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Introduction: Why Frame the Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice?

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Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice

Part of the book series: The Arts in Higher Education ((AHE))

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Abstract

The performing arts are frequently unacknowledged for their delivery of the “high-impact practices” (HIPs), as identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Using the well-known map of the HIPs for illustrating the centrality of performing arts practices in higher education, we call for increased participation by performing arts programs in general education, and campus and community initiatives, with specific case studies as a guide. This is the first book to explicitly link the performing arts to HIPs, and will result in the implementation of best practices to meet the transformative educational goals of students and ready them for the creative careers of the future. At stake is the viability of performing arts programs to continue to serve students in their pursuit of a liberal arts education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Cindy A. Kilgo, Jessica K. Ezell Sheets, and Ernest T. Pascarella, “The Link between High-Impact Practices and Student Learning: Some Longitudinal Evidence,” 523.

  2. 2.

    Zac Anderson, “Rick Scott Wants to Shift University Funding Away from Some Degrees.”

  3. 3.

    Glenn Whitehouse, “Learning the Truth About Rubio’s Welder vs Philosopher Remark.”

  4. 4.

    See AAC&U’s initiative “Liberal Education and America’s Promise” [LEAP] or the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project [SNAAP ].

  5. 5.

    The ArtsEdSearch website contains links to over 200 studies examining a wide range of arts practices and their positive impacts on everything from critical thinking skills to high school dropout rates.

  6. 6.

    Gene Diaz, Martha Barry McKenna, eds. Preparing Educators for Arts Integration: Placing Creativity at the Center of Learning, 4–5.

  7. 7.

    George D. Kuh and Carol Geary Schneider, High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter.

  8. 8.

    C. Edward Watson, George D. Kuh, Terrel Rhodes, Tracy Penny Light, and Helen L. Chen. ePortfolios—The Eleventh High Impact Practice.

  9. 9.

    Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson. Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. Originally published in the AAHE Bulletin, 3–7.

  10. 10.

    George D. Kuh, Ken O’Donnell, and Sally Reed, Ensuring Quality and Taking High-Impact Practices to Scale.

  11. 11.

    Payscale.com.

  12. 12.

    Hart Research Associates, “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success,” survey conducted by Hart Research Associates and AAC&U.

  13. 13.

    The 2015 survey did ask about “Research skills and projects,” but not about collaborative research or any form of teamwork skills.

  14. 14.

    See AAC&U, How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today’s Global Economy? (Results of a national poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2007) quoted in “Top Ten Things Employers Look for in New College Graduates.”

  15. 15.

    Dan Berrett, “The Creativity Cure,” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

  16. 16.

    Steven J. Tepper, “Thinking ‘Bigger Than Me’ in the Liberal Arts.”

  17. 17.

    See Harvard’s “Report of the Task Force on the Arts.”

  18. 18.

    Harvard, 21.

  19. 19.

    See Tom Rockmore, Kant on Art and Truth after Plato.

  20. 20.

    See Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgement.

  21. 21.

    Kevin N. Moll, “Prolegomena to Any Future ‘Great Books of Music’: Reconsidering Liberal-Arts Paradigms in a Postmodern Age,” 70–71.

  22. 22.

    Robert Maynard Hutchins and Mortimer Jerome Adler, “The Great Ideas Today.”

  23. 23.

    Moll, “Prolegomena to Any Future ‘Great Books of Music,’” 78.

  24. 24.

    Bennett Reimer, “The Nonconceptual Nature of Aesthetic Cognition,” 112.

  25. 25.

    David Oxtoby, “The Place of the Arts in a Liberal Education.”

  26. 26.

    See AAC&U, VALUE Creative Thinking rubric.

  27. 27.

    For a good summary of the research on how creativity works, see R. Keith Sawyer, Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation.

  28. 28.

    See the AAC&U’s most recent Strategic Plan.

  29. 29.

    See the AAC&U’s Recent Trends in General Education Design, Learning Outcomes, and Teaching Approaches.

  30. 30.

    All quotes from president Pasquerella from a personal email to the authors, May 23, 2017.

  31. 31.

    The editors would like to thank Susan Gardstrom for introducing us to the work of Brynjulf Stige .

  32. 32.

    See Chapter 9 for more information and case studies about how the performing arts contribute to service learning and community -based learning. Professional development for faculty can be found through various organizations within the performing arts disciplines. One particularly rich community of performing arts leaders convenes each summer at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s Leadership Institute (often comprising dance scholars as well).

  33. 33.

    See AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, Trends in Learning Outcomes Assessment. The percentage was 72% among all institutions (including those that do not have common sets of learning outcomes for all students), also right in the middle of the set of subject areas.

  34. 34.

    Paul L. Gaston , General Education Transformed.

  35. 35.

    See survey data collected by Strategic National Arts Alumni Project [SNAAP ].

  36. 36.

    The tool can be downloaded at https://pullias.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HIPs-for-Admins-Tool-Formatted.pdf and its explanation can be found at: Adrianna Kezar, and Elizabeth Holcombe, “Support for High-Impact Practices: A New Tool for Administrators.”

  37. 37.

    Toby Miller, “Strategy for American Humanities: Blow Them Up and Start Again.”

  38. 38.

    See Chapter 11 about capstone projects and experiences for more information on how the performing arts should deliver intentional vocational training that includes and goes beyond performance training, to produce a more agile and entrepreneurial graduate.

  39. 39.

    See Scott M. Fuess and Nancy D. Mitchell, “General Education Reform: Opportunities for Institutional Alignment.”

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Theatre, Dance, & Performance Technology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA

    Michelle Hayford

  2. Theatre and Dance, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

    Susan Kattwinkel

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  1. Michelle Hayford
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Theatre, Dance, & Performance Technology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA

    Michelle Hayford

  2. Theatre and Dance, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

    Susan Kattwinkel

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Hayford, M., Kattwinkel, S. (2018). Introduction: Why Frame the Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice?. In: Hayford, M., Kattwinkel, S. (eds) Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice. The Arts in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72944-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72944-2_1

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