Dennis Regling has been presenting Science, Math and Character Education programs in schools for 14 years. His shows combine theater, music, puppets and unusual visual aids to present ideas and methods in a understandable and memorable manner.
No Child Left Behind reaffirms the arts as a “core academic subject” that all schools should teach. It puts the arts on equal footing with the other designated core subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, history and geography. And it paves the way for the arts to be recognized both as a serious subject in its own right and as a part of a proven strategy to improve student performance in the other core subjects.
By including different art forms in his programs, Dennis has produced cultural arts programs that blend the arts with the sciences for an engaging educational experience for students and teachers.
His book and in-service lecture, “The Creative Classroom,” shows teachers how they can, likewise, incorporate the arts into their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) classes, thus turning STEM into STEAM, (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math).
A growing body of studies presents compelling evidence connecting student learning in the arts to a wide spectrum of academic and social benefits. These studies document the habits of mind, social competencies and personal dispositions inherent to arts learning. Additionally, research has shown that what students learn in the arts may help them to master other subjects, such as reading,
math or social studies.
Students who participate in arts learning experiences often improve their achievement in other realms of learning and life. In a well-documented national study using a federal database of over 25,000 middle and high school students, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles
found students with high arts involvement performed better on standardized achievement tests than students with low arts involvement. Moreover, the high arts-involved students also watched fewer hours of TV, participated in more community service and reported less boredom in school.
Be sure to remember culural arts programs when planning your school’s calendar. More information on Dennis Regling’s shows are available at www.greatassemblies.com
