New ways of learning in today’s classes

Tuesday January 17, 2012

A world first online art history program offered by the University of Adelaide and the Art Gallery of South Australia is setting a new benchmark for online learning.

Students enrolled in the Master of Arts (Studies in Art History) program are taken through a virtual tour of the Gallery’s most exquisite art collections, discovering Australian, Indigenous, Japanese and European Art from the comfort of their lounge room.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By Elaine Cimino

“I can only draw stick figures!” This is heard all of the time. Born to Draw is designed for those who don’t think they can draw, young or old. The step-by-step process shows the budding artist how circles, squares, triangles, and ovals make pictures. Once you know the basic shapes, you can draw. You’ll be amazed!

Born To Draw is a multimedia series of iBooks that teach children and adults to draw, using easy to learn steps. Born to Draw: Drawing for Holidays and Special Occasions is geared for seasonal holiday fun in the classroom or at home. Developed with over twenty years of art education experience, the Born to Draw series illustrates the basics of drawing through detailed description and videos to make drawing a simple, natural process that anyone can learn. The book is designed for teachers to use with their core curricula, parents home schooling their children, and as a student resource for illustrating book reports, just for fun, and to develop innate talents.

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On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the effects of rampant poverty and the scapegoating of teachers are on display in the classrooms of public schools across the U.S.

January 16, 2012

I TEACH fourth grade in a public school in Brooklyn. On Friday, I wrote the initials “MLK”, a plus sign, and the word “education” on the board. A boy raised his hand and said, “Do you realize that MLK plus education equals Melducation?” I decided to concede that particular point and move on.

“Think about your life here in school,” I said, “What do you think needs to change?”

It didn’t take my students long to come up with a good list of ideas. I wrote them down.

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Dean of Arts and Science Alistair MacLean attributes this to the pending retirement of one of the program’s three full-time professors (“I was concerned with admitting new students without being certain we could fulfill course requirements,” he said).

… “For MacLean any crisis is a broader one. In a tightening funding environment — Ontario schools have been told to expect no funding increases for at least six years — universities chase dollars wherever they can find them. Art programs, he says “can be seen as boutique — they take up lots of space, they have small classes. So if they’re not healthy, they’re vulnerable.”…

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Kniazuk’s arguments are locked and loaded, like live ammunition.
“You’ve got your art for art’s sake, you’ve got your quality of life, you’ve got your economic, you’ve got your tourism, you’ve got your education piece,” he said. “Then the last piece of the argument — and I’m probably forgetting a dozen other good ones — is [drawing] businesses and the creative class.”
“Quite frankly,” he continued, barely pausing to catch his breath, “it’s a model that other sectors of the economy should probably be trying to emulate.”

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Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking
By Michael Michalko | Dec 06, 2011 (Creative Commons License Posted in its entirety)

Synopsis
Aspects of creative thinking that are not usually taught.
1. You are creative. The artist is not a special person, each one of us is a special kind of artist. Every one of us is born a creative, spontaneous thinker. The only difference between people who are creative and people who are not is a simple belief. Creative people believe they are creative. People who believe they are not creative, are not. Once you have a particular identity and set of beliefs about yourself, you become interested in seeking out the skills needed to express your identity and beliefs. This is why people who believe they are creative become creative. If you believe you are not creative, then there is no need to learn how to become creative and you don’t. The reality is that believing you are not creative excuses you from trying or attempting anything new. When someone tells you that they are not creative, you are talking to someone who has no interest and will make no effort to be a creative thinker.

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http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/what_real_education_reform_looks_like_20111208/

Posted on Dec 8, 2011 (Reprinted in entirety)

By David Sirota

As 2011 draws to a close, we can confidently declare that one of the biggest debates over education is—mercifully—resolved. We may not have addressed all of the huge challenges facing our schools, but we finally have empirical data ruling out apocryphal theories and exposing the fundamental problems.

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The Arts are imperative in education. Whether its music, drama, or painting, students should be encouraged to explore their creativity. They should not always be told what to learn or given a formula.The Arts empowers youth to express themselves and to be heard. Art gives students a voice.

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I posted this article nearly a year ago on blogger spot. it received some attention and I think it is an important article. Here it is again. Rather long but very interesting especially when you have or teach gifted children.

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Reprint of NYT Article February 2, 2010 Creative Commons license 2011
Op-Ed Contributor
By SUSAN ENGEL
New Marlborough, Mass.

THE Obama administration is planning some big changes to how we measure the success or failure of schools and how we apportion federal money based on those assessments. It’s great that the administration is trying to undertake reforms, but if we want to make sure all children learn, we will need to overhaul the curriculum itself. Our current educational approach — and the testing that is driving it — is completely at odds with what scientists understand about how children develop during the elementary school years and has led to a curriculum that is strangling children and teachers alike.
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