Fall Deep Dives in Professional Development

Roxanne Schroeder-Arce is Director of Fine Arts Education in the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas Department of Theatre & Dance and is an Associate Professor. Roxanne is a scholar, director, and playwright. She was a high school theatre teacher in Laredo and Austin for six years. Schroeder-Arce’s bilingual plays Senora Tortuga, Legend of the Poinsettia, Sangre de un Angel and Mariachi Girl are published by Dramatic Publishing and have been produced by various theaters and schools throughout the United States. She is Head of the UTeach Theatre program. Her research interests include culturally responsive theatre education and Latinx theatre with and for youth. She has published articles in journals such as Youth Theatre Journal, International Journal for Education and Arts and Theatre Topics. Her website can be found at www.roxannearce.com.

Culturally Responsive Arts Teaching (All Fine Arts educators)

Gloria Ladson-Billings defines culturally responsive pedagogy as, “a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in all aspects of learning.” This interactive workshop explores culturally responsive methods of teaching art, music, theatre and dance at all grade levels. The workshop also asks participants to examine their own cultural backgrounds and consider how arts teachers might include their students’ cultures in their classes when these cultures are different from their own. 

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) (All Fine Arts Educators)

We all know the potential for the arts to offer students a place to learn about themselves, about other people, about the world. Since the end of March 2020, all of us, including our students, have been isolated, void of human contact outside of our homes. Arts teachers around the state have shown tremendous efforts to stay connected to their students and maintain the sense of community nurtured in Fine Arts classrooms. Come to learn, share ideas, joys, and challenges as we work together to meet students’ Social and Emotional Learning needs and capacities.

Creating Bridges to Your Community (All Fine Arts educators)

Students learn best when they feel connected to what they are learning. The arts offer incredible potential for making connections. Arts teachers must ask ourselves: Is what we are creating in our classrooms relevant to our communities? How might we make stronger connections to parents and community members in order to work together to support our students? Who in the community might we partner with to create win-win scenarios for learning and art making? Explore these questions and others in this hands-on, interactive session. 

An educator for 26 years, Charles Aguillon is the Director of Fine Arts & Academic Enrichment for Lake Travis ISD in Austin. A native of Victoria, Texas, he began his career in music education in 1993 as a Band Director for San Marcos CISD. In 1996, Charles joined Georgetown ISD and served in various capacities including Georgetown High School Band Director, GISD Director of Fine Arts, and Associate Principal for Teaching and Learning at East View High School. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Texas State University in San Marcos as well as a Master of Arts in Education Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix, where he has completed work towards a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Charles currently serves on the State UIL Music Technical Advisory Committee as well as serving as President of the Texas Music Educators Association Region 32. He is active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States and currently serves on the staff of the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps from Casper, Wyoming.

Moving from Performance-based classes to deeper learning in Fine Arts standards

(All Fine Arts educators)

Many of our Fine Arts courses are heavily rooted in live performances such as concerts and stage productions. As we move to more virtual learning, we need to continue to be creative in providing performance experiences, but we also have an opportunity to dive deeper into the learning standards which go further than just performing.  This session will help Fine Arts teachers develop more lessons grounded in state or national criteria by actively addressing many underutilized standards. 

Strategies for building community support during the Pandemic (All Fine Arts Educators)
Creating opportunities for visibility and connection to students is more important than ever today. Fine Arts Educators must emphasize the essential nature of Fine Arts courses in the curriculum, even during distance and hybrid learning scenarios. In this course, we will explore strategies to help promote your programs as well as learn the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to your curriculum. 

Samantha Melvin currently serves as Book Study Chair for the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA). She serves the National Art Education Foundation as a Trustee and CEDFA as a Visual

Arts Training Cadre member. Samantha has been published in TRENDS, School Arts magazine, and on The Teaching Palette, an online art education resource. A #K12Art-Chat featured-host on Twitter on two occasions, Samantha has shared her knowledge of contemporary art in the K12 art classroom, as well as on “Leading The Way: from Classroom to Community” which was also recorded as a podcast for The Creatively Connected Classroom. She is the National Consultant for Davis Publications, an independent art education consultant, and teacher-mentor in Texas. An Art21 Educator, she taught elementary art in Burnet CISD and Spring Branch ISD. Samantha has been a recipient of multiple grants.

