At the winter Peer-to-Peer (P2P) meetings of the C3 Squared project, educators and teaching artists reflected on the performance and arts residencies that took place in the fall and began planning arts-integrated units for the spring. Separate full-day meetings, which were led by C3 Squared project director Carol Brown and curriculum coordinator Laura Reeder, were held for Grade 4 and Grade 5 teacher teams.
| Teacher Reflections on the Fall Performance and Residencies
"Students were excited, eager see the teaching artist and PUSH performance." "The students I didn't expect to be responsive were." "Students were excited to be members of an audience." "My class requires a lot of movement. The unit kept them moving." "Students saw possibilities." "My struggling students were able to shine."
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After welcoming marks by Ms. Brown and Ms. Reeder, participants asked to share how the performance and fall residency had impacted student learning, professional qualities, and the 4Cs (Creativity and Innovation; Collaboration; Critical Thinking and Problem Solving; and Communication ). During the fall, teachers and students saw a performance by PUSH Physical Theatre and participated in an arts residency, both of which had been aligned to a curriculum topic. Overall, the responses (see "Reflections" above) were positive and praised the work of PUSH and the teaching artists.
Next, the teacher teams organized photographs and other materials from their fall activities (photo above) to create a story-boarded PowerPoint known as Pecha Kucha. Ms. Reeder explained that the Pecha Kucha tool, which is designed to communicate ideas fully and succinctly, would be used throughout the grant project to demonstrate meaningful evidence of learning and professional practice. Each team shared their first Pecha Kucha with the other educators and teaching artists (photo below).
During the afternoon, meeting participants previewed a video clip of storyteller-musician David Gonzalez's Mytholojazz. Teachers and students will see Mr. Gonzalez perform this spring. Afterwards, each teaching artist gave a brief presentation to demonstrate how he or she might make connections with Mr. Gonzalez's performance using his or her art discipline. Dance artist Danielle Marie Fusco guided teachers in communicating words through movement (photos below).
Each teacher team and a teaching artist then collaborated on the design of a unit of study for the spring (photo below). The educators and artists discussed methods for aligning David Gonzalez's performances and arts-based activities with existing curriculum. In addition to the performance and the artist residency, the spring units will include grade level classroom instruction and specialty teacher support.
