Sunday, March 16, 2014

Who is BEN?

The Bermuda Education Network (BEN) is an independent association of organisations offering free supplementary learning opportunities for Bermuda’s public school students. They secure funding for investment in targeted projects involving our member organisations and public schools. For TEENS: academic school year expeditions and summer programs that offer opportunities to develop new perspectives and global skills. For YOUNGER STUDENTS: enrichment programs during school hours and summer camp resources. For TEACHERS: professional development programs for both public and private school teachers using Artful Thinking, a cognitive development program from Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero.
We spoke about Artful Thinking a while back. The goal of this program is to help students develop thinking dispositions that support thoughtful learning – in the arts, and across school subjects.
Designed for use by teachers in any grade and in any subject, Artful Thinking's purpose is twofold: to help teachers create rich connections between works of art and their curriculum and to help teachers use arts experiences as a touchstone for developing students' intellectual capacity.
BEN was the organizer of the Bermuda Conference on Artful Thinking which took place on October 10, 2011, where Dr. Shari Tishman and Bermudian Harvard graduate student Katie Davis moderated the event at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.
"Most educators recognize the importance of teaching children to think," says Becky Ausenda, executive director of BEN. "The development of thinking skills is critical to helping children learn complexity and dimensionality." "Since 2010, the Bermuda Education Network has worked with Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation and the Bermuda National Gallery to create more opportunities for children to have increased exposure to art during their school experiences," says Ausenda.

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