Professional Development
Classroom teachers are the glue that holds SPARK! programs together, welcoming teaching artists into their rooms and integrating an ever-larger repertoire of art forms into their daily lesson plans.
In turn, SPARK! helps provide these teachers with the specialized training needed to truly integrate arts into the classroom.
All K-8 MCPS classroom teachers have now completed the "Laying a Foundation: Defining Arts Integration" seminar developed by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Last year, teachers had opportunities to grow through arts-specific integration training as well. Twenty teachers participated in dance integration training, and 24 teachers completed a theatre integration and creative dramatics course. Two SPARK! liaison teachers attended The Kennedy Center Arts Integration Conference in June.
Teachers throughout Missoula have earned their master's degrees through the Creative Pulse Graduate Program at the University of Montana. The Creative Pulse is a premiere program in the nation for integrated arts and education.
Professional development will continue to play an important role in ensuring that arts are an effective and integral aspect of education in Missoula. On September 25 "Scientific Thought in Motion" taught by Kennedy Center teaching artist Randy Barron [Image Below] will provide tools for teachers to integrate creative movement with science lessons just as a new science curriculum is being rolled out.
Teachers can translate many basic concepts in science into meaningful, self-assessing movement activities that put abstract ideas into tangible, visible form. Barron will work with teaching artists on Tuesday, September 26 to refine their teaching practices. Then on Wednesday, September 27, Barron will teach arts integrated lessons in 3rd and 6th grade classrooms wherein teachers and artists will have the opportunity to observe and reflect on his use of arts integration with students.
[Image: Richard Barron, Teaching Artist]
Schools can take advantage of short workshops for teachers this year as well as they delve into becoming arts integration schools.
Drama Integration in the Classroom and
Integrating Through Art Journals are two courses locally available for classroom teachers.
Arts Integrated practices will be shared statewide next summer. A Montana Arts Integration Conference developed in a collaboration with SPARK!, the University of Montana, the Creative Pulse Graduate Program, SHAPE 2.0, Montana OPI, MCPS, and the Montana Arts Council, will take place in Missoula in June 2018. Stay tuned for more details!
