The Power of Creativity and the Arts

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

Last week, I continued my annual tradition of attending the end of the year dance performance by the youth from San Francisco's School of the Arts (SOTA). I was reminded once again of the power of the arts and creativity in promoting young peoples' learning, engagement, and drive for mastery. 

In an age in which we value academic test scores and more recently, STEM, so highly, the importance of creativity and the arts gets the short end of the stick. Afterschool and summer programs are the perfect place to foster creativity, and we should be ready with pride to defend these activities. In a series of upcoming blog posts, we will explore this with interviews with local artists, art teachers, and young people who have much to say on this topic. Below are five of the top ten skills that young people learn from the arts. For the complete list of skills, see the link further below.

The Top Ten Skills Children Learn From the Arts

By Lisa Phillips

1. Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’ will distinguish your child from others. In an arts program, your child will be asked to recite a monologue in 6 different ways, create a painting that represents a memory, or compose a new rhythm to enhance a piece of music. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.

2. Confidence – The skills developed through theater, not only train you how to convincingly deliver a message, but also build the confidence you need to take command of the stage. Theater training gives children practice stepping out of their comfort zone and allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in rehearsal. This process gives children the confidence to perform in front of large audiences.

3. Problem Solving – Artistic creations are born through the solving of problems. How do I turn this clay into a sculpture? How do I portray a particular emotion through dance? How will my character react in this situation? Without even realizing it kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems. All this practice problem solving develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding. This will help develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career.

4. Perseverance – When a child picks up a violin for the first time, she/he knows that playing Bach right away is not an option; however, when that child practices, learns the skills and techniques and doesn’t give up, that Bach concerto is that much closer. In an increasingly competitive world, where people are being asked to continually develop new skills, perseverance is essential to achieving success.

5. Focus – The ability to focus is a key skill developed through ensemble work. Keeping a balance between listening and contributing involves a great deal of concentration and focus. It requires each participant to not only think about their role, but how their role contributes to the big picture of what is being created. Recent research has shown that participation in the arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.

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To read more articles and studies on the importance of creativity and the arts in youth development, click on the titles to view:

- Video: Ken Robinson says Schools Kill Creativity

- Article: Does Arts Education Matter? 

- Article: Top 10 Skills Children Learn From the Arts 

- Article: Arts Engagement Linked to Academic, Civic Benefits 

- Article: The Relevance of Creativity in Education 

- Online Resource: Creativity Culture & Education

   

A Conversation with UCI Professor and OST Researcher, Deborah Vandell

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In late 2012 and early 2013, we conducted a number of videotaped interviews with educational and out-of-school experts on the Learning in Afterschool & Summer learning principles. These taped sessions included interviews with Deborah Vandell, State Superintendent Tom Torlakson, neurologist Judy Willis, youth development specialist Karen Pittman, Professor Pedro Noguera, two Bay Area school principals, CDE After School Division Director Michael Funk, and others. These videos will be excellent training tools and will be made available very shortly. The videos were shot by youth videographers and produced by Temescal Associates.

Below is a portion of an interview with UCI Professor and OST researcher, Deborah Vandell. To view two short videotapes of our conversation, click here.

Q: The LIAS learning principles were not intended to apply to strictly afterschool settings. In your experience as an educator and researcher, how are these principles, when taken together, relevant to young people’s learning? 

A: I think that the learning principles in after school and summer really get at the core of learning for students - starting in early childhood, going through to university. So if we think about those core principles, the first is active. We know that young people learn by being active. Many years ago, Piaget started talking about the key to learning being children’s activity. It’s in the context of activity that children and young people develop new skills.  

A second principle is the principle of collaboration. And this is also very important. The most influential of the psychologists would be Vygotsky, who talked to us about collaboration, and that children really learn through what we call the zone of proximal development. What young people can do alone is not as advanced as what they can do with others in a group.  So in a group where they’re collaborating, we're able to actually move them into that zone to develop their skills further.  

