NEH Picturing America Arts Integration March, 2012 Conference

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Conservatory Lab with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston presents:
Interdisciplinary Teaching in the Elementary Classroom
Art and Music as Tools for Learning
A Picturing America School Collaboration Conference

Click here to fill out your 2012 Picturing America application

Download the conference brochure to learn more!

About Conservatory Lab and Picturing America
Founded in 1999, Conservatory Lab Charter School is a music-centered elementary  school on the cutting edge of arts integration.  Expeditionary Learning provides a framework  for interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum that actively engages students in creating  authentic products and producing  performances. El Sistema at Conservatory  Lab offers students intensive, ensemble- focused music education through orchestra  and choral classes. These dual approaches  nurture children’s academic, creative,  and social growth as contributing  members of their community.

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Picturing America program is based on the same belief that the arts can enhance and improve learning experiences for students. The masterpieces contained in the program’s portfolio portray the rich and multifaceted history of America and provide students with numerous perspectives from which they can approach the study of historical events, people and cultural contexts.

Once introduced to these methods of arts analysis and integration and the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) resources, participating educators from the Greater Boston area will have the tools to expand their own curricula, enhance the arts learning that occurs in their classrooms and, in turn, significantly strengthening their students’ academic growth and skill development.

Conference Overview
The one-day conference will give teachers the tools to create innovative and effective instructional practices for integrating art, music, and poetry into thematic social studies curricula at the upper elementary level. Each of the two primary sessions will feature a pivotal period in American history—Revolutionary War and the Great Migration—using images from the Picturing America collection. The afternoon will include a planning session during which participants apply the practices presented at the conference to design an interdisciplinary lesson for their classrooms. The conference concludes with a tour of the new Art of the Americas Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, led by MFA curatorial and education departments.

MFA, Boston | Art of the Americas

Conference Topics
Session 1 (Revolutionary War) will feature John Copley’s Paul Revere, 1768 and Grant Wood’s The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, 1931 from the Picturing America collection. Music selections will focus on broadside ballads and their role in mobilizing protest actions against the British.

Session 2 (Great Migration) will feature Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, no. 57, 1940-41 and Romare Bearden’s The Dove, 1964 from the Picturing America collection. Music presentations will focus on the blues.

Teachers will observe and analyze  artworks, listen to and interpret musical  compositions, and learn how to integrate  art and music into social studies and English Language Arts curricula. They will experience how to facilitate learner-centered discussions of art, music, and poetry to help students develop critical thinking skills, deepen  comprehension, and make connections  between artistic, musical, and literary genres.

Benefits for Participants

• $250 stipend

• Professional development points (PDPs) upon completion of interdisciplinary lesson plan

• Tour of the MFA’s new Art of the  Americas wing, showcasing more than 5,000 works of art produced in North, Central, and South America

• Certificate of attendance

• Lesson plans aligned with state and  national standards

• Bibliography of related reading and  listening resources

• One-on-one consultation with Museum and Conservatory Lab educators

During the 2011–2012 school year, conference participants will be invited to schedule their students for inquiry-based Picturing America onsite museum tours led by the MFA’s trained gallery instructors. Additionally, teachers are encouraged to visit Conservatory Lab for further independent professional development and classroom observations.

Click on the photo to hear the 5th graders performing, “Stand Up, Speak Out.”

Application Process
Upper elementary  classroom teachers (Grades 3-6) from  Massachusets and  surrounding states  are eligible to apply.  Conference staff will  select fifty participants on a rolling basis. The conference is provided free of charge.

Criteria for Selection
The following material must be submitted/postmarked by January 17th, 2012 to CSchroeder@conservatorylab.org or to the address included in the application form:

A completed Picturing America application
An updated resume or CV
A typewritten response to the following questions:

1) Why are you interested in participating in this conference? What do you hope to gain? What steps will you take to share the skills and techniques learned at the conference with your colleagues? (up to 200 words)

2) Using one or two specific examples, describe how you have integrated visual materials and/or music in your lessons? (up to 200 words)

3) Choose one of the images from the Picturing America collection that you would like to integrate into an interdisciplinary history lesson plan. Explain why you chose it. What would you like to know about the image to help you plan your lesson? (up to 100 words)

Click here to fill out your 2012 Picturing America application

An email notification will be sent to the applicant within 24 hours upon receipt of required application materials listed above. The conference staff will carefully review all application
materials and applying teachers will be notified of their status via email by February 3rd, 2012.

To learn more about Conservatory Lab Charter School visit us at conservatorylab.org.

Images captured by Toni Jackson

This conference is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For further information regarding this conference, please e-mail Chris Schroeder at CSchroeder@conservatorylab.org or call at 617.254.8904 ext. 206