Teacher and artist professional development is at the core of CAPE’s practice. Below is just a glimpse into three years (more than twenty) focused professional development sessions that I co-designed and implemented. PDs are listed in chronological order so keep scrolling down!

Teaching Artist PD at Experimental Sound Studio August 2011

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Teaching Artist PD at UIC’s Gallery 400 June 2011
Experienced teaching artists co-led a workshop on fundamentals of teaching art practice with a particular emphasis on big idea, collaboration, and exploring ways of making meaning.  Utilizing forms of dance, music, and visual arts, participant prospective teaching artists were able to reflect on personal perspectives of creating content in their own work as well as how these concepts might transfer into potential classroom curriculum.  Discovery and discussion allowed them to expand on notions of process and product and where classroom and contemporary art practice meet.

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Portfolios/Archives PD at UIC’s Gallery 400 December 2011
In conjunction with UIC’s Gallery 400 exhibit: Archival Impulse, teaching teams delved into portfolio and archive practice in the classroom. Experts in the field discussed how to tailor best practices for optimal use in music, art, and language arts classrooms. Teaching teams discussed strategies for implementing portfolio and archive practices in their classrooms for both students and teachers.

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Arts Integration; Arts and Literacy PD at Pirie Elementary January 2012
Teaching teams uncovered connections between arts and literacy during hands on group and individual activities. Presenters put forward for discussion examples of professional artists’ and writers’ work and challenged teaching teams to draw their own connections between the arts and literacy. Time was then allotted for teaching teams to discuss implications this would have on their curriculum.

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Portfolios; Aspirations and Challenges, discussion with Dr. Larry Scripp at CAPE 2012
Teaching teams met with Dr. Larry Scripp and began designing portfolio systems for their students based on their own individual school’s aspirations and challenges.

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Cross Program Teaching Artist PD at Experimental Station 2012
Teaching Artists with varied experience across CAPE programs were invited to explore personal art practice and portfolio practice in their own work and the work they produce with teachers and students in schools.  Through art making prompted by TASKS and objects, participants collaborated and combined objects to create narrative and installations.  Throughout the day they considered the role of how portfolio-ing  and documenting might further inform their work.

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Intersections in Music/Art/Literacy PD at Lafayette Elementary School  2012
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The Student Portfolio from a Writer’s Perspective PD at Open Books 2013

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Investigating Student Artifacts PD at Kipling Elementary School 2013