A third principle, really important within the learning and after school framework, is that learning needs to be meaningful, it needs to be embedded in activities that are important for young people. When I think about the importance of it being meaningful, what really comes to mind is the work of Reed Larson, who did some really important work looking at development of initiative and engagement. What he found is that when young people are in school, what they often are doing is putting forth a lot of effort, but they’re not really motivated - its not something they really care about. What happens in afterschool activities, when they’re really working, when they’re active, they’re choosing those activities and they are also focused on them, it’s the best combination for learning that is meaningful.  

The fourth principle is that programs and activities should be working towards mastery.  Now the striving towards mastery is not an activity that you can do in one day, in half a day, its really an activity that you’re building over time.  When you’re building for a concert, you're practicing, you're developing those skills. When you are getting out to put together a newspaper, when you’re planning a play, which is a complex activity, it gives young people a chance to put those skills together. Notice many of them are also working with others in a group, often with a culminating event. Jacqueline Echols, in a very important book on the role of positive youth settings for development, as part of the National Academy of Science report back in 2002, talked about this learning to support mastery as a key element to support positive youth development.  

And then the fifth principle is that of expanding horizons. Our young people live in a global society. Our young people are living in a society in which science is becoming increasingly important, mathematics and those activities have to really happen in context.  Part of what students can do in afterschool and in summer, in really fine programs, is that we can expand the horizons, beyond where they are in this moment in time.

(This is only an excerpt of our complete interview. To view a complete videotaped interview, click here.)
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Deborah Vandell is a Professor of Education and Psychology and Dean of the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine, discusses the relevance of the Learning in Afterschool and Summer Principles. Ms. Vandell has longstanding interests in three areas: (1) early child care and education - its effects on children's social, cognitive, and behavioral development and strategies for improving the quality of early care and education, (2) after school programs and activities - their impact on children and youth and strategies for improving the quality of after-school programs, and (3) children's relationships with peers, parents, siblings, teachers, and mentors as developmental and educational contexts.

How Summer Learning Strengthens Students' Success

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

We know from research that summer learning loss suffered by kids who do not have access to engaging summer programs is significant. Public Profit, an evaluation and technical assistance firm, has just released their findings on the benefits that children accrued by participating in pilot summer programs across the state. This publication also identified features of quality programs, which are well-aligned with the learning principles promoted by the Learning in Afterschool & Summer project. 

Below is a partial list of benefits that were found and a citing of quality program features. As positive evidence about the effectiveness of summer learning programs mount, so must our advocacy efforts to increase young people's access to these programs. To read a full copy of the executive summary, click here. To access the full report, click here. 

Key findings include:

• Students ended the summer with vocabulary skills much closer to their grade level, increasing their instructional grade level by over 1/3 of a grade. 

• English language learners demonstrated significant increases in their grade-level vocabulary, a gateway to English language fluency. 

• Parents reported that their kids improved their attitude towards reading (68%) and reading ability (62%). 

• Overall, 86% of parents reported the summer programs gave their kids opportunities to develop leadership skills. 

• Parents and educators emphasized summer learning programs’ critical role in providing students with new experiences and opportunities – such as field trips and community service projects – that they do not have during the school year. 

• Students in Fresno and Los Angeles summer learning programs reported improved academic work habits and reading efficacy, both key contributors to academic achievement. 

Elements of high quality summer learning:

• Broadens kids’ horizons – by exposing them to new adventures, skills and ideas. These could be activities like going on a nature walking, using a new computer program, giving a presentation, visiting a museum or attending a live performance.  

• Includes a wide variety of activities – such as reading, writing, math, science, arts and public service projects – in ways that are fun and engaging. 

• Helps kids build skills – by helping them improve at doing something they enjoy and care about. This could be anything from creating a neighborhood garden, to writing a healthy snacks cookbook to operating a robot. 

• Fosters cooperative learning – by working with their friends on team projects and group activities such as a neighborhood clean-up, group presentation or canned food drive. 

