Page 14 - The story of the Art of Learning

1.2 Executive Functions
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In order to understand how art and culture can contribute to the development of brain functions, one must first understand what Executive Functions (EF) are.
Our EF’s are located in our forehead, specifically in the prefrontal cortex, and work as a type of floating intelligence, regulating our behavior. They make us capable of reasoning, problem solving, understanding what we hear in a conversation or in a school lesson, make choices, exercise self- control and discipline, be creative, and adjust flexibly when changes happen or we are presented with new information.
Our EFs are key to functioning well in school, in the workplace and in life in general. EFs can be damaged by loneliness, sadness, stress or poor physical health. If you are lonely or stressed, it might appear as though you have underdeveloped EFs, for instance ADHD, although this is not the case.
The association between socioeconomic status and child EFs is well-documented. A key factor in the failure of low socioeconomic status pupils, achievements in school is seen as a consequence of the under-development of their EF. This underdevelopment is not, in most cases, a permanent condition, and hence can it be improved.2
It is acknowledged that EFs can be developed, but the research on the type of activities that best develop EFs is scarce. Adele Diamond, professor in neuro-science at the University of British Columbia, Canada, is a well known researcher in the field of EF, and based on the characteristics of activities that are proven to have best effect on developing EFs, her hypothesis is that art and culture activities have a key function in the development of our EFs, and therefore these activities are key to us as human beings. She says:
Storytelling, dance, art, music and play have been part of the human condition. People in all cultures made music, sang, danced and did sports and played games. There are good reasons why those activities have lasted so long and arose everywhere. They [build physical capacities] and they also train and challenge Executive Functions.3
The Art of Learning is based on Adele Diamond’s EF research, and the project aims to test the hypothesis that arts and culture activities will have a positive impact on the development of children’s executive functions.
2 https://www.bu.edu/cdl/files/2018/10/2018-StJohnKibbeTarullo-JECP.pdf
3 Diamond, Adele: «Want to Optimize Executive Functions and Academic Outcomes? Simple, Just Nourish the Human Spirit». Zelazo, Philp og Sera, Maria (red.): Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, volume 37, Wiley 2014