The Artist in the Classroom: Identifying, Developing and Supporting Artistic Talent in School

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The Artist in the ClassroomIdentifying,
Developing and Supporting Artistic Talent in
School
Barry Oreck, Ph.D. barry_at_barryoreck.com
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Some Questions for Today What is talent or
giftedness? Why assess artistic talent? What does
talent look like in our art form? How can we
support and develop it after we identify it?
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• Gifted and Talented Programs
• Differentiation or Elitism?
• What are the strengths of Gifted and Talented
  programs?
• Whats wrong with G/T programs?

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Who is an Artist?
Think of an artistic experience in your own
life What are the characteristics of this
experience? What were you like when you were
engaged in it?
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Who is an Artist?
What do you mean when you say someone is an
artist?
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Henry Schaefer-Simmern (1948) The Unfolding of
Artistic Activity (foreword by John
Dewey) Seymour Sarason Teaching as a Performing
Art (1999)
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STUDENT AS ARTIST

• High Energy
• Creativity, Imagination
• Special Sensitivity to Emotions
• Less Linear
• Need to Express Ideas, Feelings

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WHAT MAKES GIFTEDNESS?
RENZULLI THREE RING CONCEPTION OF GIFTEDNESS
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WHAT MAKES ARTISTIC TALENT?
Motivation
Skills
Creativity
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Why Assess Talent?

• Differentiation offering appropriately
  challenging instruction
• Kids dont know what they are good at
• Collaboration with arts specialists and outside
  artists
• Teacher awareness of student strengths
• Supporting transfer -- academic connections

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The Dance, Music Theater Talent Assessment
ProcessD/M/T TAP

• 4 sessions for all students
• Observed by teacher and arts specialist(s)
• Criteria developed by artist educators from a
  variety of styles and techniques
• Curriculum developed by individual artist
  teachers
• Post-class discussion about all students

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ResultsStudents Identified for Advanced
Instruction using D/M/T TAPNew York and Ohio

• Approximately 15-20 of students identified as
  ready for advanced instruction
• Represent general demographic and academic makeup
  of the schools
• Inclusive of bilingual and special education
  students

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New York City ResultsStudents Identified for
Advanced Instruction using D/M/T TAP

• 65 reading below grade level
• 25 reading in the lowest quartile
• 10-15 exhibit severe behavior and/or attendance
  problems

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Ohio ResultsStudents Identified for Advanced
Instruction using D/M/T TAP

• Profile of Reading and Math Scores reflected
  overall school population
• Big overlap among the performing arts
• Moderate overlap between performing and visual
  arts
• Inter-rater reliability improved in every
  assessment

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Talent Development Program

• Weekly advanced instruction during and after
  school
• Master classes at professional studios and
  community arts organizations
• Academic assistance for struggling students
• (MAGIC Merging Artistic Gifts into the
  Classroom)
• Assistance for parents to take advantage of
  out-of-school arts classes, magnet schools,
  scholarships, and other educational opportunities

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Research Results

• Teachers were excellent assessors of students
  artistic talents
• Interrater reliability with arts experts .65 --
  .85 in dance, music and theater and improved with
  each administration.
• Teachers were especially aware of those students
  who normally struggled in the classroom.

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I'm more aware now that many children who
struggle with academics may be gifted in the arts
and this is a good way to reach them in the
academic areas. Hamilton, Grade 2 I learned
through the identification process that my
students become vocal, they are able to express
themselves. I see they take more of an ownership
with their learning, they are able to compare and
contrast what they like and dislike about the
learning and describe what they are
learning. Cleveland, Grade 5
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Research Results

• 2. 3-year retention rates based on students
  making good to excellent yearly progress
  increased.
• More than 80 of students remained in the program
  for 3 years, up from lt50 with the prior
  identification process.
• Blind review of results after 2 and 3 years
  provided measures of predictive validity.

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Research Results

• 3. Struggling students made significant academic
  progress over 3 years based on classroom
  observations, teacher grades and reports, and
  standardized reading and math tests.
• Students demonstrated improved self-regulatory
  behaviors on classroom tasks.
• Teachers reported improved attitude, attendance
  and class grades.
• Students made statistically significant
  improvement over 2 and 3 years compared to a
  matched control group.

