Training Teachers to Teach the Arts was a was the first U.S. Department of Education Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination grant awarded to Arts Impact from 2002-2005. The three-year research project was in partnership with with Tacoma, Bethel, Clover Park, Puyallup and Orting School Districts in Pierce County, Washington school districts and local arts organizations. The project investigated the development and growth of confidence, knowledge and skills, and the instructional practice of participating teachers and how that impacted student learning in the arts. It compared three models of arts-infused professional learning: whole school, school teams, and multi-arts specialist/teacher teams. The project also developed an arts-infused math and literacy focused Summer School program.
Outcomes
- Teachers demonstrated success in learning foundational arts concepts, skills and processes in dance, theater and visual art
- Teachers showed growth in confidence and competence to teach foundational arts concepts in the classroom setting
- Teachers gained the ability to independently plan, teach and assess the arts
- Students demonstrated high rates of success on performance based assessments of arts concepts and skills
Project Design
Training Teachers to Teach the Arts trained 75 teachers from 9 different school districts and investigated four variations of the Arts Impact professional learning model:
- The Core model served teams of 3-6 teachers from various schools throughout the Pierce County region
- The Whole School model served the entire school staff of Ptarmigan Ridge Intermediate School in Orting School District.
- The Multi-Arts model paired school-based multi-art specialists with classroom teachers in Clover Park School District
- Arts-infused Summer School provided arts-infused lessons in math and reading for 2nd-4th students at two elementary schools in Tacoma School District
Quantitative and qualitative data was collected to measure teacher learning in the arts, student learning in the arts, growth in teacher practice, and quality of project implementation. Instruments included:
- Autonomy Rubric for Teachers (ART) (PDF, 200KB)
- Teacher Surveys
- Performance-Based Assessments: Specific criteria-based performance assessments are included in each lesson and can be found in the Arts Impact lesson database.
- Measurements of Student Progress: Information about the Washington State Assessments, Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) Tests, can be found on the OSPI website.
Project Goals
- Increase teacher knowledge in arts foundations and arts-infused concepts
- Increase teacher autonomy to teach and infuse the arts
- Increase student knowledge in standards-based arts and arts-infused concepts
- Increase arts education in schools in Pierce County, Washington
- Develop arts-infused lessons
Professional Development Components
- Whole School or Teacher Teams (3-6 teachers per school)
- Two years of direct professional development: 46 total hours of instruction per year included:
- Experiential Summer Institute: 30 hours per year
- Classroom mentorship: 10 hours per year
- Supplementary Workshops: 6 hours per year
- Cultural study trip to museum exhibition, dance or theater performance
- 46 clock hours or 4 graduate credits from Seattle Pacific University per year
Curriculum
Arts Foundations
Arts Infusion
Resources
- Two Curriculum Notebooks: Arts Foundations and Arts-Infusion
- 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 and teacher-created lessons
- Teacher-written lesson plans on disc
- Web-based lesson plan database
Reports
Training Teachers to Teach the Arts Summary Report:Training Teachers to Teach the Arts (text version)