Twitter: Beyond Multicultural Art Education: Art Ed. Now! (All Visual Arts Educators)

As art educators, we have an incredible opportunity to provide a rich and relevant context for learning for all our students, reflecting the diverse society in which we live. Here we will explore contemporary art thinking, big ideas, essential questions, and an extensive roster of diverse artists, informed by culturally responsive teaching practices. Standards-based and research-based, we will investigate process and practices for K12 art education, giving students choice and celebrating their unique voices. This is art education now!

Inspired by Da Vinci: Contemporary Approaches to Visual Arts (All Visual Arts Educators)

We are artists. We are thinkers. Using seven principles derived on da Vinci’s work, we will investigate contemporary art processes while making interdisciplinary connections through big ideas. Hands-on exploration of materials can facilitate standards-based and research-based applications of art concepts and conceptual thinking. Be ready to play and learn! 

Choice-based Approaches to Visual Arts (All Visual Arts Educators)

Guided by big ideas and essential questions supported by the teacher/facilitator, students pursue independent investigations into art processes and conceptual artistic work. This scenario can be built in over time, giving students opportunities for choice and voice, informed by their interests and curiosity. Celebrate the learners in your studio as they create and grow as artists and thinkers. See what systems can be put in place to enable this approach, from assessment to organization, to exceed standards and push creativity. 

Empowering Artists through Tradigital Art! (All visual Arts educators)
Implementing SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) as a model for technology integration is fundamental to taking students from being receivers of information to being digital creators. In this time of hybrid and remote learning, let’s explore the processes and the essential questions that will guide this transformational learning, merging hands-on making with the digital!

Rod Caspers served as the Director of University Events at The University of Texas at Austin and as the Executive Director of Creative Services for The University of Texas System where he and his colleagues received five Lone Star Emmy Awards for creating and producing the PBS series, State of Tomorrow.  Rod conducts directing and curriculum workshops throughout the nation and on repeated occasions served as a guest artist for the Facing History and Ourselves Program in Switzerland and the Czech Republic.  He has adjudicated the UIL One-Act Play Contest for over thirty years.  For seven seasons he stage-managed the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour starring the Rockettes.  Rod also stage-managed Jim Henson’s Musical World at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, The Muppets and the casts of Sesame Street and Avenue Q. Most recently Rod staged Conspirare’s Considering Matthew Shepard, being performed at sites across the nation until the recent Covid 19 precautions.  Rod is a proud alumnus of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps 

Effecting Eternity:  An Interactive Workshop on Teaching and Directing Theatre (All Fine Arts Educators)

It has long been our claim that we create theatre to “change the world.” During the present time—with the myriad of challenges facing our world—all participants in fine arts education should be at the vanguard of such change.  Effecting Eternity:  An Interactive Workshop on Teaching and Directing Theatre includes many practical thoughts, ideas and exercises to the help in your preparation to teach theatre and direct a play–from selecting materials and scripts with appropriate themes, to creating a resource book of guiding imagery for each production, to techniques that will help connect with and ground the inexperienced performer.  Award-winning director and veteran arts educator Rod Caspers places strong emphasis on your educational mission–the “WHY” behind your teaching and directing – making sure everything you do relates back to the goals of your program. He poses the important question: How can your students become better individuals by learning about and participating in theatre production?  The training we do must impact our students far beyond their time on stage and enrich every part of their lives. 

NOTE:  It is Rod’s intention to adapt the content of this workshop to meet the specific needs of your district(s).  He would like to schedule a phone meeting with you prior to the actual presentation to teachers.  While the focus is on teaching and creating theatre, his workshop is valuable for all fine arts educators.