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New York City Study Jacob Javits
GrantSelf-Regulation and Content Comprehension
in Arts and Non-arts lessons
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Reading Test Comparison3 groups

• Non-Young Talent Students (n 132)
• Matched comparison group
• Young Talent Students reading at or above grade
  level (n 61)
• Young Talent Students lt40th percentile
• (n 61)

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Reading Test Comparison
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Reading Test Comparison
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Exposure and Talent Assessment
Arts Talent Development
Professional Development
Strengths-Based Academic Support
School Success Improved Self-regulation Attitude,
Attendance Classroom Performance Test Score
Improvement
Parent Support
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National Educational Longitudinal Study NELS88
data (25,000 students) Involvement in the Arts
and Human Development Champions of Change
Report James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, John
Iwanaga, UCLA

• Positive academic developments for children
  involved in the arts (high and low SES)
  increasing over time grade 8-10-12.
• High level of music involvement show significant
  improvement in grade 12 math performance.
• Sustained involvement in theater show increases
  in reading proficiency, self-concept and
  motivation, higher levels of empathy and
  tolerance for others.

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National Educational Longitudinal Study NELS88
data (25,000 students) Involvement in the Arts
and Human Development Champions of Change
Report James S. Catterall, Richard Chapleau, John
Iwanaga, UCLA

• Students involved in the arts
• Watch significantly less television.
• Are more likely to consider community service
  important.
• Are less likely to report being bored in school.

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Champions of ChangeJames S. Catterall, UCLA
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Champions of ChangeJames S. Catterall, UCLA
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Champions of ChangeJames S. Catterall, UCLA
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Artistic Talent Development for Urban YouthThe
Promise and the Challenge

• Barry Oreck, Susan Baum, Heather McCartney
• The National Research Center on the Gifted and
  Talented
• Research Monograph Series
• www.gifted.uconn.edu

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How to Assess TalentMethods

• Tests
• Performance-based assessment
• Portfolios
• Nominations (Teacher, Parent, Peer, Self)

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Methods

• Teacher Rating Scales
• Renzulli Scales for Rating the Behavioral
  Characteristics of Superior Students
• Tests
• Music Gordon Test of Music Audiation
• Art Clarks Drawing Test
• Dance Warburtons Measure of Creative Thinking
  in Dance

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Existing Arts Identification Processes

• Performance-based Processes
• Auditions
• D/M/T TAP
• Collection of Work
• Portfolio
• Process folio
• Exhibition

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Problems with ExistingTalent Identification
Processes

• Technique Specificity and Cultural Bias
  narrowing the criteria to a single style or
  technique limits the range of recognizable
  talents
• Dependence on prior experience Talent or.
  Achievement? parental support and financial
  status create inequalities for which the
  assessment process does not compensate
• ?Verbal bias overdependence on language shows
  more about students English language abilities
  than their artistic talent.
• One Shot Test a single audition does not show
  students' potential for deeper involvement or
  improvement over time

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Problems with ExistingTalent Identification
Processes

• ?Potential for anxiety children who are shy,
  tense, or are having a bad day often will not be
  able to display their talent or potential while
  being observed and graded.
• ?Lack of context test conditions bear little
  resemblance to the true instructional situation
• ?Difficulty of interpretation assessment
  criteria and checklists are open to
  interpretation and difficult for non-experts to
  understand

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How to Assess TalentIssues

• Criteria connected to full range of standards
  (Creating, Responding, Performing)
• Validity and Reliability (fairness and
  consistency)
• Outstanding Behaviors vs. Proficiency or Rubric
  approach
• Multiple data sources (when possible)

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How to Assess TalentTeaching

• Class Structure
• Teaching vs. Assessing
• Change Groupings
• Establishing a safe environment
• Problem Solving Curriculum success vs.
  challenge
• Allow time for thinking and responding, multiple
  attempts, perseverance to emerge

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Service Models for Talented Students

• Advanced Instruction
• Pull-out programs during school
• Before, after school and lunchtime
• Introductory and advanced levels
• Ensembles, clubs, performance groups
• Competitions, awards

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Service Models for Talented Students

• Taught by arts specialists, faculty members,
  parents
• Outside artists and community organizations
• Local High School and College students or
  programs

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Focus Questions for Discussion

• Think of at least two students you know or have
  taught who you think are potentially talented in
  your art form. Identify one who is obviously
  talented in traditional, measurable ways and one
  whose talent may have been harder to spot and
  might have surprised you.
• Describe the behaviors or characteristics of
  their artistic products that made you think they
  had outstanding talent.
• After you have a list of behaviors and
  characteristics try to put the descriptors into
  categories.

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Focus Questions for Discussion

• What are you doing now, formally or informally,
  to identify artistic talent among your students?
• Are there processes you use in your teaching that
  could be used to identify potential talent?

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Focus Questions for Discussion

• What does you school and community do to serve
  potentially talented students?
• What more could they do?
• Are there any steps you can take in your current
  role to help support talented students?
• What might the next step be?

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References for this session can be found
athttp//barryoreck.com/workshophandouts.html

• barry_at_barryoreck.com