The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced that it is partnering with the Indiana Department of Education to offer two Arts Integration Learning Labs for K-12 educators and teaching artists. Arts integration is the work of skillfully combining arts learning with other learning goals. The Learning Labs are designed to empower teaching artists and classroom educators to partner together on meaningful arts integration experiences for their students.
This partnership follows the Partnering Arts, Communities, and Education (PACE) program, a research program conducted by the IAC from 2015 to 2021, which explored the impact of a long-term artist residency in elementary classrooms. Research findings from the PACE program demonstrated clear growth and a positive impact on the learning outcomes and engagement of young people involved in the program.
The Arts Integration Learning Labs will utilize the learnings from the PACE program to expand educators’ and artists’ tools in creative teaching strategies. The in-person, hands-on trainings will feature dual tracks for classroom educators and teaching artists to learn content specifically tailored to them, as well as opportunities for the two groups to come together to network with and learn from one another. Following the Learning Labs, educators will be eligible to apply for up to $3,000 in fellowship funding to put their learning into practice in their own classrooms.
“Activating the learnings from the PACE program for a broader cohort of classroom educators and teaching artists has been the goal since we launched the program in 2015,” said Miah Michaelsen, IAC Executive Director. “The PACE program clearly demonstrates the impact that a focused quality education infused with arts provides for learners over time. We are grateful for the partnership of the Department of Education in broadening access to arts integration for classroom educators, teaching artists, and students.”
The two Arts Integration Learning Lab full-day trainings will occur on Wednesday, July 13th in Muncie, IN and Friday, July 15th at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center in Jasper, IN. Each training is free to attend with limited spots available. This opportunity is open to all Indiana classroom educators, though the design of the content will be especially beneficial for K-8 non-arts educators and teaching artists who have some previous experience in working with youth.