Top 10 skills children learn from the arts

By Valerie Strauss , Updated: January 22, 2013

(by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

You don’t find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM), but here’s a list of skills that young people learn from studying the arts. They serve as a reminder that the arts — while important to study for their intrinsic value — also promote skills seen as important in academic and life success. (That’s why some people talk about changing the current national emphasis on STEM to STEAM.) This was written by Lisa Phillips is an author, blog journalist, arts and leadership educator, speaker and business owner. To learn about Lisa’s book, “The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World,” click here. This appeared on the ARTSblog, a program of Americans for the Arts.

By Lisa Phillips
1. Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.
2. Confidence – The skills developed through theater, not only train you how to convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence you need to take command of the stage. Theater training gives children practice stepping out of their comfort zone and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in rehearsal. This process gives children the confidence to perform in front of large audiences.
3. Problem Solving – Artistic creations are born through the solving of problems. How do I turn this clay into a sculpture? How do I portray a particular emotion through dance? How will my character react in this situation? Without even realizing it kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems. All this practice problem solving develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding. This will help develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career.
4. Perseverance – When a child picks up a violin for the first time, she/he knows that playing Bach right away is not an option; however, when that child practices, learns the skills and techniques and doesn’t give up, that Bach concerto is that much closer. In an increasingly competitive world, where people are being asked to continually develop new skills, perseverance is essential to achieving success.
5. Focus – The ability to focus is a key skill developed through ensemble work. Keeping a balance between listening and contributing involves a great deal of concentration and focus. It requires each participant to not only think about their role, but how their role contributes to the big picture of what is being created. Recent research has shown that participation in the arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.
6. Non-Verbal Communication – Through experiences in theater and dance education, children learn to breakdown the mechanics of body language. They experience different ways of moving and how those movements communicate different emotions. They are then coached in performance skills to ensure they are portraying their character effectively to the audience.
7. Receiving Constructive Feedback – Receiving constructive feedback about a performance or visual art piece is a regular part of any arts instruction. Children learn that feedback is part of learning and it is not something to be offended by or to be taken personally. It is something helpful. The goal is the improvement of skills and evaluation is incorporated at every step of the process. Each arts discipline has built in parameters to ensure that critique is a valuable experience and greatly contributes to the success of the final piece.
8. Collaboration – Most arts disciplines are collaborative in nature. Through the arts, children practice working together, sharing responsibility, and compromising with others to accomplish a common goal. When a child has a part to play in a music ensemble, or a theater or dance production, they begin to understand that their contribution is necessary for the success of the group. Through these experiences children gain confidence and start to learn that their contributions have value even if they don’t have the biggest role.
9. Dedication – When kids get to practice following through with artistic endeavors that result in a finished product or performance, they learn to associate dedication with a feeling of accomplishment. They practice developing healthy work habits of being on time for rehearsals and performances, respecting the contributions of others, and putting effort into the success of the final piece. In the performing arts, the reward for dedication is the warm feeling of an audience’s applause that comes rushing over you, making all your efforts worthwhile.
10. Accountability – When children practice creating something collaboratively they get used to the idea that their actions affect other people. They learn that when they are not prepared or on-time, that other people suffer. Through the arts, children also learn that it is important to admit that you made a mistake and take responsibility for it. Because mistakes are a regular part of the process of learning in the arts, children begin to see that mistakes happen. We acknowledge them, learn from them and move on.

