The ArtCore project enters 2016 with some promising innovations underway across the five schools that make up our immediate community of practice. Intentionally, ArtCore is working with each school individually to integrate the tenants of the model into the school's vision and ongoing work. This flexibility and customization requires more process and design time but generates lots of ideas and possibilities as well. The more we share these ideas the better chance we have of catalyzing new creative solutions and building our collective capacity. While some are still in the incubation stage, others have been tested and documented.
By no means exhaustive, here is a list of ideas that have begun to emerge, take shape, and be tested in ArtCore schools and classrooms.
- After school arts workshops for teachers to discover new media and materials @ Kelly
- Studio Habits of Mind practice through morning homeroom activities @ Cascade
- Building sustainability for ArtCore by defining a common target for the portrait of a successful learner @ Oaklea
- Unpacking what deep, integrated teaching and learning looks like in a 'STEAM' school housed in a brand new, state-of-the art building @ Hamlin
- A student-designed music recording studio @ Network Charter
- Math and visual arts integrated learning module focused on understanding and harnessing math anxiety @ Hamlin
- Building on a Studio Habit of Mind (SHoM) per week during an 8-week learning module - a SHoM primer @ Oaklea
- ArtCore-supported website revamp @ Network Charter
- An outdoor collaborative art installation using fabrics woven into a chain-link fence @ Kelly
- Accordion journals of learning used for Student-led Conferences @ Kelly
- A learning module building ancient civilizations using only recycled materials @ Cascade
- Developing a student self-assessment of SHoM practices @ Kelly
- Student-crafted videos sharing math tips for incoming 6th graders @ Hamlin
- Math and sewing module integrating geometric patterns and technical sewing skills @ Network Charter
- Use of "curriculum diary" software to map curricular content across disciplines and grade levels to find the best opportunities for arts integration @ Oaklea
- Bridging algebraic thinking and theater to make mathematic variables come to life @ Hamlin
- Creative engagement in teaching and learning as the common and comprehensive framework for the ArtCore model, research, and evaluation
- Common themes from interviews about the importance of choice and relevance to get all students engaged in learning
- Hands-on, arts integrated Professional Development to develop teacher creativity and inquiry
- Public display of student learning, exhibiting both the creative process and product
- A promotional mash-up video of ArtCore teaching and learning from 2015
- More time for collaborating, for thinking, and for innovating
Please feel free to add to this list in the comment section to keep sharing ideas and cultivating new possibilities.