• Promotes healthy habits – by providing nutritious food, physical recreation and outdoor activities. 

• Lasts at least one month – giving kids enough time to benefit from their summer learning experiences. 

To learn more about the Summer Matters initiative, click here.

Promoting Grit and Delayed Gratification

Titus Dalisay

We received the following message and article from one of our followers, which we print below. 

My name is Titus and I am an avid reader of Learning in After School & Summer. I loved reading your articles there and since your blog are also about education and learning I thought I'd share this article that my colleague wrote about, Promoting Grit and Delayed Gratification in the Classroom. 

Thanks. Titus Dalisay,

Community Outreach Specialist, Open Colleges

Promoting Grit and Delayed Gratification in the ClassroomI

In psychology, intelligence is not the primary predictor of success. It is the ability to persevere in hardship, persist and learn after failure, and have a resilient spirit in the face of obstacles. Intelligence is a gift that can be developed and nurtured, but continuing on a difficult path when the gratification is far away? That is an invaluable skill for all of us to learn.

Even though resilience is partly a genetic trait, you can teach this skill in the classroom. It is imperative that you do, because many lessons and concepts require days, weeks, and months of practice before your student will feel that warm feeling of satisfaction. In a world filled with streaming Internet and fast food joints on every corner, you’re going to have to deliberately make it a topic point.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

1. End of the day reward

Set up simple (and frequent) opportunities for your students to practice delayed gratification. If you have young children in the classroom, it can be something as simple as an end-of-the-day reward. If your students had a good day, offer them a token that goes towards a free homework pass (10 tokens = pass). Most kids will want to take that token and start building their cash flow, but offer something a bit better if they wait.

For example, if they forfeit the free homework pass each day for a week, at the end of the week, the kids who did get an extra 15 minutes of recess. You’ll quickly see who likes the immediate gratification and who is willing to wait it out.

2. Visual savings

Use a jar of marbles or some sort of visual so your students can watch it get filled up as they perform tasks, help each other, and showcase good behavior. A full jar can equal an ice cream party or some other special reward.

3. Math fact practice

If your goal as a teacher is to have your student fill out 100 multiplication facts in five minutes, use it as an opportunity to teach resilience. Rather than waiting until you’re sure they can meet the goal easily, set up a chart for practice and growth. Explain to them that you don’t expect them to meet the goal, but to simply record the time it takes to do the 100 problems.

First time around, it may take the student 15 minutes. Have him/her write it in the chart. Each day or week, have them redo the exercise and record the time – watching as it slowly gets lower and lower as the days pass. When he/she finally reaches that 5-minute mark, there will be tremendous sense of accomplishment.

4. Break down big projects

First, you need to make sure your students are engaged in a long-term project. Just like running, athletes train very differently for a sprint than a marathon. The long project will help them to learn about process, mini-goals, and step-by-step persistence to a final destination.

5. Give an assignment that isn’t meant to have a perfect ending

In other words, once in awhile it will benefit your students to give them a problem or worksheet that they cannot complete perfectly. Warn them ahead of time that the goal of this exercise is simply to try – not to succeed. At the end, hand out a reward or grade that is dependent on their effort, not the aptitude.

6. Group assignments

Nothing promotes learning how to “grit your teeth” and get through it more than group work. In these situations, kids must not only produce a product or presentation, they must also learn to work with other students and use teamwork to accomplish the goal.

7. Create a classroom bank

If you have the time and motivation to set up a classroom bank, you can teach all sorts of delayed gratification lessons. In one corner of the room, set up a store. You can sell homework passes, pencils, Chapstick, etc. Each child starts out the year with a certain amount of classroom cash. They can earn more throughout the year doing various things, but as you add new and better “items” in your store, the students will have to forgo the immediate reward in order to save up for the item they really want.

