The Importance of the Arts

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We know that the arts in all forms (digital arts, performing arts, fine arts, etc.) and art making is important in the healthy development of children and youth, in fact our whole society. Art making is truth telling and provides all youth, especially those without a voice, an opportunity to express themselves. 

We want to acknowledge the tragic fire that struck the vibrant arts community in our hometown of Oakland, CA. We are all affected by this tragedy and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those lost and missing in the fire. 

Vigil at Lake Merritt
Photo Credit: ABC News

Mariah Rankine-Landers

We are thankful that the importance of art making was promoted in our recent How Kids Learn VI conference. A special thanks to Mariah Rankine-Landers (Alameda County Office of Education), who spoke on teaching equity through the arts. Also, thanks to Richmond’s RYSE Center for sharing some of the art and videos created by their youth. 

Photo Credit: RYSE Center, Richmond, CA

Afterschool and Communities of Concentrated Poverty

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Afterschool youth programs have been serving low-income youth since the late 1800s. This is well documented in Robert Halpern’s book, Making Play Work. The History of Afterschool in America will also be the subject of a documentary video that we are working on currently. 

The Afterschool Alliance recently published a new report, America After 3PM Special Report: Afterschool in Communities of Concentrated Poverty. According to Nikki Yamashiro, Director of Research at the Afterschool Alliance, “Where you live has direct and indirect impacts on the fundamental resources and opportunities you count on, and which many people may take for granted. Your location affects the quality of schools available to you, your access to healthy and affordable food, and your overall wellbeing and future economic success.This is why the Afterschool Alliance believed it was critical to examine the role that afterschool programs are playing (or not playing) in communities of concentrated poverty.” 

Making Play Work by Robert Halpern and
History of Afterschool Project by The How Kids Learn Foundation

Key findings from the report include:

• The demand for afterschool and summer learning programs in communities of concentrated poverty is high. Both participation in and the demand for afterschool and summer learning programs is higher in communities of concentrated poverty compared to the national average. 

• Parents living in communities of concentrated poverty rely on afterschool programs. Parents living in communities of concentrated poverty looked to afterschool programs as a source of support for their family, more so than parents living outside of these communities. 

For more infographics from the Afterschool Alliance, click here.

• Afterschool programs provide integral supports for children living in communities of concentrated poverty. An overwhelming majority of parents living in communities of concentrated poverty report that their child’s afterschool program provides opportunities for physical activity (87 percent); homework assistance (81 percent); STEM learning opportunities (78 percent); opportunities for reading or writing (76 percent); and beverages, snacks or meals (75 percent).

• Key barriers exist regarding access to afterschool programs in communities of concentrated poverty. Accessibility and affordability are two major obstacles affecting the ability of parents living in communities of concentrated poverty to enroll their child in an afterschool program. 

Jodi Grant, Executive Director at the Afterschool Alliance, will share some of the findings at our upcoming How Kids Learn VI conference (San Francisco) in December.  

Visit the America After 3PM page where you can read the full report or executive summary.  

HKL V: Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In the winter of 2015/2016, we will sponsor our fifth How Kids Learn conference. If we are to achieve economic equity, young people must have access to activities that prepare them for work and career success. This means starting with young children through high school. 

Hear from leading thinkers and afterschool practitioners on research and strategies for Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success. 

Speakers will include: 

• Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education, UCLA

• Jenny Nagaoka, Deputy Director, University of Chicago and lead author of the recently released Wallace Report entitled, Foundations for Young Adult Success

• Alvaro Cortes, Executive Director, Beyond the Bell/LAUSD

• Alex Taghavian, Vice President, Linked Learning Alliance

• Michael Funk, Director, After School Division at the California Department of Education

• Beth Kay, Linked Learning Manager, Foundation for California Community Colleges

In addition to the above speakers, we will host a bevy of workshops led by innovative practitioners who work with young people, K-12. 

For more information, go to www.howkidslearn.org.

To register:

• Berkeley, December 10, 2015: http://bit.ly/HKLVBerkeley
• Los Angeles, January 21, 2016: http://bit.ly/HKLVLosAngeles  

HKL: Providing Thought-Provoking, Educational Opportunities

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The Learning in Afterschool & Summer (LIAS) Project and Temescal Associates has sponsored an annual conference since 2012 under the banner of “How Kids Learn” (HKL). These gatherings were designed to provide youth workers and their educational stakeholders with thought-provoking, educational opportunities. 

