YEAR I: 2004 Program Overview
Preparatory Workshop / June 12, 2004
Program Orientation - Program participants will gather on the campus of American University for an intensive afternoon workshop to lay the groundwork for the year’s activities. Participants will be introduced to the art courses they will take during the Summer Institute as well as the research techniques and pedagogical themes that will be covered throughout the year. Because of the intensive nature of the Summer Institute, participants will be given syllabi, books, and other materials for the summer courses.
Three Week Summer Institute / June 28, 2004 – July 20, 2004
Art Course – During the first Summer Institute, participants will take a studio-based course, “The Role of Aesthetic Judgment in the Critical Processes of Making Art,” designed for artists and art teachers already working at a professional level. It will provide teacher participants with an opportunity to examine more fully the processes of making art while further developing their own personal art. While working mainly in painting, drawing, and collage, the course will look at the roles that aesthetics play in evaluating a work of art and in addressing style. Participants will receive three graduate level credits upon successful completion of course requirements including a research paper.
Curriculum Design Course - The curriculum design course of the Summer Institute, conducted by the American University School of Education, will focus on the development of strategies for increasing student understanding of the principles and methods learned in the art course by integrating the content, instructional strategies, and authentic assessment. Using a model of project-based professional development, teacher participants will design lesson and unit plans that will incorporate art principles and methods and pedagogical approaches to teaching art content. This first year, the unit will focus on concepts involving aesthetics and art criticism. Teachers will field-test their lessons and the lessons for their units designed by other teachers during the following school year. Teacher participants will receive three graduate level credits upon successful completion of all course requirements.
Follow-up Seminars / November 20, 2004
Teacher participants will meet to report on their experiences with the implementation of the lesson plans developed during the Summer Institute and on their action research projects. The sessions will help participants solidify their experiences with the new teaching strategies and provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and continue network-building.