8. Use educational simulation computer games

The Oregon Trail is a classic example of this type of game. You have to get your family to the West Coast safely, and budget your supplies and money accordingly. The same principle works in games like SimCity, where the student is master over a domain and must learn how to manage his/her resources.

9. Group competitions

If you have the students’ desks arranged in groups, have them participate in friendly competitions. For example, to encourage healthy snacking, have each team earn a point every day the whole group brings in a healthy snack. The reward will be something that happens in the future (like an ice cream party or movie). In this case, students will have to be mindful of their snack each morning at home when they pack it.

10. Offer positive distractors to help during difficult tasks

During long state mandated testing or big tests, offer the students the chance to chew gum, something that isn’t normally allowed but might help with focus and/or concentration. The same goes for listening to music in earbuds (provided you can trust them to not cheat).

11. Play-it-out visual exercises

When children can imagine and follow through with a scenario in the mind, it is easier to make a decision that delays gratification. For example, if you are offering a child a free recess instead of a chip in a jar, walk through with them how it will feel on that day when the sun is beating on their arms and the smell of fresh grass signals spring. Engage the senses so they have motivation to wait it out.

12. Delayed gratification in physical education

Sports like golf and cross-country running help develop an appreciation for long-term rewards.

13. Write down goals and hang them up

If the children have a concrete reminder of what it is they are reaching for, they are more likely to wait it out. When you are helping your students assess their goals, have them decorate a paper and keep it in front of the room or in their cubby. It should be seen daily.

14. When a student doesn’t show grit, offer a time of reflection

Help him/her to see how it feels when the immediate reward wears off. Usually a disappointment sets in because it wasn’t part of the ultimate goal. If they can remember that feeling, it might deter them in the future.

15. Avoid the “all or nothing” disease

Children can see things in black and white. If they haven’t gotten a 100 on a test, it might as well be a zero. It helps to model a positive attitude of progress. Getting some right is better than nothing.

16. Don’t test willpower to the point of exhaustion

These sorts of activities mentioned above must be balanced with positive reinforcement. Just like dieting can induce binge eating, you want to make sure the stress isn’t going to lead to a pendulum swing in the opposite direction. A good mixture of delayed and immediate rewards are the best way to keep a student motivated.

Julie DeNeen

About Julie DeNeen

Julie DeNeen has her bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Haven. She spent several years working for a local Connecticut school at the district level, implementing new technologies to help students and teachers in the classroom. She also taught workshops to teachers about the importance of digital student management software, designed to keep students, parents, and teachers connected to the learning process.

You can find out more about her @jdeneen4 and Google+.

Cited From: http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/16-ways-to-promote-grit-and-delayed-gratification-in-the-classroom/#ixzz2QpomBKt1

Provide Input on California's New Afterschool Quality Standards

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha,
Quality Standards
Work Group Member

The California Work Group on Quality Standards is drafting recommendations for statewide program quality standards to submit to the CDE After School Division in June.  We have drafted all 11 standards which are awaiting your input here. The Learning in Afterschool & Summer learning principles were very influential and are well-represented in the standards.

The draft standards are shown below. I hope you will take a few minutes to add your ideas and perspectives to this next step of our work.  Your input is critically important to setting the vision and expectations for after school and summer programs across the state.  Thanks!  

Here are the 11 standards – provide your input here 

Clear vision, mission and purpose: The program has clearly defined vision, mission, goals, and measurable outcomes that are shared and supported by stakeholders, and are understood and used by the program at all levels to drive program design, implementation and improvement.

Safe and supportive climate:  The program provides a safe and nurturing environment that supports the developmental, emotional and mental health needs of all students.

Active and engaged learning:  Program design and youth activities reflect active, meaningful, and engaging learning methods that expand student horizons.

Skill building:  The program maintains high expectations for all students, intentionally links program goals and curricula with development of 21st-century skills and designs activities to help students achieve mastery.

Youth voice and leadership: The program provides and supports intentional opportunities for youth to play a meaningful role in program design and implementation, and sustains youth access to authentic leadership roles.