We are happy to announce that we are expanding our “How Kids Learn” events. In addition to sponsoring an annual conference, we will also sponsor smaller, local events designed to offer access to national thinkers and researchers, innovative practitioners, and networking opportunities. Below, is preview of our upcoming How Kids Learn events scheduled to date. You can get more information on the HKL initiative by clicking here. 

HKL V: Preparing Youth for Work and Career Success
Our fifth How Kids Learn conference will focus on workforce readiness issues by offering presentations by experts in the field and from the business community. We will also feature practitioners who have developed innovative programs to prepare children and adolescents for the world of work. This conference will be conducted in the Bay Area on December 10, 2015 and in Los Angeles on January 21, 2016. Please save these dates and we will provide more information later. (To view video presentations from our previous conferences, click here.) 

Special, free screenings of Finding the Gold Within 
This feature film documentary had its world premiere recently at the Mill Valley California film festival. It features a program from Akron, OH named Alchemy, Inc. This group uses drumming, mythology, and journaling to promote the healthy development of inner city African-American children and youth. Following the film, we will host a Q&A session with the film director and young people who are featured in the film. To view a trailer of the film, click here.

These screenings are intended for Bay Area youth program providers and youth leaders from those programs, and will be conducted between May 17-19th in San Francisco and Berkeley. It is especially appropriate for programs that serve older youth. We also encourage program staff to bring youth representatives. For more details, visit www.bit.ly/goldwithin2015. 

#HKL4

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

For those who are attending the How Kids Learn IV conference next week, you are invited to participate in real time through social media using the hashtag, #HKL4. Use this hashtag when posting your comments and photos. For those not attending, you can still register or peak in by clicking the hashtag on any of your social media accounts. 

Follow us on: 
- Instagram: @LIASproject
- Twitter: @LearninginAS
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/LearninginAfterschool

We interviewed our social media expert, Max Piha, and you can find his answers to a couple of our questions below. 

Q: What does the hashtag do? 

Max Piha

A: Hashtags are used to group content regarding a common topic. When clicked on, you will be taken to a feed of all other posts that include the given hashtag. For example, see the posts that included hashtag #HKL3 from last year's conference: https://twitter.com/hashtag/hkl3 - This year we want to have as many posts with #HKL4 as possible so that during and after the conference, people can go back and see who was at HKL4, who was speaking, what the workshops looked like, etc.

Q: To follow #HKL4 on Twitter, do I need a Twitter account? If so, how do I get that?  
A: You do not need a Twitter account to view the feed of all posts under the hashtag. You can just click on https://twitter.com/hashtag/hkl4 to follow the feed. But in order to add to the feed, you will need to set up an account.

Q: If I want to view photos from the HKL conference on Instagram, do I need an account or only a link? 
A: Public Instagram accounts can be seen by anyone. Take www.instagram.com/djmackswell for example. Anyone can see my profile, but in order to follow me, anyone else, leave comments, like photos, post photos etc., they will need an account.

Q: There is growing interest in using social media for non-profit work. What do you think is the most effective use?
A: I think there are a variety of uses, but most importantly, giving your organization an outward facing, fun, social appearance, plus getting in touch with partners and like-minded people and organizations/brands.

Q: If I want to use social media for my non-profit work, what questions should I consider first? 
A: Determine how much time a week are you willing to dedicate towards social media. Also, how much money, if any, are you willing to spend on advertisements or agency/consultant level help to get you started or to run completely.

____
Max Piha graduated from the University of Washington with a major in communications and a minor in Spanish. He serves as a Temescal Associate responsible for the design of our digital badges and the use of social media. Max is also a very successful club DJ, using the name DJ Mackswell, and you can view his work and hear unique mixes by going to this link: www.djmackswell.com. 

How Kids Learn IV: Character Building, Social Emotional Learning, and Educational Equity

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We are excited to see our many afterschool and summer program colleagues at the upcoming How Kids Learn IV conference. We are also excited about our many presenters and workshop leaders who will focus on character building, social emotional learning, and educational equity. 

We are pleased to announce two new speaker sessions: 

• Kwame Jerry Williams is a group facilitator, drummer, and storyteller at Alchemy, Inc. in Ohio. Jerry and Alchemy, Inc. are featured in a new documentary, Finding the Gold Within, which had its world premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Kwame Jerry Williams in Finding the Gold Within
Photo courtesy of Karina Films

• Blanca Burciaga and Benjamin Gonzalez, Jr., youth from Oakland Leaf Foundation, will offer their perspective on our topics. They will be supported by Alex Vila. 

