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Memorandum submitted by Arnold Aprill, Executive Director, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE)
Arnold Aprill Bio: Arnold Aprill is the Executive Director of the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, a network of Chicago public schools and professional artists and arts organizations that form long term creative partnerships. He is one of the co-editors of Renaissance in the Classroom: Arts Integration and Meaningful Learning, reviewed by the Harvard Educational Review as "required reading". He consults nationally and internationally on the role of the arts in effective school improvement. He has been recognized for exceptional leadership by the Leadership for a Changing World initiative supported by the Ford Foundation.
1) The Need to Educate for Creative Capacity in Information Economies: As the world moves from industrial economies to information economies, learners need to be educated in ways that move them from being receivers of knowledge from centralized sources into becoming creators of knowledge negotiated between multiple sources. This requires learners to develop their creative capacities (their ability to make original choices connected to, responsible for, and responsive to a diverse community of citizens).
2) The Need for On-going Creative Partnerships: The establishment of on-going partnerships between creative organizations and educational institutions is a necessary precondition for the development of creative capacities. Creative partnerships allow schools to support learners in a) working in an on-going, disciplined manner with diverse and changing collaborators, b) in adjusting to constantly changing technologies, and c) in understanding and taking responsibility for problem solving in a world of real work.
3) The Role of the Arts in Creative Partnerships: All organizations doing original research on emerging problems need to become active partners with schools. This will mean engaging scientists, linguists, mathematicians, economists, etc. as partners in schools in order to directly connect learners to the world of real work. The arts (visual art, dance, theater, music, media arts, literary arts) play an especially powerful role in the development of effective creative partnerships because the arts allow learners to generate compelling evidence for themselves, their teachers, and multiple publics of their ability to enact their creative capacities in socially productive ways.
4) The Impact of a Creative Curriculum on Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Communication, and Social/Emotional Skills: There is increasing evidence emerging in the United States of the positive impacts of a creative curriculum on student achievement and development. Attached are two appendixes from the research compendium Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development http://aep-arts.org/publications/info.htm?publication_id=10
July 2007
Appendix A An Inventory of Arts-Related Academic and Social Outcomes Found in Critical Links Indexed by the Academic and Social Arena Where They Have Impact, and by Study This index is based on a chart from James Catterall's essay, "The Arts and the Transfer of Learning," in the research compendium, Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development. Catterall's original chart provides a preliminary inventory of the academic and social outcomes that are shown to be, by the studies collected in Critical Links, related to learning in the arts; this index groups those outcomes by the academic or social arena in which the have impact (e.g. reading and language development, mathematics, etc.) and/or by any special population of students for which particular outcomes were found. Additionally, next to each outcome indexed in this chart, are listed examples of studies in Critical Links that find a relationship between arts learning and that outcome. The studies are indicated by the name of the study author (printed in parenthesis after the outcome listed). Following the index is a listing of the study titles and authors, designed to facilitate locating the studies in Critical Links.
This chart does not claim to be exhaustive, but rather is intended to be a useful tool in finding material that is target to specific reader needs or interests. The specific studies and the essays in Critical Links should be referenced for more detailed information, particularly on the strength of the relationship of a particular arts learning experience to an outcome/s (the strength of these relationships varies by study).
Reading and Language Development:
Basic Reading Skills: · Reading readiness (Podlozny, Burger & Winner) · Basic reading skills-consonant sounds, vowel sounds, segmentation (Rose)
Literacy and Language Development: · Story comprehension (DuPont, Pellegrini & Galda, Podlozny, Williams & Silvern, Wolf, Page, Parks) · Character identification (Goodman, Page) · Character motivation (Page) · Sophisticated reading skills/interpretation of text (Parks) · Skill with subsequently read, unrelated texts (DuPont, Podlozny) · Reading, verbal skills (Page, Wilhelm) · Reading achievement (Butzlaff, Podlozny) · SAT verbal scores (Vaughn & Winner) · Language instruction/learning (Lowe - French language) · Oral language development (de la Cruz, Kassab, Podlozny; Pellegrini, 1984b) · Explicit language development (Pellegrini, 1984b)
Writing: · Writing quality (Moore & Caldwell, Kariuki) · Writing achievement (Podlozny) · Writing fluency (Pellegrini, 1980) · Seeking resources to improve writing (Horn) · Persuasive writing (Wagner)
