Building ArtsSmarts' Research Capacity: Interim Report | December 2007
In 2006, the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL) created an initiative to build Canada's capacity to conduct research on learning and invited not-for profit organizations to apply for Researcher in Residence grants.  ArtsSmarts was one of the successful grant applicant organizations and hired Saad Chahine to take on the Researcher In Residence role which commenced in June 2007. This interim report documents what has been accomplished during the first six months of the residency and provides direction for continuing to build ArtsSmarts' research capacity.

Deconstructing Engagement: A First Generation Report on the ArtsSmarts Student Engagement Questionnaire | September 2007
During the 2006-07 school year, ArtsSmarts collaborated with Karen Hume to design a questionnaire to measure students' engagement before and after participating in an ArtsSmarts project.  This report summarizes the results from the first administration of the ArtsSmarts Student Engagement Questionnaire (ASEQ) with a focus on student engagement and evaluating the quality of the questionnaire.  The report summarizes the responses of students who completed the questionnaire, compares student engagement before and after ArtsSmarts, and identifies strengths and weakness in the questionnaire for further revisions.

ArtsSmarts at Caslan School: A Longitudinal Case Study | February 2007
This study examines the impact of ArtsSmarts over a three year period at Caslan School, a small K-9 school 200 kilometres northeast of Edmonton attended by 130 students from the Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement.  With a history of poor achievement, attendance, behaviour, parental involvement and high staff turn-over, the school applied to ArtsSmarts for support.  In all, 70 collaborative projects were undertaken, involving all grades and many curricular areas, with the highest number being related to science or social studies.  The school became a showplace of Métis art and culture, students had hands-on exposure to multiple art forms, and their displays and performances generated new pride and engagement on the part of students and parents.  With respect to Caslan's five objectives for the introduction of ArtsSmarts, the findings were mixed.

Walking Tall in the Hall: A Mapping Review of ArtsSmarts Projects in Aboriginal Settings Across Canada | October 2006
This mapping review provides a 'snapshot' of the impacts of a variety of ArtsSmarts projects on teachers, students and communities in 15 off-reserve Aboriginal communities.  ArtsSmarts projects were undertaken at both the elementary and secondary school levels and varied considerably in the number of participants, length of project, number of teachers involved and art forms explored.  These projects taught a number of important lessons about ArtsSmarts as an intervention centred around four broad questions: (1) What works for schools?; (2) What are the indicators of and contributing factors to success?; (3) What are the components of successful classroom partnerships?; and, (4) What can be done to transfer or expand success to other schools?

Engaged in Learning: The ArtsSmarts Model | May 2006
This paper develops ArtsSmarts' theory of learning centred on the concept of student engagement.  Compiling the results of approximately a dozen internal research studies on student learning and program effectiveness conducted during ArtsSmarts' first eight years, this report compiles the results of those studies, along with a like number of reports by outside researchers, to create a synthesis of possible directions for future work.