Left: Benjamin Gonzalez, Jr. | Right: Blanca Burciaga

This conference will be attended by youth program leaders, afterschool funders, 10 of California's 11 Regional Leads, 18 staff members from the After School Division at the California Department of Education, and many more. A few tickets are still available. Visit www.howkidslearn.org to see a full list of speakers and to register for the conference. 

A Federal Study on Grit: An Interview with Researcher, Nikki Shechtman (Part 2)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Nikki Shechtman is a researcher at SRI International. She recently led a study for the Department of Education on the influence of grit, tenacity, and perseverance on learning. In addition to presenting at the How Kids Learn III conference, Nikki was interviewed for this blog. In part 1, we asked for a clear definition of terms, why study grit, and asked Nikki for a brief overview of her study. In part 2, we asked how these traits can be taught, the value of informal learning within afterschool and summer programs, examples of useful practices, and the role of mindfulness. 

Q: There are some who say these things are important, but they are inherent traits that can’t be taught. How do you respond to this?

A: I think that is not only inaccurate, but it’s also a potentially damaging perspective. There is overwhelming evidence that how persistent an individual is will depend to a great extent on the circumstances. We found research to suggest that important factors in the environment can have a huge influence on whether or not a student will persist in the face of challenges and setbacks—whether the goals are important to them, how much support they have from others around them, and whether they have the appropriate tools and skills to deal with challenges. For example, it happens all the time that the same student will persistent in one class but not another because of the way teachers make a topic interesting or connected to real life.

Nikki Shechtman

There are also many skills and psychological resources that contribute to grit, tenacity, and perseverance that can be learned and cultivated. For example, how students learn to deal with failures and what skills they have for monitoring progress and changing course when necessary, these can strongly influence how they’ll fair when the going gets tough. One of the most important research areas is around the “growth mindset,” the belief that intelligence grows with effort. There is wonderful research by Carol Dweck at Stanford University, and others, to show that not only does having a growth mindset make students more likely to persist when work gets difficult, but it’s also a mindset that can be learned.

It’s potentially damaging to look at grit, tenacity, and perseverance as inherent traits that can’t be taught. If teachers or parents believe that children are not persisting because they are just inherently lacking grit, there’s little motivation to try to understand what’s going on with the student and what changes, big or small, to the learning environment or particularly new skills might promote a different way for the student to interact with the environment. Even worse, if the child herself starts believing she just doesn’t have grit in general, it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Who wants to try to persevere in the face of challenge when they think they just aren’t capable of doing so? That’s not a good position to put a human being in.

Q: Do you think informal learning settings like afterschool and summer programs are well-suited to promote these traits? If so, why?

A: Absolutely. In Chapter 2, we lay out a model for the kinds of factors in a learning environment that can promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance. Two factors that our research suggested were important were that students have opportunities to take on worthwhile long-term goals and that they have a rigorous and supportive place to pursue them. Many informal learning settings do exactly this—whether the goal is to do something like a complex programming project, make a film, get into college, or a wide variety of others. These settings can also provide the means to help students actually accomplish these goals—through materials supports such as technologies or workspaces, human supports such as peer-based communities or adult mentors, and time to work through difficult tasks. When students have the opportunities to take on and accomplish big goals, not only do they get the satisfaction of the achievement, they also take with them the knowledge that they can do it.

A major theme that came up in our research was that informal setting can support these factors in ways that might be limited in formal settings that have more constraints (e.g., accountability and limited resources to give students individualized attention).

Q: Can you give us an example of practices that encourage the development of grit, tenacity, and/or perseverance that is relevant to afterschool workers?

A: We made some specific recommendations for practitioners based on the research. And just to be clear, we consider these promising but not proven; evidence of impact at scale is still limited. These recommendations are:

a. Educators should provide students with opportunities to take on worthwhile long-term or higher-order goals that are optimally challenging (i.e., not too easy, not too difficult) and/or aligned with the students’ own interests or values.

b. Educators should provide students with a rigorous and supportive context for pursuing these goals. They should have high expectations for students and provide encouragement and resources. They should promote collaboration and social support among students.

c. To the extent possible, educators should provide the tangible resources—materials, human support, and time—necessary to overcome challenges and accomplish their goals.

