Summer 2021 Professional Development Series

RESTORATIVE COMMUNITY BUILDING THROUGH ART

How can teachers re-engage students and rebuild school communities following the pandemic?

What is the role of the arts in community building?  How do we use the arts as a tool to rebuild community as schools transition back to in-person learning?

The VCFA 2021 professional development series will focus on the role of the arts as a form of leadership for restoring our communities in the classroom and beyond. VCFA faculty will offer a dynamic series of professional development workshops in restorative practices for revitalizing learning communities through imaginative and democratic action. Workshops will focus on a wide array of restorative creative practices in art and design, providing resources and inspiration to re-engage students in uncertain times.

 

Posters, Community, and Curriculum

Faculty: William Estrada

Participants will explore the creation and use of posters as civic engagement and advocacy tools. We will learn to analyze, interpret, and evaluate visual images that focus on social justice themes, with a focus on 3rd-12th grade learners. Participants will explore the use of art as a tool for education and curriculum development. (15 Contact Hours—9 hrs in class/6 hrs self-study) Tuition: $150

June 22, June 29 & July 6, 6–9 pm EDT

Cultivating Restorative Artful Listening Practices

Faculty: Christina Hanawalt and Brooke Hofsess

In this workshop, we will explore qualities of listening that allow this vital practice to become restorative and artful within communities of teachers. Participants will be introduced to processes of listening that shift towards new dialogic formats, including critical friends discussions and responsive artmaking, and will invite engagement with a range of concerns including curricular aims, community assets, contextual challenges, and student lives. (10 Contact Hours—8 hrs in class/2 hrs self-study) Tuition: $100

July 13 & July 14, 1–5 pm EDT

Re-envisioning Curriculum with the Studio Thinking Framework

Faculty: Kimberly Sheridan

Using the Studio Thinking Framework as a tool to revisit and reimagine your curriculum, focusing on the artistic habits of mind you want students to develop in your class. Through activities we’ll work to see what habits of mind you are already encouraging and how to make them more explicit for students. We’ll consider how to use the framework to meaningfully assess student learning. (6 Contact Hours—4 hrs in class/2 hrs self-study) Tuition: $75

July 12 & 15, 1–3 pm EDT

Media Literacy and Social Identity in the Classroom

Faculty: Kelly Gross and Elizabeth Patton

This workshop presents the theoretical framework and instructional strategies needed to teach K-12 students to analyze media representations of social identity and community. This workshop provides an overview of the important role of media in developing communities and understanding different aspects of social identity such as gender, race, class, and disability. Participants will explore applications of media literacy and curriculum development through art practice. (15 Contact Hours—9 hrs in class/6 hrs self-study) Tuition: $100

July 16, 23 & 30, 10 am–1 pm EDT

Participatory Community Design and Radical Imagination

Faculty: Aaron Knochel

This workshop explores speculative design practice utilizing participatory community design methods, design thinking, and digital fabrication techniques to engage the radical potential of imagination in restoring community and belonging. Acts of distributed leadership, place making, and social justice will guide conceptions of shared purpose and collective care. Participants will gain hands-on skills in digital fabrication and community asset mapping to inspire new project work and curriculum appropriate to arts and arts-integrated classrooms. (20 Contact Hours—12 hrs in class/8 hrs self-study) Tuition: $200

July 19, 22, 26 & 29, 1–4 pm EDT

 

Full series discounted tuition: $500