Healthy choices and behaviors:  The program provides all students with the opportunity to learn about and practice healthy eating, and physical activity in an environment that supports a healthy life style.

Quality Staff:  The program recruits and retains high quality staff and volunteers who are focused on creating a positive learning environment, and provides on going performance feedback and continuous professional learning experiences.

Diversity, Access and Equity: The program policies, procedures and services create an environment that values and embraces diversity and equity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age , income level, national origin, physical ability, sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.

Collaborative relationships:  The program intentionally builds and leverages collaborative relationships among internal and external stakeholders to achieve program goals.

Continuous quality improvement:  The program continuously utilizes a variety of information to improve its outcomes and the quality of its design, activities, and management.

Program management and sustainability: Program has sound fiscal and administrative practices supported by well-defined and documented policies and procedures that meet grant requirements and support sustainability.

For more information, go to the California Afterschool Network's website by clicking here.

New Glossary of Terms for Afterschool and Summer Programs

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There are a growing number of important terms that are used in the expanding field of out-of-school learning. In this glossary, the LIAS project lists some of these terms and offer working definitions. It should be noted that sometimes terms have different definitions depending on the user, organization or the geographic location in which it is used.

This glossary is a wiki-like effort with contributions coming from a number of programs across the country. If you would like to see us add a term, you can send the term and definition to spiha@temescalassociates.com. We will periodically expand the glossary and reissue it to the field. Definitions, which are taken directly from other sources, are noted and the references can be found in the endnotes. 

To download this glossary, click here. You can find other valuable resources by clicking here.

An Interview with California Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

In early 2013, the Learning in Afterschool & Summer project conducted a video interview with California's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, to gather his views on the LIAS learning principles and his vision of afterschool and summer programs. Below are excerpts from that interview. 

Q: We are focusing our efforts on the idea of improving our approaches to how children learn. While these are related to what we know about youth development, we have chosen to stay close to the research on learning since many of our stakeholders and partners are educators. Do you see this as an important shift in talking about afterschool and summer programs? 

Tom Torlakson

A: There’s a shift occurring in afterschool and summer programs towards incorporating more hands-on learning, discovery, and looking at the new STEM opportunities. We can incorporate some of these principles of engagement, and add excitement by having students learning in teams, collaborating, and doing experiments together. Because it’s hands-on, it’s something they’re going to remember longer and have fun doing.

Q: Could you say a little bit about your vision of afterschool and its value in promoting academic and broader youth development?

A: Afterschool and summer programs are expanded learning opportunities. They are fantastic for our students in California. It helps them get deeper into the subject matter, it helps them explore areas that they don’t normally have a chance during the regular school day to explore.  Afterschool programs have always been a safe place for kids to go after school and a place where they can finish their homework.  But now we envision afterschool and summer programs as a way to really expand learning time.

Q: How are these LIAS principles related to what we are doing in school reform efforts?

A: One of the greatest things about these new principles around our afterschool and summer programs, is that they fit right in with the transformation of education during the school day.  We have new national standards in mathematics, science, and in language arts, calling for deeper and more critical thinking. Some call them “21st century learning skills”. Also, the call for more hands-on learning is in keeping with the transformation of the classrooms during the day. We’ll be seeing more emphasis on the hands-on experimenting, exploring, and discovering on their own, as part of problem solving, hands-on activities.

Q: Can you speak to one or more of these principles that most resonate for you when you think about creating learning environments and activities for kids?  

A: More meaningful learning can occur in our afterschool and in our summer programs when the learning is relevant and connects that student to real world experiences. This expands their horizons, their opportunities, as well as their time in learning. It connects to them personally in a greater way and connects them to other students, resulting in a deeper and richer learning experience that will last.

Q: Afterschool settings often offer opportunities for informal learning that is not structured in a way that we see in traditional classrooms. Can you say something about the importance of inquiry and discovery that is led by the child? 