Educators can also support students in developing the psychological resources that can promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance. We found three broad categories:

a. Academic mindsets. These are how students frame themselves as learners, their learning environment, and their relationships to the learning environment. They include beliefs, attitudes, dispositions, values, and ways of perceiving oneself. There are important examples of short-term interventions that are being developed to “teach” and cultivate the most productive mindsets. Educators should first make sure that they themselves have productive mindsets, and they can learn to apply good strategies to foster them in their students.

b. Effortful control. Students are constantly faced with tasks that are important for long-term goals but that in the short term do not feel desirable or intrinsically motivating. Successful students marshal willpower and regulate their attention during such tasks and in the face of distractions. Although this can seem austere or no fun, research shows that students stronger in these skills are happier and better able to handle stress. Educators can look to examples of research and practice for how to foster these. Mindfulness practices are one example (see the question below).

c. Strategies and tactics. Students are also more likely to persevere when they can draw on specific strategies and tactics to deal with challenges and setbacks. They need actionable skills for taking responsibility and initiative and for being productive under conditions of uncertainty—for example, defining tasks, planning, monitoring, changing course of action, and dealing with specific obstacles. Educators can intentionally teach these skills as part of the work they do with students.

By the way, we also recommend that practitioners be mindful of potential risks or costs for students of pushing them in ways inappropriate for their needs. For example, persevering in the face of challenges or setbacks to accomplish goals that are extrinsically motivated, unimportant to the student, or in some way inappropriate for the student can potentially have detrimental impacts on students’ long-term retention in school, conceptual learning, and psychological well-being.

Q: Your study mentions mindfulness practice as useful. Can you say more?

A: Interesting that you should ask, because it only got one sentence in the brief but it’s actually an area of particular interest to me. In fact, I worked on a project a few years ago in which we taught mindfulness to students in an afterschool academic program.

Here’s my take. Mindfulness is a practice of learning to pay attention in the present moment nonjudgmentally. Why would you want to do that? Well, there is a huge body of research showing that people who cultivate mindfulness through practices such as meditation and yoga are better able to pay attention in the face of distraction (i.e., effortful control), are happier, are less prone to depression and anxiety, have a stronger immune system, get along with people better, and cope with serious life stresses more easily. Mindfulness helps people take difficulties in stride, to step back and problem-solve without getting as stressed out, to pause and think before engaging in conflict, and to approach challenges with curiosity instead of defeat. You can imagine the potential of these types of benefits for promoting grit, tenacity, and perseverance in the face of all kinds of challenges and setbacks!

What’s also important is that these skills are completely learnable by almost everyone, as far as I can see in the research. There are research-based programs coming out of many prestigious universities, like Stanford and Harvard, that teach these life-changing skills in a very short period of time. There are also several organizations around the country going into schools and teaching them to children at all ages and settings. Many are taking very seriously the potential of mindfulness to help develop resiliency for underserved students.

______________________

Nikki Shechtman, Ph.D. is Senior Educational Researcher at SRI International, Center for Technology in Learning. Nikki explores research-based, theory-driven approaches to understanding and improving engagement, teaching, and learning in mathematics—particularly for the most disadvantaged students. Her work has focused on productive dispositions for teaching and learning, mathematical argumentation, use of dynamic representational technology, and introducing productive playfulness into serious classrooms. Among several other projects, Nikki led a team to lead a Department of Education study entitled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance—Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century”. Her work has been published in journals in educational research, learning sciences, mathematics education, educational technology design, psychology, human-computer interaction, and play studies.

A Federal Study on Grit: An Interview with Researcher, Nikki Shechtman (Part 1)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Nikki Shechtman is a researcher at SRI International. She recently led a study for the Department of Education on the influence of grit, tenacity, and perseverance on learning. In addition to presenting at the How Kids Learn III conference, Nikki was interviewed for this blog. In part 1, we asked for a clear definition of terms, why study grit, and asked Nikki for a brief overview of her study. Practitioners should also view The 7 Habits of Happy Kids. 

In part 2, we asked how these traits can be taught, the value of informal learning within afterschool and summer programs, examples of useful practices, and the role of mindfulness. 

Q: First, can you give us a rough definition of grit, tenacity, and perseverance? And describe if and how they are different from one another. 

