and songs. (MM)
Descriptors: Creative Activities, Creative Dramatics, Creative Expression, Dramatic Play, Early Childhood Education, Educational Games, Improvisation, Instructional Materials, Music, Music Activities, Music Education, Pantomime
Humanics Learning, 1482 Mecaslin Street, N.W., P.O. Box 7400, Atlanta, GA 30309.
Publication Type: Guides - Classroom - Teacher
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Practitioners
Authoring Institution: N/A


Music and Dyslexia: A Positive Approach
This is a sequel to the highly successful Music and Dyslexia: Opening New Doors, published in 2001. The field of dyslexia has developed rapidly, particularly in the area of neuropsychology. Therefore this book focuses on these research advances, and draws out the aspects of music education that benefit young dyslexics. The contributors also discuss the problems that dyslexic musicians face, and several chapters are devoted to sight-reading and specific strategies that dyslexics can use to help them sight-read.
The book offers practical techniques and strategies, to teachers and parents to help them work with young dyslexics and dyslexic musicians.
List of Contributors.
Section I: Tackling Problems.
1. Dyslexia and other developmental Differences (Tim Miles)
2. Things that can go wrong (Tim Miles)
Section II: In and around the Classroom (Christine McRitchie Pratt)
4. Classroom Rhythm games for literacy support (Katie Overy)
5. Early Years: Deirdre Starts to Learn Piano (Olivia McCarth and Diana Ditchfield)
6. Winning Over the Reluctants (Christine McRitchie Pratt, Diana Ditchfield, Sheila Oglethorpe and John Westcombe)
7;. Can Music Lessons Help the Dyslexic Learner? (Sheila Oglethorpe)
8. Parallels Between the Teaching of Musical and Mathematical Notation (Tim Miles)
9. The Paper Work (Diana Ditchfield)
10. Sight-reading (Sheila Oglethorpe)
11. Sight-reading and Memory (Michael Lea)
12. Ten Top Tips and Thoughts (Nigel Clarke)
13. Can Computers Help? Matching the Inner with the Outer Ear (Adam Apostoli)
Section III: Strategies and Success.
14. Positive Connections Across the Generations (Annemarie Sand John Westcombe)
15. Similarities and Differences in the Dyslexic Voice (Paula Bishop-Liebler)
16. Thirty-seven Oboists (Carolyn King)
17. Suzuki Benefits for Children with Dyslexia (Jenny Macmillan)
18. Dyslexia: No Problem (Diana Ditchfield)
Section IV: Science takes Us Forward.
19. Insights from Brain Imaging (Katie Overy)
20. Music Reading: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach (Lauren Stewart)
"A great read for specialist music teachers, advisory staff and anyone wanting to get a real feel for the difficulties faced by our children." (Children and Young People Now, July 2008)
Buy Both and Save 25%!
Music and Dyslexia: A Positive Approach (US $139.95)
-and- Educational Interventions for Students with Autism (US $30.00)
Total List Price: US $169.95
Discounted Price: US $127.46 (Save: US $42.49)


Writing annotations of five research articles throughout the semester
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
This activity was selected for the On the Cutting Edge Reviewed Teaching Collection
This activity has received positive reviews in a peer review process involving five review categories. The five categories included in the process are
- Scientific Accuracy
- Alignment of Learning Goals, Activities, and Assessments
- Pedagogic Effectiveness
- Robustness (usability and dependability of all components)
- Completeness of the ActivitySheet web page
For more information about the peer review process itself, please see http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/review.html.
This page first made public: Jul 11, 2011
Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications
Pre-service elementary school teachers have a critical need to be aware of the importance of scientific literacy and the variety of Earth-science related alternative conceptions (AKA misconceptions) that their future students will bring to the classroom. These future teachers also need to be aware of their own alternative conceptions. This semester-long activity is mostly conducted outside of class time. However, if time is available, it is worthwhile to have a class discussion about what students took away from each article.
Throughout the semester, students read five Earth-science related journal articles and write an annotation for each one. The information in the articles encourages an awareness of scientific literacy and leads students to become aware of their own alternative conceptions related to the Earth sciences.
This activity is used in a 100-level Earth science course for pre-service elementary education teachers.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students are expected to possess basic writing skills.
How the activity is situated in the course
Students work on this activity outside of class time. They are expected to read and annotate one of the articles every third week throughout the semester.
Content/concepts goals for this activity
I target two main themes as I select the journal articles: research on alternative conceptions of geoscientific concepts and articles that discuss scientific literacy
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
My goal is to make students aware of how widespread alternative conceptions are among students and to make them aware of their own alternative conceptions.
Other skills goals for this activity
Students practice their writing skills while repeatedly receiving feedback throughout the semester.
Description of the activity/assignment
Students read journal articles on alternative conceptions and science literacy and write an annotation for each article.
Determining whether students have met the goals
I use a rubric that has 3 scoring options for each of three graded components. The rubric is included in the assignment file.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.
Download teaching materials and tips