A: As a science teacher, the expanded learning opportunities through quality afterschool and summer program learning is fascinating in terms of how it can connect to an individual student. It can give them the chance to explore things, to discover through hands-on, problem solving activities in a way that they normally don’t during the regular school day.

LIAS and Recent Trends in Education and OST (Part 2)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There are several new trends or movements as stakeholders look to improve the quality of formal education and learning outside of the classroom. They include the topics of school reform, Common Core Standards, extended learning opportunities, program quality measurement, STEM, 21st century learning skills, and social-emotional learning (SEL). We will dedicate this second blog post to briefly name and describe four more important trends and on the relevance of the LIAS learning principles according to leaders in each of these movements: 



OST PROGRAM QUALITY MEASUREMENT: Given the large federal and state investments in afterschool and summer programs, there has been a call to promote the quality of these programs. To this end, many organizations have developed tools and instruments to gauge the level of quality. The LIAS project conducted a crosswalk between leading quality measurement tools and the LIAS learning principles. This work revealed a high correlation between what the LIAS project calls for and what these instruments measured in the name of quality.   The one LIAS principle that was underrepresented in the program quality tools we examined was: expanding the horizons of program participants. 

Bill Fennessy

“The LIAS principles speak directly to the components required to create a quality instructional delivery framework.  When implemented, programs can truly engage the youth of today.  While many successful afterschool and summer programs already embody and demonstrate the LIAS principles, these principles now being clearly identified, defined, and articulated, will provide for an understandable and intentional approach to attain successful quality programming across the field.  In addition, the LIAS principles provide a common language for the field of afterschool that has been up until now missing and desperately needed.  I have personally seen the LIAS principles easily taught to line staff, which might not have been intuitive to them previously. I have witnessed the empowering affect it has had on them, resulting in improved program quality.  The LIAS principles have also given them the ability to understand for themselves, and communicate with others, their vital role and the value of afterschool and summer programming.”  - Bill Fennessy, THINK Together



STEM: There is a growing movement to increase young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  However, STEM activities are meant to be more than just content – they need to be designed to motivate and excite young people so that they will be tempted to pursue STEM activities and eventual careers beyond the life of any one activity or program.

“At the Coalition for Science After School, we find that there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding as to what high-quality STEM programming afterschool means. But once we apply LIAS principles to examine science afterschool, we can quickly identify what quality should look like and which promising practices we should support that may lead to increased youth interest and engagement in STEM. 

Carol Tang

LIAS principles outline the program characteristics most likely to foster scientific inquiry and sense-making in youth and help them recognize the relevance of science and technology to their future. LIAS principles help clarify what high-quality science in out-of-school settings should look like and makes STEM accessible to youth development and afterschool staff.  What I like best about LIAS is that it allows OST professionals to view STEM as a way to achieve their youth outcomes using existing best practices in youth development--science afterschool is seen as part of good youth development, rather than an added burden on afterschool program staff.”    - Carol Tang, Coalition for Science After School


21st CENTURY LEARNING SKILLS: In order for young people to be competitive in a knowledge-based economy of the 21st century, they need to learn to collaborate with others and connect through technology. The 21st century skills are broken into several categories:

• Ways of thinking - Creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and learning
• Ways of working - Communication and collaboration
• Tools for working - Information and communications technology (ICT) and information literacy
• Skills for living in the world - Citizenship, life and career, and personal and social responsibility

Bernie Trilling

According to Bernie Trilling, Global Director at Oracle Education Foundation and co-author of 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times, “The five Learning in Afterschool & Summer principles are perfectly aligned with a 21st century learning approach – active, meaningful, collaborative learning projects that provide opportunities to expand one’s horizons and master important knowledge and skills – this is the heart of 21st century learning.” 


SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL): SEL helps young people develop the skills to handle themselves and their relationships. These are also important skills for the workplace. They include recognizing and managing emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically. “They are the skills that allow children to calm themselves when angry, make friends, resolve conflicts respectfully, and make ethical and safe choices.”  According to research, having these skills are related to more positive youth outcomes including academic outcomes.   

