Arts Impact/Arts Leadership (AI/AL), a U.S. Department of Education Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination grant awarded for 2006-2010, was a joint research project of Arts Impact, ArtsEd Washington, Bethel School District, Tacoma School District, and local arts organizations. The project investigated the impact of principal leadership professional development, intense and sustained teacher professional development, and arts-infused learning on the ability of schools to integrate the arts, the ability of teachers to successfully teach arts-infused concepts, and on student learning in the arts, math, and writing.
Outcomes
- Teachers demonstrated success in learning foundational arts and arts-infused concepts, skills and processes
- Teachers showed growth in confidence and competence to teach foundational arts and arts-infused lessons in the classroom setting
- Teachers gained the ability to independently plan, teach and assess the arts
- Arts Impact classrooms outperformed control site classrooms on measures of Powerful Teaching and Learning as measured by the STAR Protocol
- Students demonstrated high rates of success on performance based assessments of arts and arts-infused concepts and skills
- The Principal Arts Leadership program resulted in schools successfully enhancing school-wide arts education and catalyzing school-wide cultural change necessary for sustaining arts programming
- Arts Impact successfully replicated AI/AL in Bellingham and Riverview School District
Project Goals
- Improve and integrate standards-based arts education into core school curriculum
- Improve the academic performance of students in the arts, math, and writing
- Demonstrate growth in teacher practice to teach arts-infused concepts and in overall teaching practice
- Replicate and disseminate at state, regional, and national levels
- Create effective principal leadership training in the arts
Project Design
Arts Impact/Arts Leadership was a quasi-experimental evaluation design. Nine schools were randomly selected from a pool of 12, whose eligibility was based on greater than 35% free or reduced lunch and a willingness to participate. These schools were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:
- Group A received Principal Arts Leadership training from ArtsEd Washington along with Arts Impact teacher professional development
- Group B received Arts Impact teacher professional development only
- Group C served as the control group
Quantitative and qualitative data was collected to compare integration of arts education into the core curriculum, growth in teacher practice, and student academic achievement in the arts, math, and writing. Instruments included:
- AI/AL Autonomy Rubric for Teachers (text version)
- AI/AL Arts Knowledge Test (text version)
- STAR Observation Protocol© assesses the presence of Powerful Teaching and Learning™ at the school level as evidenced by observation of students and teacher’s skills, knowledge, application, and relationships. For further information on the STAR Observation Protocol, go to www.bercgroup.com.
- AI/AL Teacher Journal (text version)
- Performance-based Assessments: Specific criteria-based performance assessments are included in each lesson which can be found in the Arts Impact lesson database and Curriculum.
- Measurements of Student Progress: Information about the Washington State Assessments, Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) Tests, can be found on the OSPI website.
Professional Development Components
Professional learning for teachers in Group A and Group B consisted of the following:
- Whole School (all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers)
- Two years of direct professional development: 51 total hours of instruction per year include:
- Experiential Summer Institute: 30 hours per year
- Classroom mentorship: 11 hours per year
- Cultural study trip to museum exhibition, dance or theater performance
- Supplementary Workshops: 6 hours per year
- Learning Communities: 4 hours per year
- Up to 51 clock hours or 4 graduate credits from Seattle Pacific University per year
- One year of follow-up, tracking teacher autonomy in implementing the Arts Impact/Arts Leadership curriculum
Professional learning for principals in Group A consisted of the following:
- Three years of direct leadership training
- Annual workshops
- Long range plan development
- Principal coaching
Curriculum
AI/AL Writing Scope and Sequence (text version)
AI/AL Math Scope and Sequence (text version)
Dance Infused with Math: geometric sense
Visual Arts Infused with Math: geometric sense
Theater Infused with Writing: narrative writing
Resources
- Curriculum Notebook
- Images of artworks from local museums as references of concepts in each visual arts lesson and on disc
- Professional performances at partnering theaters and performing arts centers
- Museum tours customized to complement Arts Impact/Arts Leadership lessons
- Web-based curriculum
- Long range arts plans (Group A)
Reports
Arts Impact/Arts Leadership summary report: Arts Impact/Arts Leadership: Sustaining Arts-infused Education (text version)
Arts Impact/Arts Leadership full research report: Arts Impact/Arts Leadership: Teacher Change and Principal Leadership: Keys to Sustaining the Arts (text version)