The Museum's Guitar Lab station allows students to learn about S.T.E.A.M. disciplines through the electric guitar!
Read more ...
Designed for children ages 3 to 5, the Preschool Fieldtrips provide an interactive exploration of the Museum. Children will discover instruments like the cello, saxophone, ukulele, piano and more! Tours feature a storytime, a group drum circle and a special take-home surprise!
The Museum’s MusicVentures Fieldtrip takes students on a musical exploration of the people, historical events and innovations that influenced music making and musical instruments. Led by a trained facilitator, students embark on creative thinking adventure through the instruments on display, sound and video clips, and an interactive activity.
The Museum is committed to reaching students from low-income areas who may not be receiving music education in the classroom. We understand that it’s not financially feasible for many schools to take a field trip the Museum so we created the Title One Fieldtrip program to reach schools that serve these students. This initiative, for third grade classes from Title One designated schools, brings these classes to the Museum at no charge.
North Coast Strings is a musical ensemble designed to be an entry point for adults who want to learn to play a stringed instrument (violin, viola, cello, bass) or for those who have played in the past, but haven’t picked up their instrument in a number of years. The orchestra is hosted by the Museum of Making Music and directed by Paula Simmons.
The Museum of Making Music offers specialized tours for both Boy and Girl Scout Troops. Throughout the museum, scouts will learn about the history of American Popular Music and become familiar with the different instruments as well as important events and people in the history of making music. In conjunction with the tour, scouts earn a special Museum of Making Music badge and fulfill a number of requirements towards earning their respective music-related badges.
The Museum of Making Music regularly hosts youth camps and educational workshops specifically focused on providing an introduction to making music and encouraging musical development for the whole family! In addition to an annual Summer Music Camp, past educational activities include a girl guitar workshop, a teen workshop on effects pedals, summer classes for preschoolers, music and wellness workshops, Girl Scout camp, and our "Learn to..." educational classes.
See a list of upcoming camps & workshops...
As part of our commitment to music education, the Museum has made our performance space available for music teachers to use for student recitals. Students can enjoy performing for their family and friends in a professional and musical atmosphere.
The music program at Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary School is a unique multi-year museum/school partnership that seeks to provide a systemic music education to the 800+ students at the school. This program features weekly music instruction, lessons in music history, and hands-on experience with dozens of instruments.
The Museum of Making Music provides informative, music-filled presentations for your local club or social group. The Speakers Bureau presentations provides a brief, engaging overview of the of the museum's history, its exhibitions and multi-faceted programming for children and adults.
Each year the Museum of Making Music receives hundreds of requests for donations to support community benefit programs and third-party fundraisers. Unfortunately, we are unable to make financial contributions to these events, but we are more than happy to provide donations of admission passes to the Museum of Making Music. Although we can not accommodate every request, we do consider each and every one that we receive.
If you are hosting a charitable event and would like to request a donation, please fill out our in-kind donation request form.
Street Address:Museum of Making Music5790 Armada DriveCarlsbad, CA 92008Phone: (760) 438-5996Fax: (760) 438-8964Toll Free: (877) 551-9976Send us an eMail


