ArtsLiteracy

Making Teacher Professional Development Public

The following power point presentation was created to demonstrate the process of the ArtsLiteracy Teacher Institute which took place during October 2006 - April 2007. Twenty-five K-12 teachers, from a variety of disciplines, participated in the ArtsLiteracy Teacher Institute, a component of the Educators Series.

The institute provided teachers the training to an innovative model that advanced teachers knowledge around how literacy and the arts can work together to enhance students understanding of analytical work around text through performance. The institute also provided strategies on how teachers can vary instruction to meet the diverse needs of learners in their classrooms. Teachers worked together in teams as they learned about ArtsLiteracy principles and strategies, and how these aspects integrate into classroom practice. The principles behind the ArtsLiteracy Project focus on "The Performance Cycle" which include the following components; Building Community, Entering Text, Comprehending Text, Creating Text, Rehearing/Revising Text, Performing Text, and Reflection.

From experiencing "The Performance Cycle," teachers then developed a collaborative, integrated curriculum unit that embedded these principles. Back at their schools, participating teachers were asked to build a public exhibition of student learning. Teachers were asked to document the process, share their written curriculum unit, and orally present the unit with evidence of student work to the participating teachers in the institute. It was a very successful professional development institute and funding is presently being pursued to be able to bring ArtsLiteracy teachers/facilitators/artists back to work with a whole grade of teachers across the district.