© The Washington Post Company

Professional Learning Network

20 Tips for Creating a Professional Learning Network

Posted by Miriam Clifford on Thursday, January 3, 2013 ·  

Networking is a prime form of 21^st century learning. The world is much smaller thanks to technology. Learning is transforming into a globally collaborative enterprise. Take for example scientists; professional networks allow the scientific community to share discoveries much faster.
Just this month, a tech news article showcased how Harvard scientists are considering that “sharing discoveries is more efficient and honorable than patenting them.” This idea embodies the true spirit of a successful professional learning network: collaboration for its own sake.
As educators, we aim to be connected to advance our craft. On another level, we hope to teach students to use networks to prepare for them for a changing job market. But what is the best way to approach PLNs?
Learning networks are based on the theory of connectivism, or learning from diverse social webs. Connectivism implies that learning relies on communicating ideas with others. PLNs facilitate learning through meaningful interactions. The advantages of PLNs today are two-fold. In one way, they can improve classroom teaching and help develop new projects. On the other hand, they act as a form of communal intelligence that changes societal perceptions.
What are some ways to grow your PLN and improve the quality of your interactions? As you will see, there are diverse ways to build your network and many new management tools. Here are some simple tips:

10 Tips For Using PLN’s

1. Keep the spirit of collaboration as your driving force. PLNs are all about working together. Be reciprocal and resourceful. Don’t think about what you have to gain, first think about what you have to give. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. By buying into the process and sharing useful information, your PLN grows naturally. Collaboration creates a common ground and allows others to see your interests. Genuine interest builds a solid, authentic network. Try to see the big picture of how your ideas can change the world. Social responsibility is the best kind of motivation for establishing a PLN.
2. Join an online community. Nings are online rings of people with similar interests. Sharing ideas and contacting people for direct feedback is more effective in a community setting. Communities such as, Classroom 2.0 and The Educator’s PLN provide a meaningful circle of experts. They provide professional development resources, such as online events, and are a great place to start networking. Plus, using Mightybell, Edmodo, or Ning you can create your own virtual space to share pictures, documents, calendars, or projects.
3. Join a Meetup group. Meetups are common thread interest groups that meet in the real world. The groups can also extend in social networks. For instance, social studies teachers in your district or city might create a group to share teaching ideas. Meetups take online networks and bring them into the real world. And if you can’t meet online try using a cyberspace, like Google+ HangOut, SecondLife, or Skype. Some university academics even have virtual labs on SecondLife.
4. Become a beacon of light. PLNs rely on open sharing of information. So if you know something, share it! It’s best to start with a specific interest and then grow into other topics as time goes on. Become an expert in your niche by researching current trends. This will draw a larger following on your network, because you can provide a novel source of information. You might write a blog, start a Scoopit page to repost interesting articles, share a free tool, or create a Youtube video. Cater to your strengths and use what’s comfortable for you.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. After all, PLNs are all about learning. But don’t ask questions that you can easily research yourself. Try simple searches on TED talks, Wikis, blogs, or news articles before posting a question. Try to be specific and think of how a question might generate interest from others. For example, you may want to refer to an article or research study when asking a question. Be specific! This will generate the best answers.
6. Be an active participant. Brain power is the main asset of a PLN. Spend some time to identify a specific cause and communicate it on your profile. Let your knowledge of a specific cause help grow your PLN. Keep up to date with your niche. Stay relevant. Try to post at least once a week.
7. Remember to be polite and acknowledge contributions to the rightful owner. Show common respect for the people in your network. This may seem like common sense, but can be a pitfall. It took me some time to learn “web etiquette” over the years, but it has helped me tremendously. Send thank you notes, acknowledgements, and use your true voice. Not only does it make the other person’s day, but it will help you gain more meaningful connections.
8. Designate a professional and personal account. I keep my social life on Facebook and my professional life on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. There can be some crossover, but it’s best to keep it minimal so things are easy to find. Certain groups will appreciate different types of content. Your Facebook friends might find your baby’s stories adorable, but your Twitter followers might not appreciate extra messages cluttering their inbox. Do this in ways that are comfortable to you. You might designate accounts for each sphere of your life.
9. Create a landing page. It may be a good idea to consolidate all of your accounts on a landing page. A webpage or personal blog will make it easier for people to find you. It will also create a space where you can showcase the different projects you are working on.
10. Engage newbies. It is best to include a mix of newbies, peers, and experts. Having this type of diversity in knowledge allows you to increase your mentoring skills. It keeps with the essence of collaboration. One blogger in Australia provided a great visual and commentary on how varying levels of expertise are vital to developing a meaningful PLN. He describes how he learned in a PLN learning MOOC that the 3’Rs have been replaced by the 3 C’s Collaborate, Communicate, and Create. PLNS create new projects through the power of active collaboration.

