Best Practices Rubric – Winter 2014Z. Dietz

I. ArtsEd Organizations

Organizations include visual and performing arts organizations, public/private schools, higher education, arts incubators, community arts centers, state and local arts councils.

While arts education appears in various formats, evidence shows that the quality is weak and inconsistent.

“What the evidence shows is that…the young are not provided enough instructional time…college students may have more opportunities…and adults seldom participate in arts learning opportunities of any kind” (Zakaras & Lowell, p. xvii)

II. Types of ArtsEd Programs

These include K-12 formalized classes (art, choir, drama), teaching artist residencies, after-school initiatives, outreach programs from community and professional arts organizations (museums, theatres) for youth and adults, arts festivals and fairs.

“ Our review of themes in the development of the arts education field made it clear to us that

the players have changed and grown in number since the early 1970s, when the stage

belonged largely to local school districts, schools, and a few cultural organizations. An array of

arts learning providers has entered the field in response to changes in fiscal support for arts

education, and more government agencies and philanthropic organizations now take part”

(Bodilly, Augustine, & Zakaras, p. 18).

III. Mission, Education, and Audience Development

Education and outreach programs should match size, scope, and resources available to the that of the organization’s mission/capacity. Needs should be similar, and ideally, develop demand in the arts for learning and entertainment experiences.

Arts organizations should strive to create the “aesthetic experience” which communicates the arts from maker to user.

“In other words, the aesthetic experience requires works of art that can elicit such a response (supply), opportunities to encounter those works of art (access), and people who seek out such encounters and can find value in them (demand)” (Zakaras & Lowell, p. 95).

IV. Sustainability

Sustainability is understood as creating lifelong appreciation/support of the arts through arts education and exploration experiences in youth, adults, families, and communities. This is accomplished through assessing the cultural environment on a regular basis, attracting new users including underserved and minority communities, offering multiple points of entry, both in and out of school, in formal / informal methods. Continued research is also vital in understanding where trends are headed and how to anticipate and plan for them.

“The future of the arts may not lie in the restoration of higher levels of ‘benchmark’ attendance at traditional performances and exhibitions…rather, it could lie in new kinds of arts experiences and participation that are more active, that blur the line between performer and audience, make the beholder a part of the creative process and artists the animators of community life – experiences which, for some people, hold more personal value than sitting in an audience” (Rabkin & Hedberg, p. 52-53).

V. Resources

Identifying community needs and resources (through an audit process), along with collaboration among ‘informed leadership’ roles within K-12 administrators, higher education, community organizations, and government agencies is vital in program development and delivery. Recognizing strengths and weaknesses within the group dynamic will inform where to focus attention for seeking underrepresented skills and traits like fundraising, advocacy, and marketing (Wester, 2003).

“Collaboration with complementary partners (building on “the best”) is, of course, no theft at all, but a win-win enterprise for all participants. Collaboration nurtures those who present the artist’s work, as well

as the audiences whose hearts and minds the artist and presenter intend to touch, whether in performance centers, in the community, or where it is particularly effective —in schools” (Eiber, p. 1).

VI. Partnership Development

Partnerships can provide many benefits as well as many challenges in linking arts and non-arts organizations.

A shared need/goal is the most important factor between partners, allowing for strategic planning of goals, objectives, and measureable outcomes and evaluations addressing those needs.

“Partnerships between arts and non-arts organizations can confer benefits on both parties if the benefits are mutual and in accord with their respective missions…non-arts agencies can gain fresh, high-quality programming that stimulates new thought…arts and cultural organizations can broaden community awareness of their missions and services, thus increasing the public value of their activities and offerings” (Walker, p. 13).

VII. Planning & Implementation Process

The key to planning and implementation is effective communication and leadership along with identifiable objectives and assessments to measure your goals against. Funders of well-built programs look for models that demonstrate an identifiable need and a strategic plan that contains quantified steps and assessments to address that need.

“An important aspect of becoming adept at navigating the system is to develop a basic working knowledge of the significant ‘players’…to attempt to achieve an understanding of the people who are involved and have an interest in education in the community, what their beliefs are, and what motivates them” (Wester, p. 165).

VIII. Teacher Supportsand Professional Development

Teacher support through development vehicles such as artists-in-residence and seminars/workshops creates a firsthand experience of the value arts bring to other subjects in schools. This capacity-building allows educators to teach in, through, and about the arts (Silverstein, 2003). When effective, teachers can become advocates for continued quality arts experiences in their classrooms and also serve as key players within your ‘informed leadership’ circle.

“Teacher participation is positively influenced by the availability of well-conceived, appropriate resource material that help teachers prepare students for residency experiences, lead lessons between artist’s visits, and guide pre- and post-residency activities” (Silverstein, p. 14).

IX. Theories of Learning

Arts experiences provide competencies and skills not only through feelings, but decisions, choices, and understandings (Winner & Hetland, 2008) such as critical thinking, creativity, persistence, envisioning, innovation, and reflection/evaluation. They do not simply transfer across subjects but are ‘exercised’ when called upon and combine intuitive, practical, and logical higher-order thinking capacities used both in professional and personal capacities (Burton, Horowitz & Abeles, 1999).