American education in the arts and aesthetics has been harmed by the late 20th-century "hard-boundaried" approach, which overvalues specialization and discourages integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to understanding history, theory, and practice in all the arts. Detels analyzes this marginalization of the arts and aesthetics in American education and suggests that a widespread interdisciplinary integration of the arts is essential in order to provide students with necessary communication and interpretation skills the future.
Related books and articles
Questions of English: Ethics, Aesthetics, Rhetoric, and the Formation of the Subject in England, Australia, and the United States By Robin Peel; Annette Patterson; Jeanne Gerlach Routledge, 2000
Through Students' Eyes: Combating Racism in United States Schools By Karen B. Mclean Donaldson Praeger, 1996
Teaching Secondary English: Readings and Applications By Daniel Sheridan Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993
Industrial Arts: Call It What You Want, the Need Still Exists: Teaching "Technological Literacy" at the Expense of Hands-On Skills Training Is Wrong for the Students, Wrong for the Economy, and Wrong for the Nation, Mr. Howlett Argues By Howlett, James Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 89, No. 7, March 2008
Graffiti Art: A Contemporary Study of Toronto Artists By Bowen, Tracey E. Studies in Art Education, Vol. 41, No. 1, Fall 1999
Teaching Social Entrepreneurship: Arts Management with a Community Engaged Perspective By Clark, Thomas Stewart, Julie Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, Vol. 15, 2012
Peer-reviewed publications on Questia are publications containing articles which were subject to evaluation for accuracy and substance by professional peers of the article's author(s).
Arts and Academic Achievement in Reading: Functions and Implications By Richards, Allan G. Art Education, Vol. 56, No. 6, November 2003
Cap & Gown: South-Central College Festival By Combest, Sandi Dance Magazine, Vol. 71, No. 1, January 1997
At Tennessee Arts Academy, Teachers Share Their Zeal for the Arts By Theodore F. Wolff, Monitor The Christian Science Monitor, August 6, 1990
In School: Giving Arts an Audience Series: A Member of Ethos Percussion Group Shows an Instrument to Children at New York's P.S. 120. Arts Advocates Say Such Individual Programs Are Valuable, Especially When They're Part of a Systematic Arts Education. PHOTOS BY THOMAS DALLAL/SPECIAL TO THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR By Marjorie Coeyman, writer of The Christian Science Monitor The Christian Science Monitor, July 28, 1998


expert advice MORE
Phonics Instruction at an Early Age
Q: I have a six-year-old son who will be entering the first grade in the fall. He is having a real struggle with blending words. He knows the sounds of the letters but gets very frustrated with blending. How do you feel about games such as Hooked on Phonics or similar games that relate to this subject? He is presently taking a summer school class in reading.
A: Most schools do not expect children to be fluent readers when they enter first grade. They also recognize that it takes considerable practice for young readers to learn how to blend sounds together to read words. Since your son already knows the individual sounds, he probably just needs additional practice in blending them together.
While your son is still in the summer reading program, take advantage of the teacher's expertise to find out if one of the commercial phonics programs would be helpful for him. Check out Hooked on Phonics. This program helps children acquire phonics skills; however, parental guidance is required.
Remember, reading should be an enjoyable activity for beginning readers. Don't turn it into a series of boring, repetitious drills that will turn your son away from reading. Keep the time devoted to improving your son's skills short, and stop whenever he becomes restless. Here are some suggestions to improve your son's blending skills:
- Read beginning readers like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham that have lots of rhyming words and repetition to your child. Pause while reading and give your son the opportunity to sound out some of the rhyming words.
- Buy some magnetic letters that your son can use to form rhyming words. Give him sound patterns such as _at, _ill, and _et, and have him place different consonants in front of them to make words. This activity can also be done on a blackboard or with paper and pencil.
- Throughout the day, play impromptu word games with your child. For example, when you see a fan ask him to think of words that will rhyme with fan. If he is unable to give a response, give him a couple of choices (pan, pat) and have him tell you which one of the two words actually rhymes with fan.
More on: Expert Advice
Peggy Gisler and Marge Eberts are experienced teachers who have more than 60 educational publications to their credit. They began writing books together in 1979. Careers for Bookworms was a Book-of-the-Month Club paperback selection, and Pancakes, Crackers, and Pizza received recognition from the Children's Reading Roundtable. Gisler and Eberts taught in classrooms from kindergarten through graduate school. Both have been supervisors at the Butler University Reading Center.
Please note: This "Expert Advice" area of FamilyEducation.com should be used for general information purposes only. Advice given here is not intended to provide a basis for action in particular circumstances without consideration by a competent professional. Before using this Expert Advice area, please review our General and Medical Disclaimers.


