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Blogs on Arts Education

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Finding the Genius in Hip Hop Education

Suzie BossFebruary 20, 2012

Tags Achievement Gap, Arts Education, Curriculum, Literacy, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Urban Schools, Middle (6-8), High (9-12), All Grades, Music, Visual Arts

Author and educator Sam Seidel recalls meeting a student during a tour of the High School for the Recording Arts (HSRA) in St. Paul, Minn. When Seidel asked if he could buy one of the student's instrumentals, the young man told him no, but maybe they could work out a licensing arrangement. Then the student whipped out a contract.

Arts Education: A Right and Necessity

Elena AguilarFebruary 15, 2012

Tags Arts Education, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), All Grades, California, Visual Arts

This one's for you, Alexandra.

I'm feeling compelled to add to the case for art in schools and make another plea that as budgets are slashed this spring, funding for the arts in schools is preserved.

Three Strategies for Using the Arts to Build Student Executive Functions (Part 5 of 7)

Judy Willis MDJanuary 16, 2012

Tags Arts Education, Brain Research, Primary (K-2), Project-Based Learning, , Student Engagement, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), Visual Arts

Before information can be processed through executive functions, it must reach the prefrontal cortex (PFC), where higher order thinking occurs. The pathway to the PFC has potential roadblocks in the form of an information intake filter and an emotional switching station that determines if input reaches the PFC or is diverted to the lower, reactive brain. Embedding the arts into instruction and assessment promotes flow through these filters, builds growth mindset, and strengthens the actively developing executive functions.

Visual Art as Critical Thinking

Andrew MillerNovember 2, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Lesson Plans, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Chemistry, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12), History, Science, Visual Arts

We've heard this story before. The first thing to go in budget cuts is the visual art program or another related art. Proponents of arts education counter with the usual rhetoric on the importance of self-expression and creativity. I, myself, am a product of arts education.

We've heard this story before. The first thing to go in budget cuts is the visual art program or another related art. Proponents of arts education counter with the usual rhetoric on the importance of self-expression and creativity. I, myself, am a product of arts education. Read More

Using Music in the Elementary Classroom (Warning: It May Get Loud)

Gaetan PappalardoAugust 30, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Classroom Management, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Music, Physical Education

Now Playing>>
Artist: The Black Keys
Album: Magic Potion
Song: Modern Times

Music chimes in the background of our lives; and the special songs -- the ones that creep up our spines -- push to the foreground and move us deeply. Music allows us to feel and daydream, think and set goals.

Humanities in the Twenty-First Century

Bill SmootJuly 20, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Biology, Literacy, Teacher Development, Chemistry, Middle (6-8), Drama, High (9-12), All Grades, English Language Arts, History, Math, Music, Science, Visual Arts, World Language Learning

Bill Smoot teaches English at the Castilleja School in Palo Alto, California. He is the author of Conversations with Great Teachers.

Two roads have diverged in our national debate about education. Should we educate students for the 21st-century job market (with an emphasis on STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and math), or does a broad liberal arts education, preparing students for all of life -- work included -- still make sense?

Integrating Art and Politics to Improve High School Student Engagement

Mariko NoboriJune 22, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Integrated Studies, Professional Development, Student Engagement, Team Teaching, Urban Schools, High (9-12), History, Visual Arts, Pennsylvania

Editor's Note: AP government teacher Dayna Laur and art teacher Katlyn Wolfgang collaborated to create a joint project between their classes. After Edutopia produced the video below, Dayna and Katlyn, who teach at Central York High School in York, Pennsylvania, shared their strategies for creating a successful integrated studies project. You can also find free resources and downloads from from Central York High School.

Students Design Games and Software Tools to Tackle Real-World Problems

Suzie BossMay 27, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Game-Based Learning, Service Learning, Technology Integration, All Grades

At the recent U.S. finals of the Imagine Cup competition, student teams from across the country showed off not only their technical brilliance but also an eagerness to improve the world through gaming and software development. How so? How about using a portable device to help visually impaired students with note-taking, or a digital strategy game that challenges children to improve the environment through clean energy, or a game for your smart phone in which players fight deforestation to earn points.

We Must Change the Narrative About Public Education: Guest Blog by Diane Ravitch

Betty RayMarch 4, 2011

Tags Achievement Gap, Arts Education, Teacher Development, All Grades

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Diane Ravitch, an historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and former United States Assistant Secretary of Education. She is now a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.

Five Ideas for Using Pop Culture to Inspire Elementary Students

Gaetan PappalardoJanuary 13, 2011

Tags Arts Education, Integrated Studies, Lesson Plans, Primary (K-2), Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), Drama, English Language Arts, Math, Music, Visual Arts

I had a student ask me for a month straight, almost every day, if it was okay to write a story about Transformers. At the beginning of each writing workshop, he would stroll up to me and ask the same question.

"Yes, you can write a story with Transformers in it." I thought I sounded sincere.

"Are you sure?" he would ask.