A: When we first started out to do our research for the Grit Brief, the first challenge we ran into was that there were so many different terms that are similar or overlapping in meaning. Researchers have actually come up with a term for this phenomenon—it’s called the “Jingle/Jangle” Problem. “Jingle” is when the same term is used to refer to different concepts, and “jangle” is when different terms are used for the same concept. And it’s actually deeper than just words, because each term comes from a particular community of practice and speaks to their needs and culture. Many terms have long traditions of research or practice behind them. Are we talking about grit, tenacity, persistence, perseverance? Or other very closely related terms like conscientiousness, engagement, agency, and resilience?

Nikki Shechtman

What we decided to do was synthesize what we saw as key facets of these terms together to develop our own working definition of “grit” that we would use throughout the brief:

Perseverance to accomplish long-term or higher-order goals in the face of challenges and setbacks, engaging students’ psychological resources, such as their academic mindsets, effortful control, and strategies and tactics.

For folks who are interested, in Chapter 2 of the brief we have a table of all these different terms and how people have defined them. It’s very interesting to look at them next to each other to see what’s similar and different. I think what they all have in common is the notion of carrying on to success in the face of challenge.


Q: Why is it important to study grit, tenacity, and perseverance?

A: This has become an important and popular focus in education. All over the country, educational, research, professional, technical, and policy communities are recognizing that children and adolescents simply must have stronger preparation for the challenges of 21st century life. Learning about the content of the disciplines is necessary, but it’s not sufficient for success in school and life. Children need skills to deal with the difficulties and challenges they face as students and will face as adults, and they need support to take on and achieve big and meaningful goals in their academic and professional lives. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this has arisen so prominently in the public discourse at a time of intense economic volatility and rapidly changing workforce needs. I also think the opportunities afforded by new and emerging technologies are opening new doors of possibility for this.

A critical need in our country, of course, is to support underserved student populations. Students dealing with conditions of poverty are especially in need of support—they can face acute challenges of stress, limited social support, lack of critical resources, and psychological disempowerment and disenfranchisement. Educators can play an important role in closing unacceptable achievement gaps and helping these students get on a positive track and hold the course to succeed at school and beyond.

But kids across the socioeconomic spectrum need to develop mature ways of dealing with challenges. All kids need to learn conceptually complex material that takes time and attention, they need to learn to persist through academic assignments that are important but not necessarily intrinsically interesting to them, and they need to be able to manage competing demands across coursework from multiple classes and extracurricular activities. Students need to learn skills for the 21st-century workplace that require complex knowledge work and collaboration. Lots of students will be preparing for STEM careers that require complicated training pathways over many years and mastery of extensive and difficult disciplinary material. And, of course, nobody is exempt from life’s random and unexpected challenges and setbacks—from illness to financial trouble to interpersonal conflict—that often need to be dealt with at the same time.

It’s an exciting and promising time. There’s growing recognition that educators can play an important role in promoting these factors for students. There’s already been a tremendous amount of research in this area. A broad range of programs in different educational settings have been implementing a variety of approaches to promoting these factors. Many foundations and federal agencies are investing resources in figuring out the best ways to do this. Also, there are many new technologies that are providing opportunities to significantly advance our capability to address these issues—there is great potential in technologies, for example, that are adaptive to student needs, help students manage their lives better, and provide access to a wealth of material and human resources over the internet. Having these resources can help students get past typical “stuck” points and move toward much bigger goals.


Q: Could you summarize your report? 

A: Here’s a quick overview of what we cover. For a summary of the major findings in each, I’d recommend reading the Executive Summary—it’s pretty short!

Chapter 1. This introductory chapter provides the broad context for what’s going on in the field right now and discusses the research methods used to develop the brief.

Chapter 2. This chapter addresses questions around theory: What are grit, tenacity, and perseverance? What are the key components of these competencies? What psychological and contextual factors support and promote them?

Chapter 3. This chapter addresses questions around measurement: How are these factors measured currently? How can they be measured in the future? How can technology provide new tools and strategies?

Chapter 4. This chapter addresses questions around existing approaches: What types of programs, approaches, and technologies have been developed to promote these factors for a wide variety of learners?

Chapter 5. This culminating chapter addresses the needs of practitioners, researchers, and policymakers: What are key conclusions and recommendations for practice, research, and policy?
______________________

Nikki Shechtman, Ph.D. is Senior Educational Researcher at SRI International, Center for Technology in Learning. Nikki explores research-based, theory-driven approaches to understanding and improving engagement, teaching, and learning in mathematics—particularly for the most disadvantaged students. Her work has focused on productive dispositions for teaching and learning, mathematical argumentation, use of dynamic representational technology, and introducing productive playfulness into serious classrooms. Among several other projects, Nikki led a team to lead a Department of Education study entitled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance—Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century”. Her work has been published in journals in educational research, learning sciences, mathematics education, educational technology design, psychology, human-computer interaction, and play studies.

