Clark State Community College's Performing Arts Center, Wittenberg University, Clark County Education Service Center and Springfield City Schools are partnering to present the second Arts Alive! Conference at the Clark State Hollenbeck Bayley Creative Arts and Conference Center on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, from 7:30 a.m. to noon.
This year's conference was planned in collaboration with Springfield City School's waiver day and will focus on integrating the arts into regular curriculum plans and helping teachers become more knowledgeable about content standards. The Arts Alive! partnership is part of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts program to assist arts and cultural organizations throughout the nation in developing and expanding educational partnerships with local school districts. The partnership is focused on providing professional development programs in the arts for all teachers.
The conference will feature introductions by Corwin Georges, Ph.D., chairman and professor of the department of theatre and dance at Wittenberg University and a keynote address on the state of the arts by Donna Collins, executive director of Ohio Citizens for the Arts.
Attendees can attend their choice of two sessions:
- Scientific Thought in Motion (for grades 3-6) presented by Randy Barron
Children often struggle with science when they only experience it by reading or listening to scientific ideas. In this workshop, teachers learn a simple, engaging strategy for embodying science ideas through creative dance. Participants create their own dance phrases and learn to "read" dance as text. This workshop aligns directly with the Common Core State Standards for literacy, especially for informational texts, and participants will receive a complete packet of materials to take back to their classrooms. - Shadow Play: Exploring Shadow Puppetry in the Early Years (for grades P-2) presented by Daniel Barash
In this workshop, participants first learn about shadow puppetry as an art form, including performance and puppet-making techniques. They then discuss the reasons why shadow puppetry is such an effective teaching strategy within early childhood learning environments. Finally, they combine art form and content area by learning to facilitate hands-on shadow puppetry experiences that explore content across the curriculum. - Moving Through Math: Repeating Patterns – Laying the Foundation for Elementary Mathematics (for grades P-2) presented by Marcia Daft
In this workshop, teachers explore how patterns underlie most mathematical systems. First, participants examine how counting, one-to-one correspondence, attributes and sequencing are concepts that must be mastered before students are ready to learn about patterns. Then they learn to lead lessons that integrate rhythm and movement with pattern concepts. Through this process, teachers discover how to identify and teach the foundational grouping, sequencing and part-to-whole concepts that are embedded inside repeating patterns. - Empowering Students to Become Creative Thinkers Through Art (art teachers at all levels) presented by Kristi Limes
State testing is requiring students to problem solve in more complex ways, requiring every student to become a more creative thinker. This workshop will assist teachers in exploring how the process of creating visual art can strengthen problem solving skills and how students can learn to transfer this ability to strengthen their test scores in other academic areas. Teachers who attend this workshop will have a hands-on art experience with resource material to take home. - Moving Through Math: Primary Spatial and Geometric Concepts (for grades P-2) presented by Marcia Daft
Many students find geometric shapes and transformations drawn on a flat sheet of paper difficult to visualize and manipulate. Integrating creative movement with the teaching of geometry literally brings these math concepts to life. Students physically feel lines, angles, shapes, slides, flips and rotations as they move geometric concepts through space. Physical movement develops students' visualization skills, expands their geometric concepts through space and fosters spatial creativity. In this workshop, teachers learn how to facilitate movement exploration in the classroom, connect geometric concepts to movement concepts and deepen their learning experiences through observation, questioning and discussion.
Contact Beth Dixon at 937.328.7951 for questions and registration information.