SPRINT 1, LESSON 5
Arts Integration Lesson Planning
Video play time: 6:26
The purpose of collaborative planning in arts integration is to work together across content and arts areas in order to analyze student strengths and challenges. It can also help to develop arts-integrated lessons which address both areas equitably. There are some key factors about collaborative planning and how to make it successful, including:
• The purpose of collaborative planning
• What the collaborative planning process looks like
• And the collaborative planning framework that leads to a smooth arts integration lesson
Is it a bad thing if I am not collaborating with an arts teacher right now? It is summer and really we only have our music teacher. Right now I wouldn’t be able to have her fill out any of these matrix forms. Is it alright if I do it alone? And is it mandatory to do them now or like you said we will be using them more in Sprint 2 and that’s when I can focus on them? At that time we will be back in school and I will have a chance to talk with our music teacher to see if she is willing to help.
That’s fine for right now! Of course, it’s summer and everyone is scattered. Just do what you can where you are and in the fall, touch base with one of the arts teachers to check your connections.
Our school does not have art docent/teacher. The classroom teachers do art in their classrooms. It is okay to have the music teacher(me) share their responsibility of teaching the art project along with the classroom teacher?
Hey Cheryl… truth is, you have to work with what you’ve got. I think it would be very helpful to have the music teacher (you) assisting the classroom teacher with the art project!
I see these as very useful tools. As an Arts educator, and a support teacher for other Arts educators, collaboration can be a touchy business. We are so used to work in our own worlds that collaboration between “other” educators can be a real challenge. We do OK with other Arts teachers if we speak the same language, but even then, it is sometimes difficult for dance teachers to communicate with vocal teachers and so on. I think the pre-planning matrix not only serves as a good preparation tool, it is also a good reflection tool. This tool requires each educator to have a good picture in his/her head prior to getting together. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a HUGE plus, and can alleviate potential tension because one teacher is more or less prepared than the other. I can also see how the pre-planning matrix flows right into the collaborative planning tool. As usual, all good stuff!
Karen…you are so right!! It’s that 80/20 scenario that we are experiencing as I type :) But these tools will certainly help move the group along. See you tomorrow!
What suggestions do you have if your arts specialists don’t want to collaborate or thinks that they are but in reality do more dictating than collaborating?
Ahhhhh….Jennifer…such an important question! One with a very elongated abstract answer :) First of all…the 80/20 rule will always be in effect. Meaning 80 % of your peeps will get on board…20% will (potentially) always struggle or resist. If you have some that are “attempting” then that is a good sign. Things you can do: look up adult learning theory and andragogy, this will help you to see what adults need to “feel” when collaborating and you can lead with some of those ideas. Consider showing a model of what collaboration actually looks like. Almost like a fishbowl, allow specialists to view you in a collaboration meeting to get a glimpse at what it “should” look like…let’s be honest…we are never really explicitly taught how to collaborate so some of those who think they are might genuinely think they are…having nothing to compare it to. And those who are doing more dictating than collaborating…share some of the andragogy principles with them as well. This is obviously a way larger conversation than we can have here, so please reach out if you want to talk more in depth or troubleshoot some of your specific situations :)
I’m nervous but excited to collaborate when school starts up again. I have a few teachers in mind that I know will be open, so I can start there. The harder part will be that the content teachers all work together and plan the same lesson in PLC, so I’m not sure how open their specialists will be to working with a teacher to integrate a lesson.
Hey There! it is a little nerve-racking to embark on this collaborative process but it is exciting! Definitely start with your peeps who are more open, that will allow you to start practicing the process, and get genuine feedback. I completely “get it” with those who PLC their lesson planning (which I would argue is not necessarily the point of PLC, but thats a whole other conversation) but is there a chance for the specialists to sit in on some of those PLCs to just listen?? If so, they will hopefully hear what lessons are being planned as well as listen to the raw conversation of where students struggle and then they can capitalize on that by coming to the PLC leader with an idea of how we can use the arts to target some of those difficult areas. Just a thought :)
I have a few colleagues that are very interested in collaborating, but they want to see what it looks like before they jump in. Unfortunately,planning time is not woven into our schedules and department meetings take up a lot of their time. I am hoping the buy in will come when they actually see what an Arts Integrated Curriculum and Lessons look like.
Hey Mira
Yes, this is common…we need to see it to believe it, so I get it. Maybe you can just grab one of those colleagues (like you school bestie) and work through an idea together and then deliver it. Either invite the others who wish to collaborate or video tape it and show them so they have some context before they commit. You can even just start with sharing some of those arts strategies with them and helping them to use the strategies in class so they can get a taste of what it might look like before jumping all the way in.
Great video! I had to actually leave Cottageville, SC and drive to Whiteville, NC to get some help from my artsy sister. We had a blast! Working with someone who knows their stuff will make things much easier. I am just so sad that we just lost our art teachers.
Hey Rhonda
Yes, not having arts teachers does make it difficult, but YAY for sisters!!