Mathematics: · Math achievement/skills (Rauscher, Vaughn; Catterall, 1998, April 1999, and July 1999) · Spatial reasoning (Costa-Giomi) · Spatial temporal reasoning (Rauscher, Hetland a&b, Bilhartz, Rauscher & Zupan) · Nonverbal reasoning (Kienenan) · SAT math scores (Vaughn & Winner, Vaughn)
Science: · Reasoning about scientific images (Tishman) General Academic Skills: · Paying attention · Concentrated thought · Focused perception (de la Cruz, Burton & Horowitz, Kariuki) · Higher-order thinking skills (Kim; Pellegrini, 1984b) · Problem-solving dispositions/strategies (Palmer Wolf) · Creative thinking: i.e., fluency, originality, abstractness of thought (Mentzer & Boswell, Minton, Kim, Burton & Horowitz, Moga) · Elaboration and flexibility (Minton) · Expressive skills (Rose, Mentzer & Boswell, Schaffner, Burton & Horowitz) · Imaginativeness (Fink) · Performance on standardized tests (Catterall, 1998 & April 1999) · Non-verbal communication skills (Parks & Rose) · Persistence (Ross) · Perseverance/Persistence · Risk taking (Burton & Horowitz) · Leadership (Horn) Self-motivation: · Engagement/attendance (Page, Palmer Wolf, Horn, Seidel, Center for Music Research, Corbett et. al., Wilhelm) · Educational aspirations (Heath) · Ownership of learning (Burton & Horowitz) · Self-concept (Rose, Mentzer & Boswell, Horn, Kassab, Wolf, Burton & Horowitz, Seidel) · Self-confidence (Ross, Horn) · Self-efficacy (Kennedy) · Self-esteem (Kassab) General Social Skills: · Social tolerance (Ross) · Understanding social relations (Fink) · Ability to explore complex issues and emotions (Seidel) · Attention to moral dilemmas (Schaffner) · Increased peer interaction (Schaffner) · Conflict resolution skills (Pellegrini, 1984a) · Empathy for others (Catterall - April 1999; Burton & Horowitz, Harland) · Collaboration skills (Burton & Horowitz, Palmer Wolf, Seidel) · Positive social behavior (Standley, Horn) · Community service (Catterall, 1998; Heath) · Self-control/regulation (de la Cruz, Baum & Owen) · Courtesy to others (de la Cruz) · Social Compliance (de la Cruz) · Social Problem Solving skills (Williams & Silvern) Special Populations: · Lower SES Students: o Story understanding - written measure (Podlozny) o Story recall, conflict-resolution (Pellegrini, 1984a) o Reading skills (Rose) o Academic achievement (test scores), student retention, self-concept, community service, student boredom (Catterall, 1998) o Math achievement, empathy, tolerance (Catterall, April 1999) · Special education students: o Ignoring distractions, courteous behavior, self-control , following directions, and oral expressive language sills (de La Cruz) o Writing skill, focused perception (Kariuki) o (Two boys with learning disabilities): writing and drawing (Mentzer & Boswell) o Reading, engagement (Wilhelm) · Young Children: o Story comprehension (Page; Pellegrini & Galda, Pellegrini, 1984a) o Persuasive writing (Wagner) o Math and reading (Catterall, July 1999) · At-risk students: o Self- confidence, self-image, seeking additional resources to support writing, positive social behavior (Horn) o Self-perception, momentum, accuracy (Wolf) o Self-efficacy, (Kennedy) o (Remedial reading students): Story comprehension and skill with subsequent unrelated text (DuPont) o Self-regulation (Baum & Owen) o Educational aspirations, community service (Heath) o Engagement (Center for Music Research) · Incarcerated youth: o (Youth in the study were also low-income and had low-English proficiency): confidence, tolerance, persistence (Ross)
Impacts on the Whole School: · Instructional practices in the school (Seidel, Nelson) · Professional culture of the school (Seaman, Burton & Horowitz, Nelson) · School climate (Seaman, Burton & Horowitz, Nelson) · School identity (Nelson) · Community engagement (Seaman, Nelson) · Reduced dropout rates (Catterall, 1998) · Teachers innovation (Burton & Horowitz) · Increased teacher awareness of student abilities (Burton & Horowitz) Compendium studies by grade-level of the student population examined: Of the 62 Compendium studies: * Ø 29 examine Elementary students, Ø 18 examine Middle school students, Ø 14 examine High School students, Ø and 11 are Meta-analyses (including various age groups).
Appendix B An Inventory of Arts-Related Academic and Social Outcomes Found in Critical Links - Organized by Cognitive Capacities and Motivations
This chart is based on a chart from James Catterall's essay, "The Arts and the Transfer of Learning," in the research compendium, Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development. Catterall's original chart provides a preliminary inventory of the academic and social outcomes that are shown to be, by the studies collected in Critical Links, related to learning in the arts; this chart separates out the outcomes Catterall lists for each art form (drama, multi-arts, music, dance, and visual arts) into two areas: 1) outcomes related to cognitive capacities; and 2) outcomes related to student motivation. The specific studies and the essays in Critical Links should be referenced for more detailed information, particularly on the strength of the relationship of a particular arts learning experience to an outcome/s (the strength of these relationships varies by study).
* Please note that when a study examined more than one age group it was counted once for EACH relevant age group. Therefore the total number listed here, 72, is higher than the actual number of studies in the Compendium, 62.
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