Joseph Durlak

“The LIAS principles of collaboration, meaningfulness, and expanded horizons are each consistent with the types of skills that compose SEL such as skills relating to managing one’s emotions, developing and maintaining satisfactory relationships with others, and enhancing self-awareness.  In general, the LIAS principles and the five SEL domains allows flexibility and adaptations to occur for work with different types of youth at different developmental stages, and with different needs and interests.” - Joseph Durlak, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology, Loyola University, Chicago

LIAS and Recent Trends in Education and OST (Part 1)

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

There are several new trends or movements as stakeholders look to improve the quality of formal education and learning outside of the classroom. They include the topics of school reform, Common Core Standards, extended learning opportunities, program quality measurement, STEM, 21st century learning skills, and social-emotional learning (SEL). We will use the next two blog posts to briefly name and describe these important trends and on the relevance of the LIAS learning principles according to leaders in each of these movements: 

Pedro Noguera

SCHOOL REFORM: Beyond the discussions of how to change the structural elements of school, nearly everyone is talking about making learning more engaging. The LIAS learning principles serves as a clear guide on how to change our teaching methods to greatly increase the motivation and interest of young people involved in learning activities.

 “If you don't find a way to make learning matter to students then much of what the adults are trying to do in school reform, will fail.” – Pedro Noguera, NYU


COMMON CORE STANDARDS: The Common Core Standards were developed by the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. They have been adopted by 46 states, and focus on “fewer standards at a deeper level than do many of the models used in the past. The standards also emphasize higher order thinking skills; that is, they focus more on demonstrating understanding of content and analyzing written materials rather than on memorizing specific content.” Many of those working to draw a link between learning outside of the classroom point to the Habits of Mind, which focus on “knowledge, skills, and dispositions that operate in tandem with the academic content in the standards… and offer a portrait of students who, upon graduation, are prepared for college, career, and citizenship.”  

Deborah Vandell

According to Deborah Vandell, Founding Dean of the School of Education at UC Irvine, “Much of the school day is really spent in learning a set of material, so we’re going to need to get away from that.  Now part of the Common Core Standards is really pointing in this direction, of problem based learning, working in teams, a more sequential and deeper learning. I think that afterschool programs and summer learning, are about the same things, and I think we are going to be able to help schools see some new ways of learning.”

Elizabeth Devaney

“I think the LIAS principles are complementary, if not completely aligned with the Common Core. They represent the kind of teaching that will be necessary in order for students to achieve the Common Core. The main difference is that the LIAS principles really address the how of teaching and the Common Core is more focused on the what. But absolutely, teachers will need to shift their instruction to more closely match the LIAS principles in order for students to develop habits of mind and master the content standards.” - Elizabeth Devaney, Forum for Youth Investment


EXTENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES (ELO): There is a growing call for schools to offer or link to extended learning opportunities for young people. For some, this movement represents lengthening the school day and increasing time on task or seat time. We join the many others who believe that we must be creative and flexible in our teaching methods in order to increase engagement and draw on community organizations and resources outside of school to fulfill any promise of ELO. 

Jennifer Davis

“A whole-school re-design, built upon a platform of expanded time, enables educators the opportunity to introduce fresh methods of teaching and learning. We are seeing many examples of hands on learning, deeper science experimentation, mastery around music and the arts across a number of expanded-time schools which align very well with the LIAS vision.” - Jennifer Davis, Co-Founder and President, The National Center on Time & Learning

Jennifer Peck

“The Learning in Afterschool & Summer effort is perfectly aligned and perfectly timed with the federal policy conversation around extended learning.  The LIAS principles and language support the very critical task of helping decision makers at all levels understand that after school programs are a place of learning, are worthy of continued and strengthened investments, and can be the foundation for new and innovative models of teaching and learning.” – Jennifer Peck, Partnership for Children and Youth