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Full Reply to Burchenal et al.'s Commentary in the NAEA News, April 2008

Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland co-authored an article that was published in the Boston Globe on September 2, 2007, entitled, "Art for Our Sake." The National Art Education Association requested permission to republish the article in the NAEA News and did so on the front page in December, 2007. In April, 2008, the News published a Commentary, also on the front page, by four authors (Burchenal, Housen, Rawlinson, and Yenawine). The authors criticized Winner and Hetland's article and their recently published book (Hetland, Winner, Veenema, & Sheridan, 2007. Studio thinking: The real benefits of visual arts education. Teachers College Press). Hetland and Winner replied to the critique, but the NAEA News only printed a 400 word response, and not our detailed rebuttal of the false accusations leveled at us and our work. The article posted here is our complete response to that critique.

Veronica Boix Mansilla's research examines how human beings enhance their understanding of complex problems by using the lenses of disciplines like history, science, or the arts, or by combining disciplinary approaches in novel ways.

Howard Gardner is best known in educational circles for his theory of multiple intelligences, a critique of the notion that there exists but a single human intelligence that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments. From 1972-2000, he was Co-director of Project Zero. At present, he is chair of the Steering Committee of Project Zero. He also directs the GoodWork Project and the Trust Project with Carrie James. For ten years he co-directed the Interdisciplinary Studies Project with Veronica Boix Mansilla.

Tina Grotzer's research focuses on topics at the intersection of cognition, development, and educational practice, such as the learnability of intelligence and how children develop causal models for complex science concepts.

Lois Hetland's research centers on issues of learning, teaching, and disciplinary understanding, with an emphasis in the arts. In addition to her research, she teaches undergraduate and graduate students at the Massachusetts College of Art and facilitates professional development for educators in both face to face and online contexts.

Carrie James studies ethical issues in work, school, and play contexts. Her research interests include young people's engagement with the new digital media; conceptions of trust held by youth today; moral and ethical development; gender issues; and conceptions of success, failure, and "good work" among youth and adults.

David Perkins has conducted long-term programs of research and development in the areas of teaching and learning for understanding, creativity, problem-solving, reasoning in the arts, sciences, and everyday life, and the role of educational technologies in teaching and learning, and strategies that promote learning in organizations. From 1972-2000, he was Co-director of Project Zero.

Ron Ritchhart's research and development work deals with issues of intellectual character development, teaching and learning for understanding, and the promotion of mindfulness. In particular, his work focuses on the role classroom cultures play in promoting thinking and learning.

Steve Seidel examines issues in arts education, teachers' reflective practices, the close examination of student work, and the documentation of learning. He is currently Director of Project Zero and HGSE's Arts in Education Program.

Shari Tishman's interests include the theory and teaching of high-level thinking and thinking-centered learning in the arts and museums.

Daniel Wilson's research explores adult collaborative learning in the workplace and how groups navigate dilemmas of truth, trust, power and identity that often undermine collective learning and performance.

Ellen Winner's research interests include: Psychology of art; nonliteral language understanding in children and adults; theory of mind abilities in normal children and in pathological populations; development of academically and artistically gifted children.

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