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Learning, Arts, and the Brain

The report is sponsored by the Dana Foundation Arts and Cognition Consortium. It is a collaboration of studies conducted by neuroscientists representing seven universities from across the United States pertaining to the association of arts training and higher academic performance. The consortium’s findings provide an understanding of the possible causal relationships between arts training and the ability of the brain to learn in other cognitive domains. The results of the studies should be helpful to students, parents, educators, and the general public in policy-making decisions as related to the importance of high quality arts education in our schools. Read More

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Practicing a Musical Instrument in Childhood helps Reasoning Skills

Harvard-based study has found that children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training – not only in tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity (skills honed by the study of a musical instrument), but also on tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion (skills not normally associated with music). While these results are correlational only, the strong predictive effect of training duration suggests that instrumental music training may enhance auditory discrimination, fine motor skills, vocabulary, and nonverbal reasoning. Alternative explanations for these results are discussed. PLOS ONE publication archives of the October, 2008, report. Download the PDF report.

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Multi-year Music Training Can Enhance Reading Skills and Literacy

Children exposed to a multi-year program of music instruction involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music. According to authors Joseph M. Piro and Camilo Ortiz from Long Island University, data from this study will help to clarify the role of music study on cognition and shed light on the question of the potential of music to enhance school performance in language and literacy.

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New Fine Arts TEKS charts

Order the new TEKS charts for your school. Simply download the order form here, complete, and send with your payment. Fast and easy.

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TEACH FINE ARTS

Everyday in classrooms across Texas, art, dance, music, and theatre educators challenge students to learn in new ways. The tools these teachers use are manifold: student standards, rigorous curricula, engaging instruction, and formative and summative assessment strategies. The backbone of fine arts instruction in Texas, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), help educators structure instruction around what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level in art, dance, music, and theatre. The TEKS are vertically aligned to provide for a cohesive curriculum from one grade to the next. Furthermore, the TEKS mandate consistent and rigorous student learning in the fine arts throughout the state.

This area of the website houses information pertaining directly to teaching the fine arts. This includes the student standards, assessment strategies, instructional techniques, as well as information on Chapter 74 of the Texas Administrative Code, graduation requirements, and other curricular issues. Furthermore, this section of the site houses online instructional resources such as Connect the TEKS, Fine Arts for All Students and the Arts Integration Online Toolkit. Use the menu at the top to explore and visit often.


Standards

Curriculum

Resources

Instruction

Student Assessment

Strengthen Program

While high quality educators, committed students, and rigorous learning standards such as the TEKS form the core of successful programs, many other administrative considerations such as equipment, staffing, space, and safety requirements, as well as funding play important roles in the program’s overall health.

This section addresses program evaluation, quality indicators for elementary, middle school, and high school programs in art, dance, music, and theatre, as well as recommendations on staffing and links to state and national funding sources. Finally, this section houses the Program Support database of sources and abstracts from research studies that hone in on why the fine arts are essential to school communities and vital for student learning.

Program Support

Evaluating Programs

Art Programs

Dance Programs

Music Programs

Theatre Programs

Staffing Fine Arts Programs

Funding Resources

Links to Fine Arts Organizations

Grow Professionally

Many avenues exist for growing professionally as a fine arts educator or administrator. In addition to CEDFA-sponsored workshops and summits, other opportunities include National Board of Professional Teaching Standards certifications, additional certifications from the State Board for Educator Certification, and growth through the Professional Development and Appraisal System.

This section of the website houses background information and links related to models of professional development, the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), and the Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS).