Measuring Student Creativity Topic of New Report

by  Erik Robelen on February 1, 2013 4:55 PM

from EDUCATION WEEK

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

"Creativity is widely accepted as being an important outcome of schooling," according to the paper, by researchers at the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of Winchester in England. "Yet there are many different viewpoints about what it is, how best it can be cultivated in young people, and whether or how it should be assessed."

The research comes at a time when U.S. political and business leaders increasingly are raising concerns about the need to better nurture creativity and innovative thinking in young people. In fact, last year I wrote about a push in several states to develop a "creativity index" for schools.

Why We Should Bring Back the Arts Olympics

by Lucas Kavner HUFFINGTON POST 8/5/2012, Posted by NEA FAC on August 9, 2012

Culture Reporter, Huffington PostMarina Abramovic is probably the most celebrated performance artist in the world. She's also the subject of a new, engaging documentary called The Artist is Present, currently airing on HBO and in select cities around the world. For the first half of this new film we see Abramovic's past performance work, learn about her unique history, and follow the months leading up to her historic and wildly successful 2010 show at MoMA.

And then in the second half, we watch her do nothing but sit in a chair in the middle of an empty room and stare at thousands of strangers in the eyes, every single day, for over two months.

The event was a feat of performance endurance, surely, and also a beautiful collection of moving images, with thousands of visitors rounding the globe just to sit with Abramovic in New York and join in the project. It was art and prowess mixed, the largest performance exhibition ever mounted at the MoMA, and the longest duration piece ever performed in a museum, spanning 736 hours and 30 minutes.

Marvin Hamlisch, maestro of the perfect note

The late composer Marvin Hamlisch moved effortlessly across film, theater and TV, creating unforgettable music with the power to unleash tears and laughter.  He inspired this educator to understand WHAT I DID FOR LOVE.

by Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times Film Critic

August 8, 2012, 8:00 a.m.

Hearing the news of Marvin Hamlisch's sudden passing, I am suddenly awash in the sound of his music and the flood of tears unleashed by its memory. There are movies that would not have been the same without it, and a Broadway musical that will never be forgotten for it.

But what Hamlisch perhaps played best was the human heartstrings, plucking at our emotions one by one, ranging across the octaves of sadness and joy, letting the feelings resonate for as long as he dared.

Three Oscars, a Tony, four Emmys, four Grammys — they seem now the briefest of nods, insufficient for a lifetime's work of filling our films, Broadway musicals and TV shows with his artistry.

PHOTOS: Marvin Hamlisch | 1944-2012

Why Are We Raising Robots?

Why Are We Raising Robots? from the website
LET CHILDREN PLAY: The Freedom to Discover Greatness with thanks to Lori Brown Burris

Why Are We Raising Robots?

July 17, 2012


by Meryl Neiman/ Playdate Planet

As parents and as a society, we are concerned about making sure that our children are prepared to compete in the new global economy. I get that. We all want our children to find success and happiness. And nobody wants their 40 year old offspring still living in the basement!

But here’s what doesn’t make sense to me. The way that we have responded to this challenge has been to push kids away from play and unstructured free time into academically focused pre-schools, supplemental tutoring program,s like Kumon, and absurdly early organized sports teams. We are building our child’s college application resume from the time he can toddle across the floor. This push-down of academics and parent-directed sports and activities may contribute to a child’s earlier understanding of basic reading and math fundamentals and an ability to follow directions, but there’s no evidence that this early skill development provides any academic advantage over time. We are sacrificing creativity and emotional resilience, two important traits learned best through play, traits that the research clearly shows are hugely important to a child’s future success.

So How DO We Measure Learning in the Arts...

by Nancy Flanagan on June 27, 2012 4:37 PM

... if we don't use some kind of standardized assessment?

My previous blog has been re-posted, dissected, praised and scorned. But the question is still out there: How do we measure learning in the arts?

Two critical observations:

• Contrary to what some commenters seem to think, nobody is suggesting that learning in arts education can't or shouldn't be assessed. The blog wasn't a half-baked claim that the arts are too creative/expressive/ethereal/woo-woo for teachers to properly evaluate what their students have produced and learned. Assessing learning in the arts is precisely how students grow in arts knowledge and skill--with the assistance of their teachers, who use those assessments to tailor and improve their instruction as well.

• This contention--that we can't measure something unless we standardize it--is driving a whole lot of truly damaging, excessive and deceptive testing right now, and not just in the arts. How many times have we heard this: "If we don't use standardized tests, how will we really know what students have learned? Or how they compare to kids in Singapore?"

NCLB vs. ARTS Education

Although we've used the cartoon on our site in the past, as a new year starts it's
worth a new life and a new look.  Let's pass this on to our colleagues as the
reauthorization discussions continue.

Districts Push for Texts Aligned to Common Core

NOTE: For those who believe that the ARTS are not part of the COMMON CORE, and for those states that have not yet recognized the ARTS as part of the COMMON CORE, here is an article that demonstrates why what we do needs to be recognized in the core.  The texts that are being developed nationally are preparing to write the arts out of existence in those states that fail to recognize the contributions of the arts as part of the core.

by Christina A. Samuels

Flexing billions of dollars of purchasing muscle, more than 30 of the nation's largest districts have come together to say they will only buy common-core instructional materials that meet a set of "publishers' criteria" written by a nonprofit organization that played a leading role in crafting the new standards.

The new criteria, meant to govern the development of instructional materials aligned with the English/language arts portion of the standards, were publicized June 28 at a press event organized by the Council of the Great City Schools, the Washington-based membership group to which the districts belong. But the criteria were released last summer by the New York City-based Student Achievement Partners, whose founders were among the lead writers of the Common Core State Standards now adopted by all but four states.