Christopher Hanson is a conductor, violinist, composer, pedagogue, and musicologist who enjoys performing with a large and eclectic group of ensembles in the state of Texas and abroad. Hanson holds three Masters Degrees from Texas State University in Music History, Music Theory, and Music Composition. He is currently working on his PhD in School Improvement at Texas State University, with a focus on teacher agency and the discourse between aesthetics and politics in public education. His research on African-American composer Edmond Dédé has afforded him an array of speaking engagements and publishing opportunities and several of his new chamber works for small string and wind ensembles received their debut performances in 2015. As a violinist, Hanson enjoys performing with the Sacred Ensemble with Dr. Shana Mashego, a collaborative project in which Hanson performs and arranges hymns for classical ensembles. Hanson currently resides in San Marcos, Texas and works as the Orchestra Director for San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District (SMCISD). Hanson is the founder and artistic director of the SMART Orchestra, a community-based orchestra created to encourage string education, established in the city of San Marcos in 2009. In the near future, Hanson hopes to continue his success at the podium by seeking more opportunities to study, perform, and teach through education initiatives.

Dialogue not Debate: How to facilitate conversations on difficult subjects in the classroom (All fine arts educators)

We can all recall the painful silence that follows a deep and sincere question from students on controversial issues, or the frenzied reactions of students in a heated argument over classroom content that sparks controversy.  This session will utilize the framework developed by Lisa Schirch and David Campt to promote active dialog between educators and students in the classroom. We will share testimonies of success and challenges, practice with real conversations, and develop skills and strategies for small group dialog through online platforms. You will leave this session with a plan and experience in facilitating and engaging in dialog rather than debate of difficult subjects.

The Power of Making Music in Collaborative Virtual Ensembles (K-12 music educators)

Explore the possibilities of making music with others through online platforms and resources. Christopher Hanson will share his experience designing, recruiting, facilitating, and publishing a virtual ensemble with participants from around the world! Hanson will share tested platforms, structures, and ideas for virtual music ensembles including programming, recruiting, assessing, recording, editing, collaborating, and promoting performance products and experiences online. Hanson’s experiences are based on his “Concert of Hope” which included music by living composers performed by musicians from age 9 to 50 from Washington, Oregon, South Carolina, California, Texas, Michigan, and Palestine this past spring 2020. 

Project Based Learning in the Hybrid Classroom: Including every music student in uncertain times (K-12 music educators)

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to plan instruction, especially with concerns of equity and access for all students. This workshop is a think tank designed to celebrate and share current best practices. Christopher Hanson will lead a conversation on the benefits of project based learning that utilizes hybrid models of instruction (online and in person with appropriate social distancing). Topics will include designing instruction while navigating challenges of technological literacy, access to technology, providing accommodations, performing assessments, and monitoring student engagement during  asynchronous and synchronous learning. Come join the conversation and build your professional network for the unique challenges we face in the coming year. 

Spanning her 30+ years in education, Dr. Pool has served the students of Texas as a teacher, principal, and central office administrator.  She is currently a member of the faculty at Texas State University in the College of Education, training new teachers for the challenges and rewards of public education. Kim began her career as a teacher of business in Ft. Stockton ISD.  She taught for 10 years in small Texas school districts before becoming a principal, serving in Carroll ISD in Southlake, Texas for several years.  Later, as the principal of Highland Park Middle School in Highland Park ISD, she led her campus to national recognition when it was named a Blue-Ribbon School by the United States Department of Education.  After her years as a principal, Dr. Pool was the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Keller ISD and then Chief Academic Officer in Hays CISD. 

Student-led Discussion (All fine arts educators)

Quality instruction always includes well-designed questions that require students to think at the creative, evaluative, and/or analysis levels.  These questions pique students’ curiosity and inspire student-led learning of meaningful and challenging content.  Using methods to create dynamic discussion among students is a mark of a master teacher.  In this interactive session, participants will learn to utilize Dr. Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats to foster student-led discussion in face-to-face instruction or using break-out groups in on-line learning.

Social-Emotional Learning(SEL) (All fine arts educators)

Instructional planning should include opportunities for students to utilize their individual learning patterns and habits in order to achieve high levels of academic and social emotional success.  How can your planning ensure your students have these opportunities? How can you be sure you are meeting your students’ social and emotional needs? Explore these questions and others as we prepare for this year of unanswered questions.