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New Reports from LEGO Foundation Champion Acts of Play in Young Learning

01-05-2021

The LEGO Foundation is publishing a series of reports that gather a broad spectrum of viewpoints on creativity in learning. Their most recent report is “Creating Creators.” The LEGO Foundation describes its goal: “to build a future in which learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners.” These goals encounter arguments that are familiar to teachers in the arts—that the arts are “nice but not necessary.” LEGO takes a holistic view that highlights the ways in which children’s physical, social, cognitive, creative, and emotional skills complement and interact with one another through play. Read the full report here.

Now Available: A Digital Library of Learning Modules from Expert Teaching Artists

12-16-2020

Teaching artists anywhere now have access to a clearinghouse of new tools and resources from the International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC). The U.S. organization Creative Generation (CG) has received an ITAC grant for their “Knowledge Sharing and Digital Learning Project,” which creates digital learning modules out of ITAC’s monthly Think Tanks. These modules go deeper into strong practices shared by teaching artists who are experts in a particular subject area, disseminating that expertise throughout the field of teaching artistry. CG has already begun to publish these expanded learning modules—the first five feature teaching artists from Ghana, Czech Republic, Scotland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea—and will continue to publish more. CG will also publish research and resources from sessions presented at ITAC4 (Carnegie Hall, 2012) and ITAC5 (Seoul, South Korea, 2020).

Updates from the Arts Council of Ireland and Ireland’s Culture Minister

12-16-2020

What do 17-year-olds actually do for fun? A new study from the Arts Council of Ireland details answers for their country—would the answers be the same for 17-year-olds in your country? Their top three “cultural activities” for several-times-a-week fun or relaxation were listening to music (87%), surfing the Internet (86%), and singing/playing a musical instrument (23%)—only one in six (14%) reads for pleasure several times a week.

The Influence of Music Education on Developing Children

Assal Habibi, Principal Investigator, Brain and Music Program, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles; Beatriz Ilari, Department Chair, Music Teaching and Learning, USC

12-01-2020

The past two decades of psychological and neuroscientific research on music have provided robust evidence that learning to play music can support brain maturation and the development of cognitive and social skills in children and adolescents. Learning an instrument requires long hours of practice, focused attention, memory, and discipline; mastering one involves the continuous capacity to improve motor, auditory, and executive skills, and is likely to influence the differential development, maintenance, and function of certain brain structures and systems.

Institute for Composer Diversity creating a Database of Underrepresented Composers

12-01-2020

Building a comprehensive repertoire of diverse composers remains an unfortunate and lingering difficulty in our field. The Institute for Composer Diversity (ICD) is working to actively address this issue, creating a database of thousands of composers from historically underrepresented groups and marginalized communities. The database includes both living and non-living composers and includes orchestral, wind ensemble, choral, and vocal art song works, with grade level designations. It also identifies repertoire trends of major orchestras to help arts institutions shift their programming.

Progress Made Toward Virtual Ensemble Playing

12-01-2020

We may be close to real-time virtual ensemble playing. Listen to this NPR segment on new tech from Audio Movers and Jack Trip that may make it possible for musicians to play together online. There are still glitches, especially with distances beyond a local area, but this is a hopeful update on a technological breakthrough that would benefit our work profoundly.

Article from Edutopia Walks Through Ways to Increase Student Engagement

12-01-2020

An article on Edutopia shares some practical measures for moving toward more “student-centric” framing during online learning. The article, titled “How to Choose Words That Motivate Students during Online Learning,” walks through practical scenarios and language shifts that help create an environment where students experience self-motivation, ownership, and engagement. All educators who miss their classrooms might find this useful.

Cultural Equity Resource Center Recently Launched by Americans for the Arts

11-04-2020

Americans for the Arts has launched a Cultural Equity Resource Center. Like their widely used Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center, this will be updated regularly with information about programming, resources, and news to assist all in achieving our racial/social justice goals. They will keep adding to it—upcoming is a directory of equity consultants and service providers. If you have a resource to add, let them know.

A Collection of Resources in Support of Black Lives Matter from Chamber Music America

11-04-2020

The staff of Chamber Music America has compiled a collection of resources in support of Black Lives Matter to advance anti-racist work in the music community. You can also find BLM support resources from Creative Capital.

OECD Quantifies the Cost of Quarantine for Young People

09-16-2020

Economists from Germany and the U.S. have just published a paper with the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) that quantifies the cost of the pandemic in lost time and lost learning for young people. They conclude that worldwide students will lose 3% of their lifelong earning potential, and this impact is disproportionately higher in lower-income areas. If schools are not able to reopen quickly and well, the damages will be worse. They stated to the press, “We are frankly concerned that nobody has been talking about these issues.” This is essential reading for arts leaders and program directors—both as a tool to help your advocacy and leverage fundraising, and as a reminder to embrace bold action for your students.

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