New World Kids at School Brochure



Click here to download the New World Kids at School brochure.

Key ideas in New World Kids at School

As promised, here's the introductory text and a few excerpts from our new teachers' guide to New World Kids. We hope this will inspire you to purchase both books, for yourself or a teacher in your life.  From Dr. Cynthia Herbert.

New World Kids is an educational approach based on decades of applied research with young
people of all ages, and supported by current brain research and cognitive studies. The approach is
compatible with the theory of multiple intelligences and the tenets of differentiated instruction.
Programs based on this approach are founded on specific beliefs and meet specific criteria:

• Learning should be learner-centered. In education, the development of individual potential
should be foremost, rather than the imposition of a body of knowledge. This emphasis will
also lead to deeper and more sustained learning across the curriculum.

• Creativity is "basic." Perhaps even more important than the three R's is the ability to create a
meaningful life and deal with an unknown future. Creative thinking is not just the domain of
an elite group, but can be developed and nurtured in all young people

• The Sensory Alphabet provides a powerful language for learning. Even in a digital age,
external information still comes into the human mind through the senses. This alphabet
provides a way to characterize both individual creative strengths as well as the forms that
result from creative thinking.

Inside New World Kids at School

Here are some inside pages from New World Kids at School. Three of these spreads are also on the main page for the teachers' guide. While the text isn't quite readable in the format, you can get the look of the book, and I'll post some textual excerpts in the next few blog posts.

A Cognitive Autobiography, part 2

 

A study of a shell by an adult participant in one of our training programs.

By Dr. Cynthia Herbert

NOTE from the Authors: Dr. Cynthia Herbert is our Learning About Learning Colleague and partner in New World Kids teacher training programs. She has authored a "cognitive autobiography" that traces a number of the core ideas in New World Kids, The Parents' Guide to Creative Thinking. We will excerpt her essay with a continuing series from her writing. Her essay explains the how and when and where of the origin of many of the ideas that form the foundation of our new book. Susie Monday was also a student at the Baylor Children's Theater, while Susan Marcus was in the "sister" program at the Dallas Children's Theater and both shared many of Dr. Herbert's pedagogical and creative experiences.

Part Two continues from an earlier post about Cindy's childhood experiences:

Another feature of the program at Baylor Children's Theater, are what I would now call a variety of cognitive scripts or process schemas. Some of these included:

Idea hunts.
Sometimes we would literally "hunt" for ideas in the world around us. Before setting out to a locale, preparations would be made. For example, if we were going to the railroad tracks to find "beautiful trash," we needed to decorate "Idea Sacks" in which to store our individual finds. If we were going "People Watching," we would need interview questions and/or a sketchpad and markers. If we were going to search for "lines"—in the trees or in a museum—we would create "lookers" of various kinds (perhaps just a rolled piece of paper) to help us frame the interesting lines we found. Students routinely kept sketchbooks, diaries, and physical collections of objects to inspire their thinking.

Simulations.
Especially when exploring history or other cultures, we would be involved in imaginative re-creations. For example, to understand Greek theater, we traveled to Baylor's football stadium (to mimic ancient amphitheaters). Half of the students went high up in the bleachers while the rest attempted to convey ideas and emotions to them from the playing field without screaming. By contrast, medieval drama was better understood through this exercise: three students were asked to dramatize a scene. One of them would rob a goat from the other and a chase would ensue—however—all the action had to take place within a circle about 4' in diameter. These simulations helped us understand, not just in words, but also in muscles and senses, the "elements of form" most characteristic of each type of historical drama.

The Study.
The elements of form (aka Sensory Alphabet) as well as other viewpoints were used as perspectives from which to explore a given subject in depth. The focus of the study could be the elements of form themselves (such as "light"), a product (such as Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland), a question (such as "What are social codes?"), an abstract idea (such as "Our America") or something as concrete as a rock or a horse. Often the study not only involved observation or research, but "what if..." thinking as well. (What if steel disappeared from the world? How would grass look to us if we were ants? What if chickens laid shapes instead of eggs? What if the characters in Alice in Wonderland were compared to "cliques" and individuals in today's world?) The study ended with each individual defining the focus of the study in their own terms—through words, paint, dance, music, etc. Sometimes the student was asked to assume an intrapersonal viewpoint; e.g., "I am water..." "I am America..." "I am light..."

An example: "The Horse." Students were told to imagine they were cave-dwelling people who had come to a new territory. Into this territory would come a strange new animal they had never seen before. Their task was to explore the sensory qualities of this animal and then create paintings to express what they had learned. Then an animal trainer would bring in a real horse and walk the horse in a slow circle. Small groups at a time were given safety instructions, then invited to touch the velvet nose, muscular flanks, and stiff hair of the strange animal. All students were asked to notice the movement, rhythm, sounds and other elements of form of the animal. After a period of exploration, the horse was led away. Children were then given paintbrushes on poles, sheets hung as canvasses and saturated colors of paint to express "the horse" visually. Students could also use other media, work alone or together, and represent abstractedly or realistically. This particular study served to provide a model for future studies and sometimes led into an investigation of the birth of art, dance, and drama.

