Arts Education and Cognitive Development

AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS

Neuroscientists from seven universities across the country used brain imaging studies and behavioral assessments to advance our understanding of the effects of music, dance, and drama education onother types of learning. The findings from their coordinated three-year study suggest that children motivated in the arts develop attention skills and strategies for memory retrieval that also apply to other academic subject areas.

Overview of Problem-based Learning: Definitions and Distinctions

JOHN R. SAVERY

Problem-based learning is an instructional (and curricular) learner-centered approach that empowers learners to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem. This overview presents a brief history, followed by a discussion of the similarities and differences between problem-based learning and other experiential approaches to teaching…

Being the best you can be

GREATERGOOD SOUTH AFRICA

With its 2011 matric results, COSAT (the Centre of Science and Technology), a high school in Khayelitsha, achieved the remarkable distinction of being the first township school to be ranked in the top ten Western Cape schools, standing alongside well-known, established schools such as SACS and Westerford.

Music Makes You Smarter

CULTURE MAP AUSTIN | BY KEVIN BENZ

Grounded in Music:  These kids can rock

That’s what Grounded in Music is about — not creating rock stars — building confidence in kids who too often are told of the things they cannot do, rather than what is available to them.

Physicists Seek To Lose the Lecture As Teaching Tool

NPR | BY EMILY HANFORD

The lecture is one of the oldest forms of education there is. … But lecturing has never been an effective teaching technique and now that information is everywhere, some say it’s a waste of time. Indeed, physicists have the data to prove it.