10 Tools & Strategies for Establishing a Productive PLN

1. Use Diigo, Evernote, Pocket, or Delicious to bookmark links. You can access them anywhere and on any device. For example, Diigo is like creating your own personal library. Diigo is the preferred tool for educators.
   • It allows you to highlight paragraphs and clip pictures while you are reading.
   • You can bookmark a page in a “virtual” library or online archive, even PDFs or videos. You can add your own tags to search for information later.
   • Your entire school and class can add Diigo as a group, so that you can share resources. For example, a chemistry class might share a digital periodic table, online lessons, or practice assignments. Here is a great video about how to set up Diigo specifically for education. They have specific accounts for educators to create a shared school library.
2. Use a reader to subscribe to blogs. Google reader allows you to manage multiple subscriptions to blogs. This allows easier access to new research. You can also use an application like Scribd or Yahoo News Social to publically share what you read with others.
3. Establish your own platform. Consider establishing a blog site on WordPress or blogger.com. A blog provides a worldwide stage to share your views of education. You can spread your passion and find kindred spirits. From there, you can develop lasting connections and plan new projects. Fellow bloggers will appreciate the time you put into creating meaningful materials. Your ideas can be then be re-shared as a link. Many teachers keep class webpage or use applications such as PB works to share ideas.
4. Share on Twitter first. Twitter reigns king, for now. Anything can change with technology, but Twitter is the most commonly used tool among academics for expanding PLNs. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+ also provide access to different types of networks. Later, you can use other tools to further expand and manage your network, such as Skype and Google tools. Many new platforms are emerging so stay current by reading tech or social media news on a site such as, Mashable.
5. Consider your role. The article “Individual Learning” sheds some light on learning roles. Consider your learning style when designing a specific approach to your PLN:
   • Activist-Learning by doing, such as writing a blog.
   • Reflector- Learn by reviewing situations, such as posting opinions to articles.
   • Theorist-Prefer to learn by researching information and data, such as by creating a model.
   • Pragmatist-Apply learning to real situations, such as by creating a project that uses PLNs in the classroom.
   According to Wikipedia, PLN roles can include, “searcher, assemblator, designer of data, innovator of subject matter, and researcher”.
6. Aggregate resources together. Applications like FlipToast and HootSuite allow you to merge all of your social media accounts into one interface. You may want to play around with different types of portals until you find the one that is right for you. Map out an organized plan for using your PLN. There is a great chart of resources for mapping out your PLN plan on this blog.
7. Take a free course to learn about PLNs. MOOCs are Massive Online Open Courses that are free to the public. For instance, this course complete with handouts shows you how to establish a PLN. You learn actively by taking small steps to create your PLN, such as creating a blog, twitter account, and content.
8. Stay current with new tools. For example, try Pearltrees. This is one of my favorite new tools for PLNs. Pearltrees is basically a visual organizer for your links. Pearls are collaborative and public. You can add pearls as you browse and share them with others on Twitter and Facebook. Customize your experience. There are many specific tools on different applications that allow you to customize and organize your PLN to fit your own needs. Chrome and Windows 8 have several free applications that are worth trying.
9. Simplify logins. You can speed up the log in process by installing a Password management application. To further simply your PLN, use Google to keep a shared document drive, email, chat, and Google+ networking in one place.
10. Establish a classroom learning network. Share your own expertise with other educators on a website or blog. Create a class website or teach students how to create their own PLN. You might want to design a classroom project that relies on using one aspect of PLNs. Doing so allows you to learn new ways to use PLNs. A YouTube video, The Networked Student, does an excellent job of explaining how a student might engage in a PLN. Teach students how to establish a PLN in small steps. For instance, they might use Google scholar to research a paper or share ideas on Google Hangouts.