How Kids Learn III: Play, Creativity, Tinkering, and the Arts

By Sam Piha

Two weeks ago we hosted our third How Kids Learn conference, which drew nearly 300 participants from the California Department of Education (CDE), local funders, and a bevy of afterschool and school day leaders. This conference focused on play, creativity, tinkering, and the arts. It was led by emcee, Lynn Johnson from Glitter & Razz Productions and featured opening remarks by Michael Funk, Director of the After School Division at CDE.  

All were inspired by the words from Dale Dougherty, Founder of the Maker Movement, who encouraged OST providers to offer activities that allow children to learn through taking things apart and build things from their imaginations. Elizabeth Rieke from the Center for Childhood Creativity cited the importance of activities that foster young people's creativity. Nikki Shechtman of SRI International shared the findings of a DOE study on grit and perseverance and talked about how programs can promote these traits. Shirin Vossoughi from the Exploratorium and Stanford  shared examples that highlight the ways educators can leverage the developmental potential of play, integrate students’ cultural and intellectual histories, and expand the meaning and purposes of STEM learning. 

There were other excellent speakers whose presentations will be available on the How Kids Learn YouTube channel in the near future. There were also six hands-on workshops that participants could choose from. Thanks to all of those that contributed to a very successful event and we look forward to our next How Kids Learn conference. 

Think Outside the Classroom

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

It wasn't long ago when we had to defend afterschool programs if they didn't raise test scores. We were told that "if it doesn't raise the test score, learning didn't happen". Some stood in opposition to this reductionistic thinking while others cowered with fear of losing funding.

Today, the clouds are parting and the pendulum has swung the other way, as educators better appreciate what afterschool and summer programs can do. This is due in part because of the failures of No Child Left Behind and new studies on the importance of social emotional skills, 21st Century learning skills, findings from neuroscience, and many other areas that show that learning is more than a test score. And the willingness to take risks, make mistakes, persevere in the face of a challenge are all important parts of learning. 

The upcoming How Kids Learn conference in October is a celebration of these developments as it focuses on the importance of play, creativity, tinkering, and the arts in children's learning. In the conference, participants can hear from the founder of the Maker Movement, educators and researchers from the Center for Childhood Creativity and the Exploratorium, and new research sponsored by the DOE on the importance of grit, perseverance, and tenacity. The conference will also sponsor breakout groups led by innovative practitioners and allowing participants to experience their techniques in a hands-on way. For more information and to register, click here. 

Moving away from the old API score and a single standardized test score to evaluate schools will be tricky. The California Board of Education and legislators in Sacramento will have to name the multiple measures that will take the place of the API ranking. For a detailed description of what has to be done and who has to do it, see this EdSource briefing here. Meanwhile, it is important that we declare what afterschool can do, hold our positions when pressure returns, and be sure that we have the quality programs that can fulfill the logical promise of afterschool and summer learning experiences. 

How Kids Learn III: Play, Creativity, Tinkering, and the Arts

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Recently, there has been an emphasis in schools on literacy and math. Much of this has been at the expense of play, creativity, and the arts. Many schools are trying to re-introduce these things through expanded learning time. Meanwhile, it is important that we recognize that play and creativity are critical to learning, and preserve these in our out-of-school time programs. 

Join us at How Kids Learn III as we hear from leading experts in the fields of neuroscience and the new science of learning on the importance of play and creativity. Learn how the Maker Movement is right for afterschool and learn from those who are using innovative learning strategies in their work with children and adolescents.

The purpose of this conference series is to expose OST stakeholders to cutting-edge thinking and research, and consider the implications for practice in afterschool and summer programming. We are hopeful that the ideas discussed in this conference will affect your thinking about youth programming as well as your personal life and well-being. This conference is intended for youth program leaders, educators, technical assistance providers, funders, and all afterschool stakeholders. Participants will have the opportunity to meet innovative practitioners and Bay Area colleagues.

Details can be found below and at this website: http://www.howkidslearn.org/.

HOW KIDS LEARN III: 

Play, Creativity, Tinkering, 

and the Arts

October 23, 2013, 8:00AM - 4:30PM

Mission Bay Conference Center

1675 Owens Street

San Francisco, CA 94158

REGISTER NOW! SPACE IS LIMITED.