Club Read: Color My World
"Color My World" Booklists
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Research
The study of visual arts, music, dance, and theater positively affects learning speed, comprehension, and knowledge application, according to researchers (Eloquent Evidence: Arts at the Core of Learning) and an investigation into brain functions of students who studied the arts concluded there were major advantages in basic curriculum comprehension (Learning, Arts, And The Brain; The Dana Consortium Report on Arts and Cognition). Cognitive learning, especially in the core areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and language study, is clearly enhanced by arts study, according to the same research.
Actor Tim Daly, co-president of the Creative Coalition, a non-profit public advocacy organization for arts and entertainment, gave a report on this topic before the Committee on Education and Labor of the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2009. After touching on how the arts have affected his own extended family of professional artists and entertainers-"we owe everything to the arts and our pursuit of artistic expression"-he went on to discuss the broader economic impact of the arts on such seemingly unrelated areas as engineering, technology, and manufacturing.
As an example, Daly cited the estimated 14,000 jobs and $753 million in wages created in the United States by work on the Apple iPod in 2006 alone-all for a device whose purpose is to meet the demand for portable, accessible music. "Without art," Daly said, "there would be no iPod."
What educator wouldn't want to take advantage of these findings? You can help your students improve their cognitive learning skills and increase their interest in the arts with Perma-Bound Books. Choose a level above to view suggested titles.