The cypher, a circle of MCs improvising rhymes in a collaborative jam session, is a relatively unexplored topic in hip hop. Through its focus on community and reciprocity, the cypher represents a crucial nexus of sociability that enables researchers to examine the shifting positionalities and communicative practices of audience members and…

Taking advantage of the possibilities for learning outside of school requires us to build on what we know about why it is so hard to sustain and scale up unconventional educational experiences within conventional schools. To illustrate the opportunities and challenges, Thomas Hatch describes a large-scale approach to project-based learning…

Schools, community organizations, and major cultural entities can address educational inequities by engaging parents and children in arts processes, projects, and performances. Three cases featuring work in the arts show promise in contributing to the positive academic and social development of learners across the socio-economic spectrum. Learning…

Ecotherapy-based experiences have been shown to provide multiple benefits such as improved cognitive functioning, increased overall well-being and improved mental and physical health. Few, if any studies have considered the benefits of providing these types of experiences for urban community college students. This pilot study introduces an eco-art…

Programs that seek to engage participants in arts-based programming may be drawn to creative youth development (CYD), a youth-focused, holistic approach to learning through creative expression. As the Creative Youth Development National Partnership (2018) defines it, "'Creative youth development' is a recent term for a longstanding theory of…

Innovation and learning come together in a vibrant manner during dynamic arts education classes led by teachers who understand the importance of collaboration and student improvisation.

This article reports a study on the impact of spiritual training lessons as compared to creative arts lessons with a cohort of Indian and Sri Lankan doctoral students immigrated to the US. The aim was to examine programme effectiveness in mitigating their acculturative stress, promoting self-efficacy, and wellbeing. Spiritual training lessons were…

Kids Creative is a New York City nonprofit that runs afterschool and summer programs with over 1,000 youth each year. The programs they run use this creativity-oriented process to produce original musicals, works of art, videos, dances, and more. When Kids Creative received grant funding, they were able to include more youth and add homework help,…

The Vygotskian preschool education program (VPEP) is built around mediation in the context of preschool age-specific activities such as sociodramatic play, constructive play, listening and retelling fairy tales, playing with dollhouses, motor activities, and some others. We used the VPEP as part of the daily curriculum in two pre-K classes at PS…

The ability to creatively resolve conflict supports excellence in communication and fosters a positive classroom/studio climate. Despite the fact that school violence continues to be high, many schools fail to teach conflict management, social-emotional skills, or community building to all educators. This research-based article shares dance…

This article informs about a multidisciplinary learning community targeting first year students from diverse cultural backgrounds at an urban community college. The combination of English, art, and philosophy of art in a "Creativity Cluster" offers an excellent opportunity for great teaching and learning experiences. Yet, how can faculty…

METHODS OF (1) DISTINGUISHING AN ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE PERSON, (2) PREDICTING CREATIVE BEHAVIOR, AND (3) DEFINING CREATIVITY WERE DEVELOPED USING LISTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE CREATIVE ARTS AND THE SCIENCES AS A SCALED INSTRUMENT TO RATE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. CREATIVITY OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY AMONG STUDENTS WHO ARE INDEPENDENT, INTELLECTUAL,…

A New York-based nonprofit educational organization, the Touchstone Center, creates interdisciplinary arts programs in public schools that stimulate the imaginative process. When the natural world is used as a context for imaginative thought, and when children use their innate capacity for wonder and imagination, a new interest in learning often…

Explains how artist, Tim Rollins, worked with Kids of Survival, a group of secondary school students in the South Bronx area of New York City, to create large scale art works inspired by Franz Kafka's book, "Amerika." Describes scale, materials used, use of contrasts, and inspiration for these artworks. Suggests similar art activities…

This curriculum guide was compiled to help secondary school art teachers prepare lessons that fulfill both the New York state recommendations and the New York City requirements for high school graduation and to provide ideas for use in elective art classes. Seven chapters describe specific art fields, and each chapter is subdivided into units of…