On the college level at Baylor University, and later, at Trinity University in San Antonio, the course "Integration of Abilities" was offered to students in any discipline. Part of this course was the "study" of an inanimate object. Each student spent 6-8 weeks exploring one natural object of their own choice: rock, twig, leaf, shell, bone, feather, etc. During this time, they drew and painted hundreds of pictures of its colors, shapes and lines, made collages to reflect its textures, and made lists of words to describe its other elements of form. The words were further transformed into movement, music or sound pieces, and finally into characters to dramatize. At the end of the course, all products were presented and displayed—the visual products simultaneously—as Paul Baker and his staff, including Jearnine Wagner, discussed the unique qualities (Sensory Alphabet) in the creativity of each student. Through intense study of an object, each student ended up studying themselves and understanding more about their personal elements of form. The diversity was often startling—and, afterward, many students actually made major alterations in the direction of their careers.

Teachers used cognitive scripts, too; especially: priming—invention—reflection As one of the teachers, I followed this process of thinking in my lesson planning:

What priming experiences would help diverse students be able to invent successfully?
Given the objectives of a particular lesson, what would a student need to invent in order to demonstrate understanding, application, and/or personal meaning?
What reflection questions can I provide afterward that will help students not only meet the objectives of the lesson, but also understand better the quality of their own thinking?

Summer Programs at the Aldrich

Here's the latest about NWK summer programs at the Aldrich Contemporary Museum in Connecticut. Co-author Susan Marcus will be on hand to lead the new program for 'tweens-- Think Like a Planet -- with help the second week from Susie Monday. Aldrich staff, trained by Marcus, Monday and colleague Dr. Cynthia Herbert will produce the third-year of New World Kids summer program for 5 and 6 year olds.

Here's what the Aldrich has to say:

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum: Calendar of Events: Think Like a Planet

Monday, August 3
Monday to Friday, August 3 to 14. 1 to 5 pm
Non-member registration begins March 15.

Ages 11 and 12
Plus three special events for parents
(Program fee: $690 Family member; $750 non-members, including a half-price Family
membership)
Think Like a Planet 2009 yearbook: $35 (optional)

Exclusive offer for Aldrich members—New World Kids and the new Think Like a Planet are being offered to members only until March 15. These innovative summer programs promote creative thinking—New World Kids for five and six year olds, and Think Like a Planet for eleven-and twelve-year-olds. There are only twelve spots available in each program, and last year’s places went quickly,
so sign up before this program is opened to the public!

The Museum believes in the importance of developing programs that prepare young minds
to learn and grow in a future that will require new kinds of literacies. Think Like a Planet
builds on the foundation of the New World Kids program, proven to engage children with
the creative thinking processes, the capacity to invent with many media, the ability to
think across disciplines, and the reliance on (and joy in) the imagination.

These skills are taught through what Susan Marcus calls The Sensory Alphabet: the
building blocks of creative literacy. The Sensory Alphabet is the basis of our sensory
connection to the world—line, color, texture, movement, sound, rhythm, space, light, and
shape. Experimenting with these elements will multiply a student’s repertoire of ways to
symbolize, understand, and communicate ideas. For even in a digital age, external
information comes into the human mind through the senses. The first week will
concentrate on gaining the fundamentals of The Sensory Alphabet.

During the second week, TLAP students will try out the thinking skills that are the
foundation for the digital media that resonates with their individual strengths. We will
work with sound and music, motion and video, graphics and photography, and social
networking media. Guided by experts, they will practice the creative process within the
medium, collecting ideas, playing and creating a project that will ultimately add up to an
original group presentation. Along the way, we will be collecting ideas and information
from children around the world to add to the work.

As with New World Kids, the involvement of parents is a key aspect. Prior to its start,
Susan Marcus and Aldrich educators will meet with parents to discuss the cognitive
research that went into the design of the program and to learn about some of the
individual characteristics of each child. At the end of the first week, the educators will
organize an informal exhibition, which will include the students’ work and documentation
of both the students’ and teachers’ reflections on their creative strengths. The final
collaborative presentation at the end of the second week is an opportunity for friends and
family to witness the creative potential of the group in action.

For more information, or to register for the program, contact Nina Carlson at The Aldrich,
203.438.4519 ex. 19; ncarlson@aldrichart.org
See the full calendar


The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
Tel 203.438.4519, Fax 203.438.0198, www.aldrichart.org