save the date for Institute 2010

Institute 2010 will be held June 14-18 in Montgomery at the St. James School in Montgomery. Schools are encouraged to send teams of at least 2 teachers and an administrator as we explore the essential place of STORY in history as reflected in the arts.

What is comprehensive arts education? It is not a specific curriculum. It is a way of teaching and learning that is based on the inquiry method. Some of the work you do will make you a better teacher by simply expanding your experience. As one teacher said last year, "We got to do grown-up things with grown-ups." There will be sessions that will fit your class or grade and there will be sessions that may not. but in each of these you will be able to see how to adapt a general concept to a specific need. To quote our Dance Director, "We are not into giving you a fish—we teach you how to fish." Each Institute strand will work throughout the week on lesson planning. Teachers will leave at the end of the week with at least one personally designed lesson.

What will I be expected to do? You will attend sessions in your art discipline from 8:30 - 4:30 each day. As a part of the week's schedule, participants in each of the discipline strands will also have the opportunity to see how arts-focused technology tools can help expand the concept of telling our stories. There are required evening activities as well and you are expected to be there as they do count for professional development hours. Plus, they are fun!

How do I choose which arts area? You may participate in either the Visual Arts, Theatre, Music or Dance strand. We encourage a first-year school to send at least two people to one discipline so there will be someone to plan with after returning home. Choose an area that interests you—one that you will be able to integrate into your teaching.

Throughout the week, we will be looking at the stories the artist tells in his work and the story the viewer hears as he studies the piece. As we do this, we will be finding ways for you and your students to tell your own stories. On Friday, school teams are reunited and spend the day rotating through all of the arts areas exploring different ways to tell our own stories. Each teacher will receive a multi-disciplinary unit along with resources for classroom implementation.

Follow-up is provided for participants throughout the school year. Staff will conduct school site visits in the fall and spring. Institute Directors will be able to communicate with participants via email. In the near future, AIEA hopes to post exemplary lesson plans on our web site. Also, AIEA sponsors four SuperSaturday sessions across a wide range of topics each year at no charge to AIEA schools.