IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts' newsletter for Wednesday, April 23, 2008. The newsletter is published each Wednesday to the IEA listserv and archived here on the IEA blog.


------------------------------
REPORTS
------------------------------

THE ART OF COLLABORATION:
PROMISING PRACTICES FOR INTEGRATING THE ARTS AND SCHOOL REFORM
Arts Education Partnership, 2008
”The Arts Education Partnership is pleased to announce the release of its new publication The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practices for Integrating the Arts and School Reform by Andrew L. Nelson, AEP Associate for Research and Policy. This second installment in AEP’s research and policy brief series outlines promising practices for building community partnerships that integrate the arts into urban education systems.”
Learn more>>

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT IN THE ARTS
Americans for the Arts, 2008
Creative Industries: Business & Employment in the Arts reports offer a new, research-based approach to understanding the scope and importance of the arts to the nation's economy. While most economic impact studies of the arts have focused on the nonprofit sector, Creative Industries is the first national study that encompasses both the nonprofit and for-profit arts industry. By documenting Dun & Bradstreet business and employment data for both the nonprofit and for-profit arts sectors, you can paint a picture of a powerful engine in your community's information economy. What makes this data especially potent is that it can be localized to any city, county, state, region, or political jurisdiction in the country, and it can be updated annually so that you can track trend data.”
Learn more or order a report for your area>>

STUDY: CREATIVE ECONOMY PLAYS KEY ROLE ON NORTH SHORE
Ethan Forman, Gloucester Times, 4/16/08
”From Cape Ann artists to Peabody advertisers, large newspaper publishers to one-man Web page design firms, the creative economy on the North Shore represents 10 percent to 12 percent of the region's private sector employment, a study released yesterday finds. Creative economy companies focus on industries that are tied to innovation and individual creativity, skill and talent, where ideas, products and services can lead to wealth and job creation. This economy employs a larger percentage of workers than biotech (2 percent) and manufacturing (7 percent) in the metropolitan Boston economy, the study says. While economic development officials have been touting the creative economy as a driver of job growth for years, this study represents the first time the size and scope of the creative economy on the North Shore has been fully measured.”
Read more news coverage>>
Read the report>>


----------------------------------
EDUCATORS
----------------------------------

DRAMA CLASSES HIT BY 60% TEACHER CUT
Lalayn Baluch, The Stage (UK), 4/16/08
”Secondary school drama teaching is at risk from a serious “dilution” in quality because of government plans to cut the number of new specialist teachers by 60%, education experts have warned. Figures from the Training Development Agency - which regulates the allocation of teaching programmes - reveal that in 2005 there were 261 places on postgraduate PGCE Secondary Drama courses nationwide. By 2011 that number will have fallen to just 109. Emma Brown, PGCE course leader at Central School of Speech and Drama and member of the Standing Committee of Initial Teacher Education in Drama, believes that without sufficient specialists, the government will struggle to carry through its initiatives to increase participation in the arts - such as the recently announced Find Your Talent scheme, which promises five hours of culture to youngsters every week. She told The Stage: ‘There are lots of implications. If you only have 100 trained drama teachers for 4,000 secondary schools [each year], obviously what you are going to have is a dilution in the quality of drama teaching and also a limited number of people who are specialists.’”
Read more>>

HYLTON TEACHER IS HONORED FOR HELPING STUDENTS ENVISION HISTORY
Ian Shapira, Washington Post, 4/17/08
”Lisa Racine, a history teacher at C.D. Hylton High School in Prince William County [Maryland] does not care much for textbooks in the classroom. Instead of reading aloud from a monstrous history book, Racine instead will teach topics playing music, such as an Alan Jackson song related to the Sept. 11 attacks, or with photographs from the civil rights era that depict violent protests in Alabama. ‘I have never, ever used a textbook during class time. There is not a bigger waste. They can use the textbook at home,’ Racine said. ‘You have them for 90 minutes and need to be teaching them something new. . . . I think teaching with pictures is very important. So many of us are visual learners.’"
Read more>>

----------------------------------
TEACHING RESOURCES
----------------------------------

THINKING DIFFERENTLY ABOUT MATH
These resources use puzzles, games, patterns, music, and mnemonics to develop students’ interest in and motivation for math.
Air Force Brain Booster Book>>
Harvey Mudd College’s Math Department’s Fun Facts>>

----------------------------------
GRANTS AND AWARDS
----------------------------------

FIVE-DAY CAMP FOR MATH AND SCIENCE
Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy
Application Deadline: 10/31/08
Award: All expenses paid for weeklong program
“The Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy is a one-week all-expense-paid intensive professional development program for third- through fifth-grade teachers. The Academy offers a five-day program designed to provide third- through fifth-grade teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to motivate students to pursue careers in science and math. Phil and Amy Mickelson partnered with ExxonMobil to develop the Academy in conjunction with the National Science Teachers Association and Math Solutions. The Mickelsons wanted to develop a program that inspires teachers from across the country in math and science and equips them with interactive teaching tools to ignite their students' passion for these subjects. They also wanted to develop a program that helps to develop the next generation of science savvy citizens who will grow up to make the next breakthrough in medicine, in energy, or in any of the growing number of fields that require a solid foundation in math and science.”
Learn more>>