“For students living in a rapidly changing world, the arts teach vital modes of seeing, imagining, inventing, and thinking…those who have learned the lessons of the arts, however-how to learn from mistakes, and how to envision solutions-are the ones likely to come up with the novel answers needed most for the future” (Winner & Hetland, p. 31).

X. Assessment and Outcomes

Good assessment is about good design. Our focus should be on improving performance in arts learning, not simply measuring it (Wester, 2003) with a metric that does not account for the competencies most dominant in arts learning (reflection, observing, creativity, etc.). It cannot be watered down into a finite value such as pass/fail or yes/no. Coupled with the notion that there are conflicting views on how to measure ‘success’ in arts disciplines, we are left with a tepid argument for effecting arts education policy at every level of legislation.

“Our findings led us to the conclusion that, all things being equal, the arts are neither ancillary nor core but rather that they are participants in the development of crucial ways of thinking and learning” (Burton, Horowitz & Abeles, p. 44).

XI. Populations

Arts learning can be observed in children, youth, adults, senior citizens, majorities, minorities, underrepresented, fortunate, disadvantaged, wealthy, poor, traditional, and tech-savvy individuals from all walks of life. They have experienced the arts in vaudeville, chautauqua, extension services, settlement houses and folk festivals like Renfro Valley. Some learn through religious affiliations, others through family members and friends who make/create/appreciate. Art finds its way out of sheer necessity to express the desires of the inner soul; it knows no boundaries, no forms, no judgments.

“The beautiful is that which pleases universally, without a concept.” – Immanuel Kant

XII. Model Programs

In School: Arts In Community Education (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra)

www.milwaukeesymphony.org Theatreworks USA, www.theatreworksusa.org

OST: Making a Write Turn (Writer’s Garret, Inc.) www.writersgarret.org R.evolućion Latina, www.revolucionlatina.org

Community Organizations: SchoolTime, Discover/Engage! programs (Cal Performances)

www.calperfs.berkeley.edu Shakespeare In the Classroom, The Green Show (Oregon

Shakespeare Festival) www.osfashland.org

XIII. Supporting Research

“Arts Matter” – ArtsEd audit in Springfield, Oregon Presented to the Springfield Board of Education in 2010.

AFTA: Arts Education Navigator Gives a broad overview of the art world of arts education; provides

nice sample questions to begin drafting an audit survey.

NCES: Arts Education in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools 1999-2000 and 2009-2010 Provides in-depth data regarding visual and performing arts on a

variety of measurements.

Kennedy Center: A Community Audit for Arts Education Provides a survey for looking at the status of arts education in a

community.

Works CitedBodilly, S. J., Augustine, C.H., & Zakaras, L. (2008). Revitalizing arts education through community-wide coordination (N350.B634). Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corporation.

Burton, J., Horowitz, R., & Abeles, H. (1999). Learning in and through the arts: curriculum implications. In E. B. Fiske (Ed.), Champions of change: the impact of learning in the arts (pp. 35-46). Washington, D.C.: Arts Education Partnership.

Eiber, J. (2003). Growth through collaboration: new opportunities for educators, artists, and presenters. In B. Rich, J. L. Polin, & S. J. Marcus (Eds.), Acts of achievement: the role of performing arts centers in education (pp. 1-3). New York, NY: The Dana Foundation.

Engebretsen, K. (Ed.) (2013). Arts education navigator: getting started. Washington, D.C.: Americans For the Arts.

Levin, K., DeVault, G., Collins, D., Taylor, A., Doughty, R., Hayes, S. L.,… Blankenship, K. (2007). A community audit for arts education: better schools, better skills, better communities. Washington, D.C.: The Kennedy Center Alliance For Arts Education Network.

Parsad, B. & Spiegelman, M. (2012). Arts education in public elementary and secondary schools, 1999-2000 and 2009-2010 (ED-04-CO-0059/0025). Washington, D.C.: National Center for Educational Statistics.

Rabkin, N. & Hedberg, E.C. (2011). Arts education in America: what the decline means for arts participation (NX304.R33). Washington, D.C.: National Endowment For the Arts.

Silverstein, L. B. (2003). Artist residencies: evolving educational experience. In B. Rich, J. L. Polin, & S. J. Marcus (Eds.), Acts of achievement: the role of performing arts centers in education (pp. 10-22). New York, NY: The Dana Foundation.

Springfield Public Schools (2013). [Arts Matter council report to the Springfield Board of Education]. Unpublished raw data.

Walker, C. (2004). Arts and non-arts partnerships: opportunities, challenges, and strategies. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.

Wester, M. (2003). Arts education: defining, developing, and implementing a successful program. In C. Dreesen (Ed.), Fundamentals of arts management (pp. 151-198). Amherst, MA: Arts Extension Service.

Winner, E. & Hetland, L. (2008). Art for our sake: school arts classes matter more than ever – but not for the reasons you think. Arts Education Policy Review, 109(5), 29-31.

Zakaras, L. & Lowell, J. F. (2008). Cultivating demand for the arts: arts learning, arts engagement, and state arts policy (NX705.5U6Z35). Santa Monica, CA: The RAND Corporation.