GET SMART WITH ART

How the Arts Develop the Brain and Contribute to Learning for ALL Young Children
Sandy Putnam-Franklin & Su Theriault Institute for Community Inclusion University of Massachusetts, Boston

How Art Makes You Smart

What is arts education?

Movement and Dance Music Theatre Arts Visual Arts

Research Reinvisioned for the 21st Century

Early Arts Education

Exploration
Experimentation Engagement of the senses Discussion

Guiding Principles for Arts Education

The goal of arts education for young children is to develop and sustain their natural curiosity, expressiveness, and creativity.

Arts education begins with a foundation that emphasizes exploration, experimentation, engagement of the senses, and discussion as paths to understanding.
Massachusetts Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences (2003)

Best Practices for Arts Experiences with Young Children

Provide developmentally appropriate materials, equipment, activities. Provide opportunities to explore a variety of materials, media, tools. Extend childrens learning with verbal stimulation

Universal Design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
- Ron Mace, Architect

Universal Design considers the needs of the broadest possible range of users.

Benefits of Universal Design

Increases access for all Encourages students to participate and try new ideas Increases retention of all students Respects individual learning styles

Accommodations

Support one student

Require extra planning time Highlight differences

Either Accommodations or UD

Both Accommodations and UD

What does Universal Design for Learning mean in early childhood?

Creating environments, curriculum, and assessment strategies that accommodate the widest variety of young childrens learning styles and needs. It also involves including families in the process.

Key Elements of Universal Design in Early Childhood Education

Environment Curriculum & Instruction

Assessment
Family involvement

The Arts Contribute to the Development of the Whole Child

Brain development Gross motor development Fine motor development Visual memory development Social-emotional development Cognitive development

Brain Development
Neural Plasticity The brains greatest capacity for change occurs during the early years
Integration There needs to be good communication (integration) between both sides of the brain

Neural Plasticity Use It or Lose It

The human brain at birth

6 Years Old

14 Years Old

Multiple Means of Engagement: Practice and Repetition

Integration of the Left/Right Hemispheres of the Brain

http://www.brain-based-learning.com

Sensory Perceptual Development

A process in which the child develops the skill and ability to take in, interpret, and respond to information from the environment.

Sensory Experiences
Finger painting Handling textures Finger plays Coloring Play dough, clay Paper activities Manipulative activities

Physical activities have cognitive value.

Physical education and recess Gross motor activities Sensory motor experiences Combine movement and music

Movement and dance affect body and brain development.

Position in space Directionality Strength Body control/coordination Balance Flexibility Functional movement patterns Personal space Expression

Provide variety in movement.

Locomotor
rolling, crawling, creeping, walking, running, jumping, hopping, galloping, sliding, climbing

Elements of movement:
sequences expression props

Non-locomotor
bending, twisting, turning, stretching, shaking, curling, swinging, rocking, swaying, reaching
Move met and Danc e

Response to rhythms
classical jazz swing disco tribal Ethnic

Contrasts of movement:
hard/soft strong/light fast/slow stiff/floppy

Windows of Opportunity for Motor Development

Basic gross-motor skills: prenatal to age 5 Fine motor skills: birth to age 9

Vestibular Stimulation

Move in, move up, move all around Keep the brain and body sound The more you move The more youll prove That spinning and turning Are good for learning!
- From

Learning With the Body in Mind by Eric Jensen

Visual Arts
Art is way of thinking and demonstrating the product of thinking. Visual learning = improvement in reading, creativity, math scores. Drawing complements the writing and thinking process. Drawing forces us to visualize and plan our actions. Early exposure to visual images are critical to stimulate the brain. Visual tools can help students think.

The Link Between Drawing and Writing

Both: Are ways of using pictorial and written symbols to represent ideas and feelings Involve psychomotor skills Depend on similar cognitive abilities Involve expressive arts Are developmental

Fine Motor Skills

Grasp

Strength
Control Dexterity Hand dominance

Language and Literacy Development

As early as age three or four years, children
can recite poetry, memorize, invent, and perform finger plays, and begin rhyming words. These are some of the fundamental tools for developing language skills.

- Goals 2000 Task Force Report

Expose young children to art resources.

Display reproductions of art Read childrens books about artists in various fields Visits to art museums, galleries and local studios Guest artists visits to classrooms Childrens books that help them develop appreciation of art concepts and art work

Engage young children in talking about art.

Ideas Process Materials Knowledge/concepts/vocabulary Reflection Planning

Children with language-related delays and children who are second-language learners especially benefit from having their experiences and understandings communicated through art, a nonverbal form of expression that is readily available to them.
- Sounda, Guha & Qiu, 2007

The Effects of Music on Brain Development and Learning

Music excites inherent brain patterns and promotes their use in complex reasoning tasks.

Black, 1997

Research suggests that music

Facilitates reading Facilitates awareness and discrimination of sounds Enhances visual-motor skills Regulates stress Enhances memory systems
- Eric Jensen, Arts With the Brain in Mind

Dramatic Arts
Children benefit from play-based instruction in which they invent dramatic play scenarios. Sociodramatic play increases oral language use and enables children to plan, negotiate, compose, and carry out the script of their play. These skills are related to the development of reading comprehension.
- Snow et.al. (1998) Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children

Social/emotional Development
Self concept

Confidence
Expression of feelings Communication of ideas

Relationships
Respect Understanding of others

Community

Provide ALL young learners

Enough time to express themselves Safety to experiment Respect for their work and their efforts Interest so the child wants to continue Support for a wide range of expression

Provide ALL young learners variety in

Formats: large/small, vertical/flat
Surfaces: papers, textures, wood, cloth Media: tempera paint, finger paint, water color, markers, chalk (wet/dry), photography, sculpture, construction, fabric, paper, wood Locations: areas of the room; indoor/outdoor Social groupings: solo, partners, small group, large group

The Ultimate Test: 4 Key Questions

1. Are ALL children able to experiment freely with art and explore what happens? 2. Will each childs work look different from the others?

3. Is the goal of the activity the childrens enjoyment rather than a product to please adults?
4. Will the childs effort lead to something that is satisfying to the child at his or her level of development?

Research on the Arts and Learning Online Resources

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development http://www.nasaa-arts.org/publications/criticalevidence.pdf
Report on Learning, Arts, and the Brain: http://www.dana.org/uploadedFiles/News_and_Publicati ons/Special_Publications/Learning,%20Arts%20and%20 the%20Brain_ArtsAndCognition_Compl.pdf