Read and React: 7

How has technology impacted our brains?  What are the implications of this for an education setting?
Technology has caused our brain to evolve.  Small & Vorgan discuss the evolution of language in their text.  "A whole new lexicon has developed through text messaging [...]" (11).  Teens have used their creativity to create this new form of language and although it may frustrate educators when students use this language in their writing they should at least give them a small amount of credit.  Our brains are like sponges.  Early in life it works well and will soak up everything, but as it gets older and more worn out the sponges won't hold as much water.  Our brains peak early in life (iBrain 7).  Many paths and connections are made early in life allowing us as adults to function and still be acceptable to new information although it is tougher to learn and remember.  Students are subjected to technology much more than in the past.  This is what they are used to which requires teachers to use a certain amount of technology in the classroom.

In what ways does learning in and through the arts impact our cognition (and vice versa)?
Learning through the arts requires the student to use their mind and think in a different way than required in other subject areas.  Students in the art classroom are allowed to 'break the rules' and find a new inventive way to complete an assignment.  A math problem usually has one correct answer, when looking at a group of art projects when all students were handed the exact same instructions, will you see the same project?  My hope as an art teacher is no.  We want our students to step back and rethink their decisions finding the best possible solution.  There will not be one right answer.  Jensen discusses when the arts curriculum is integrated into a district, the scores in all subject areas will increase (59).  Art class does more than provide students with the chance to color is provides them the opportunity to become problem solvers, creative thinkers, and artists!

How can we as educators use the brain-based information presented in both texts to impact instruction and/or promote arts advocacy?
Jensens suggests in his text that evidence shows students who are encouraged to participate in art activities will move through the stages of development more quickly and accurately.  The 'tools' they need to develop to see (spatial relationships, movement, estimate depth) will advance more quickly compared to a child who spends more time in front of a television (Arts with the Brain in Mind 52-53).  This is just one example of why the arts are important for the development of every individual.  In the iBrain article, Small & Vorgan discuss the evolution of man using tools.  Without the hands-on manipulation of the animal bones the man would not have learned how to use the bone as a tool.  This is an ongoing process in the art classroom today.  Students are being given this opportunities to be creative with tools and use them in a variety of ways.  Students are encourage to go beyond what is expected and find ways to use the materials in an unexpected way.  We are trying to encourage them to use their brains as man has been doing for eternity.  This is one small aspect of what art teachers are trying to do in their classroom.