Imaginations More Active Despite Less Play Time, Study Shows

Valerie Rodriguez, left, lies still as a classmate outlines her body during
playtime earlier this year at a Head Start program at the George
Miller Children's Center in Richmond, Calif.

—Ramin Rahimian for Education Week-File

from EDUCATION WEEK by Sarah D. Sparks June 26, 2012

Students today may have less time for free play, but new research suggests their imaginations have actually sharpened compared with children two decades ago.


In an analysis published in May 2011 in the Creativity Research Journal and posted online last month, researchers from Case Western University in Cleveland found elementary school children in 2008 were significantly more imaginative and took greater comfort in playing make-believe than their counterparts in 1985 despite having less time either during or after school for free play.


“We did think everything was going to get worse, because if play time is going down, you’d think children wouldn’t be able to engage in play as well as they used to,” said Sandra W. Russ, a professor of psychology, who co-authored the study with Case Western doctoral student Jessica A. Dillon.


“We knew from talking with children that they didn’t play with toys as much as they used to. So we were surprised by the finding, and we think it’s important.”

Point, Counterpoint: Should Student Test Scores Be Used to Evaluate Teachers?

Updated June 24, 2012, 2:18 p.m. ET
Wall Street Journal Report: Big Issues in Education
How much to credit—and blame—teachers for student performance is an issue that continues to confound the education field. To what extent is each student's progress directly attributable to the teacher's efforts? What other factors can determine a student's success? Is there a way to measure each factor separately, including the teacher's influence?

These are just some of the questions that surround the issue of whether student test scores should be used to evaluate teacher performance.

Some say it's unfair to base teacher personnel decisions on student test scores. Students have different levels of ability and commitment, and different experiences outside the classroom. No two students get exactly the same amount of parental support.

Others say that student test scores give an incomplete view but provide a starting point, a basic means of comparison. Combined with reports from trained classroom observers and surveys of how students rate their teachers, supporters say, the test scores may be very useful indeed.

Thomas Kane, a professor of education and economics at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the faculty director for the Center for Education Policy Research, argues in favor of using test scores in evaluating teachers. Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun professor of education and faculty co-director of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, Stanford University, argues against.

Point, Counterpoint: Should All U.S. Students Meet a Single Set of National Proficiency Standards?

Wallstreet Journal--June 22, 2012

The U.S. has a problem: Today's young Americans are falling behind their peers in other countries when it comes to academic performance. What makes the situation particularly concerning is research showing a close link between economic competitiveness and the knowledge and skills of a nation's workforce.

What's the solution?

One school of thought says the U.S. needs to set clear standards about what schools should teach and students should learn—and make it uniform throughout the country. These advocates say our decentralized approach to education isn't preparing students for the demanding challenges they will face in a global economy.

Others say be careful what you wish for. Proposing that all children meet the same academic standards, they say, is essentially proposing a nationalized system of education, where everyone is taught the same thing at the same time and in the same way. The best way to improve student performance, they argue, is to give schools the ability to experiment with different standards, assessments and curricula to see what does and doesn't work.

So…What’s Your Equation for Quality?

Posted by Kristen Engebretsen On March - 16 - 2012
I hope that everyone has enjoyed reading the various thoughts and stories from leaders across the country during our bi-annual Blog Salon (come back in September for our second one).

During the Salon, we heard examples of how folks are measuring quality, in terms of the effectiveness of their partnerships and their levels of student engagement:

• Talia’s story of training school leaders to look at student work using the Qualities of Quality.
• The results Merryl shared from her program, DREAM.
• Lynne’s explanation of partnerships that have (and have not) worked for her national association.

We also heard some calls to action, by authors who wanted to push the field forward:

• Seth’s ideas for shaking up education.
• Jane’s call to let go of the notion that “models” from the “pockets of excellence” in the field will emerge and conveniently help us “scale up” and solve all of our problems.
• Joyce’s simple reminder that creativity is the answer to this search for quality.

Thanks for following our salon on quality, engagement, and partnerships.

After reading all of these posts, have you decided on your own equation for quality in your community? I’d love to hear your final reflections in the comments section.
To view the salon in its entirety, please use this link: http://bit.ly/y9d2JV.

Problems with Standardized Testing

Need some research to convince policy makers that standardized tests are not the answer and that we should advocate for authentic, performance and alternative assessment?

• Ravitch: Standardized Testing Undermines Teaching - http://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135142895/ravitch-standardized-testing-undermines-teaching
• When Will the Testing Bubble Burst? - http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2011/04/when_will_the_testing_bubble_b.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dbb7ec542a97d3b%2C0

Reflections of a Dance School Dropout

By Cindi Rigsbee
Published Online Education Week Teacher

March 16, 2011

At the beginning of a new calendar year, everyone resolves to get healthy, eat better, and exercise more. I myself know my limitations when it comes to exercise. I’m limited in that I don’t like it. I also have an aversion to sweat.

So this past January I decided to get creative. I thought about what type of exercise I would most enjoy. I wanted to try an activity that wouldn’t seem like exercise at all. Then remembered my teen years and how much I loved my dance classes. I could again be a dancer, exercising in a way that would be fun and calorie- burning at the same time.

The Skills Connection Between the Arts and 21st-Century Learning

Arts Education and 21st-Century Skills
By Bruce D. Taylor of Education Week
Published in Print: February 2, 2011, as Not for Art's Sake Only

Few of us could disagree that today’s students must be taught the necessary skills to function in an increasingly complex, conceptual, and globalized 21st-century society and economy. Students have to acquire so-called “habits of mind” that will enable them to develop the skills of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. In addition, they must be able to communicate effectively, collaborate with people different from themselves, exercise initiative, and be self-directed.