PLNs are a powerful change agent. And in today’s world an online professional learning network is indispensable. Technology allows easy access to an unparalleled network of professional resources. Growing your network can lead to opportunities for professional growth and help change the future of education.
Feel free to add the InformED team on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

About Miriam Clifford

Miriam Clifford holds a Masters in Teaching from City University and a Bachelor in Science from Cornell. She loves research and is passionate about education. She is a foodie and on her time off enjoys cooking and gardening. You can find her @miriamoclifford or Google+.

More on Reflection

I finished reading the book Teaching for Biliteracy by Karen Beeman and Cheryl Urow.  I felt Chapter 3 reinforced a previous Esperanza BLOG entry on the importance of reflection. 

Chapter 3: Teachers: Capitalizing on Life Experiences and Diversity

• The cultural and linguistic background of teachers affects their understanding of students and their interpretation on how to instruct in Spanish and English.
• All teachers of Spanish literacy require specific professional development on how to teach literacy in Spanish in the U.S.
• Literacy learning is enhanced when teachers are reflective and aware of their own strengths and challenges.

Teachers need to engage in ongoing professional development and collaborate with other teachers. True collaboration requires trust, flexibility, and shared philosophy. To prepare for collaboration teachers need to reflect on their own experiences and professional development.

The more teachers reflect on their practice, the better they teach. Keeping a journal is one effective way for individual teachers to keep a consistent focus on their practice. Journaling can start by asking these three questions:

1. What went well? Why?
2. What surprised me? Why?
3. What do I want to improve? Why?

The Teacher Factor

The teacher is the most important school-related factor for student achievement, especially for minority and low income students. 

The following are factors supported by research to consider when hiring our Esperanza educators:
#1:  Ethnicity of teacher:  What are the advantages of Hispanic teachers?  What are some barriers Hispanic teachers face?  George Monsivais has some great research to consider.  According to Dr. Martin Haberman white teachers can be effective with students of color --its the characteristics, not race, that makes them effective. 
#2:  Authentic caring relationships:  The importance of "confianza" and "respeto"
#3:  High expectations:  Never quitting until all children learn
#4:  "Warm demander"
#5:  Coach students with goal setting:  The book by Joachim Posada
#6:  Culturally responsive:  Teachers learn and use the teaching philosophy and methods that respect, value, and use strengths of culture and language
#7:  Professional development:  Collaboration and training
#8:  Rarely absent or tardy:  Research has shown that students who have teachers who are rarely absent or tardy have higher academic achievement.  Yet, teachers in schools with a high percentage of minority and/or low income students have a higher absent and tardy rate. 

Read, Write, and Talk

Thursday and Friday another founding Esperanza Board member, Carmen Thompson, and I had the opportunity to attend the 3rd Annual BYU (Brigham Young University) ELL (English Language Learning Symposium in Provo, Utah. The theme for the conference this year was Family, School and Community Collaboration: Assuring the Future through Student Achievement. The symposium was excellent! Not only did we learn lots but we also made some great connections for implementing a Community Learning School Model at Esperanza.

I have also been reading a book called Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning by Michael Schmoker. Although he is talking about improving student learning the principles apply to educators as well. He talks about the need to read, write, and talk about a topic after hearing a lecture about it. Otherwise our knowledge of the topic will be very superficial and the chance of any changes is minimal. Therefore, this morning I ordered four books on the topic of family, school, and community collaboration (including one by Mavis Sanders, one of the Symposium's keynote presenters) that we can read and study and then use as a basis for training on family and community involvement. We will then write about the topic in our Esperanza binder.

Learning this way will help us to become the school we want to be.