Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons was developed nationally by Young Audiences, Inc. in collaboration with a University of Washington design team led by Dr. John Bransford. The strength of the program is that it educates the whole child by developing the students' ability to learn and process information as they work back and forth between arts and literacy tasks. Young Audiences trains teachers to deliver 16 hours of sequential instruction, 2-3 sessions per week, 40-60 minutes per session, to students during the regular school day. Students spend time working througth text with the instructor and reinterpreting what they learn througth hands-on group work. Outcomes are characterized by student driven learning, strengthened critical thinking skills and highly engaged hands-on learning.
The second part of the program is 5 hours of of arts instruction in a residency format. Led by a Young
Audiences teaching artist, the residency allows students to work individually in a particular art form. At the program's conslusion, student are given a chance to share their knowledge and artwork with peers, parents, and the community.
Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center introduced this program to Georgia in the spring of 2010. Teachers from seven DeKalb County elementary schools were nominated by their principals to partipate in the Professional Learning experience. During this training, the teachers developed their skill in blending reading, writing and art techniques in order to analyze and interpret their understanding of an assigned book. (See intial post for this blog on October 4, 2010 for more details.) Returning to their schools, each teacher pair guided their students through the same process of analysis, critical thinking and creativity.
The research components of the Arts for Learning Lessons program were conducted by WestEd and Roanoke College.
YEAR ONE
The fall semester marked the first opportunity for schools to apply to be accepted into the Arts for Learning Lessons Program.
Adrian School of Performing Arts
Adrian School of Performing Arts was the first school outside the Metro Atlanta area to collaborate with Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center in the use of the Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons Program. Teachers in grades 4, 5 & 7 plus the literacy coach particiapted in a full day of professional development held at their school. With funding support from the Nordson Corporation Foundation, the participating Adrian teachers and students worked with A4L Unit 3: Everyday Heroes. A Young Audiences teaching artist delivered the Hero's Journey Residency. A 7th grade boy, after reading the biography of Roberto Clemente and creating a community collage on that text, commented that that "It (A4L Lessons) is better than just reading a book and answering the questions. It helps you remember the story better".
Sawyer Road ES
Teachers at Sawyer Road Elementary School introduced Arts for Learning (A4L) Lessons to students in grades 3, 4, and 5 of the schools' extended day program. Students met 3-days a week from October - December. The results of their hard work were shared with fellow students. Principal Jill Sims presented them with A4L certificates. Ms. Debbie Burleigh, Assistant Principal, described the Arts for Learning Program as "a wonderful experience for our students and our teachers".
Spring, 2011
In the Spring sememster of the 2010-2011, we returned to our roots in DeKalb County Schools to work with three new elementary schools.
Atherton
Glen Haven
Glen Haven served as our first school completing a second year of Arts for Learning Lessons. Classroom teachers and YA teaching artist once again delivered Arts for Learning Lessons in an afterschool format for students in grades 4 and 5. From the Glen Haven Arts for Learning Team: "The Arts 4 Learning After School Program provided our students with an additinal literacy safety net. The Instructional Units are correlate to the Georgia Performance Standards which helped our boys and girls to acquire a deeper understanding of literacy while learning more about Art Forms, Techniques, and Elements. We were excited to learn that 96 % of the students that participated in the program (during the Pilot) met or exceeded the Reading Standards on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test".
Idlewood
Idlewood taught us how to work with an entire grade level. The Art Educator served as A4L Site Coordinator and Team Leader, and all 6 classes of second grade students participated in the Arts for Learning Program and Residency. One of the teachers carried the A4L arts and literacy strategies into work her students did in Science and also in the creation of cards for Mother's Day.
Special Activities
During this first full academic year of Arts for Learning Lessons in Georgia schools, Arts for Learning Program Director attended and gave presentations at several state and national conferences, including Georgia Arts Education Association, Beyond School Hours, and National Young Audiences.