The Effectiveness of the Manchester Even Start Program in Improving Literacy Outcomes for Preschool Latino Students
Ryan, Andrew M., Journal of Research in Childhood Education
Abstract. Although widely implemented, the effectiveness of the Even Start program and other programs involving home-visiting and bilingual education in improving preschool literacy outcomes, particularly among Latino students, is uncertain. This study used a non-equivalent groups design to compare preschool literacy outcomes (measured by the PALS-PreK assessment) of 4-year-old Latino preschool students enrolled in the Manchester Even Start program to a comparison group consisting of low-income and ethnically diverse 4-year-old students enrolled in Manchester's Title I preschool program. The primary differences between the Even Start and Title I presehool programs were the presence of a bilingual teacher in the Even Start class and the participation of the Even Start students and their families in home visits, parent and child interactive literacy activities, and adult ESOL classes. Multiple regression analysis, controlling for pretest scores, indicated that 4-year-old students' participation in the Even Start program (N=12) was associated with posttest scores that were 14.51 points higher (p<.05) than those of 4-year-old Title I students (N=25). While the ability to generalize these findings is limited due to the non-randomized study design and the small sample size, the results provide evidence of the short-term effectiveness of the Manchester Even Start program.
Improving literacy outcomes for preschool children is one of the primary objectives of the national Even Start program. This focus comes from a myriad of evidence suggesting that early childhood literacy development is a necessary condition of future academic success (e.g., Chall, Jacobs, & Baldwin, 1990; Juel, 1988; Snow & Tabors, 1993). Improving early childhood literacy outcomes for minority children (including Latinos) and children living in poverty is of particular importance to the Even Start program, due to the increased risk of substandard literacy development faced by these children. A growing body of research suggests that children of the poor are more likely to have trouble in school and when learning to read (e.g., Chaney, 1992; Fernandez-Fein & Baker, 1997; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Latino children are at increased risk of substandard literacy outcomes, due to their disproportionate prevalence of childhood poverty in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000), in addition to the challenges faced from second language acquisition (Vernon Feagans, Scheffner Hammer, Miccio, & Manlove, 2002), institutional racism (Delpit, 1995), their parents' poor language skills (Moss & Puma, 1995), and improper placement and assessment (Crawford, 1997; Garcia, 1991). As a result, children from Latino backgrounds have been shown to lag behind their non-Latino classmates in acquiring literacy skills, a gap that continues through elementary and middle school (Vernon Feagans et al., 2002).
Despite the evidence suggesting the importance of improving literacy outcomes for low-income and Latino children, evidence concerning the effectiveness of the Even Start program, and specifically of home-visiting and bilingual education interventions (the approach taken by the Manchester Even Start program), is mixed. The second national Even Start evaluation found "credible evidence that children who continue to participate in Even Start make greater gains than one might anticipate based on age or development alone" (Tao, Gamse, & Tarr, 1998, pp. 152-153). However, the third national Even Start evaluation found that children of families randomly assigned to the Even Start program showed no greater literacy improvement on a variety of measures than children of families randomly assigned to a control group (St. Pierre et al., 2003).
The effectiveness of home-visiting programs in improving early childhood development and improving literacy skills has been assessed in a number 0f recent large-scale evaluations. …


This course is designed to permit students to update knowledge and skills in current educational technology and apply this learning for use in educational programs for students in pre-kindergarten through college programs. Such applications include methods of using computers, digital design, video and audiovisual technologies in literacy development, content area programs, instructional management, and the arts, as well as others appropriate to preservice and inservice professions. Participation in the course presumes subject matter knowledge and basic computer literacy on the part of the students. Final course outcomes include application of material to the classroom/workplace. These ETA offerings bring students with specific needs, instructors with unique expertise and facilities with appropriate resources together for intensive and highly-focused learning experiences. May be repeated.
Credits: 1-3 hrs.
Notes: Open to Upperclass and Graduate Students. May be repeated.
Online Availability: Fall, Spring, and Summer I sessions