Professional Development for SY 20-21
Music of the African Diaspora
July 22nd-24th, 2021
July 22nd-24th, 2021
SankofaSongs and the Hayti Heritage Center, with support from the NC Humanities Council, have joined together to present a summer institute dedicated to culturally relevant music education strategies for teaching music of the African diaspora. The institute is virtual and is scheduled for July 22-24, 2021. With a theme of Scott Joplin’s grand opera Treemonisha, the 2021 institute will offer three days of programming designed for music teachers and arts administrators, collegiate music education faculty, music education majors, homeschooling and other interested parents, and high school students interested in careers in music education.
The Summer Institute is a groundbreaking initiative that sets the stage for teaching music of the African diaspora with authenticity, context and confidence. Music education in the U.S. provides a deep and thorough grounding in European thought, aesthetics and values. Black music traditions, modalities and values are equally important to American culture. The Summer Institute approaches Black music culture as a core part of American music education and as an appropriate and impactful response to the cultural milieu of every child in America. Space is limited and BPS music educators should register via this link.
Please email [email protected] if you have questions.
The Summer Institute is a groundbreaking initiative that sets the stage for teaching music of the African diaspora with authenticity, context and confidence. Music education in the U.S. provides a deep and thorough grounding in European thought, aesthetics and values. Black music traditions, modalities and values are equally important to American culture. The Summer Institute approaches Black music culture as a core part of American music education and as an appropriate and impactful response to the cultural milieu of every child in America. Space is limited and BPS music educators should register via this link.
Please email [email protected] if you have questions.
|
Adobe Spark Workshop
Mar 31st, 2021 | 4-5 PM
|
Animation Workshop
Mar 10th, 2021 | 4:30-6 PM
|
BPS Arts Annual PD Day: Student Engagement in the Arts
Jan 4th, 2021 | 9 AM-2:30 PM
Jan 4th, 2021 | 9 AM-2:30 PM
|
Wyatt Jackson
Keynote Speaker Grammy Award-Winning Performing Artist and Community Organizer |
Morning Breakout Sessions
|
Vertical Divider
"Looking to Learn: VTS/TAB" with Julia Einstein
Get an introduction to MassArt's Looking to Learn program and a glimpse into virtual field trips. Julia will walk us through a typical online gallery walk and related activities, highlighting Visual Thinking Strategies and Teaching for Artistic Behavior techniques through Zoom |
|
Vertical Divider
"The Universally Designed Music Room" with Will Houchin of the Sumner Elementary School
This session will unpack the basics of Universal Design for Learning and its application in the music classroom. The UDL model “anticipates diversity” in our students and helps teachers design instruction to meet the needs of any student who walks through their classroom door. Through UDL, classroom experiences are created that support students of varying academic levels including students with disabilities, english language learners, as well as “typical” students to provide them with a meaningful and engaging entrypoint into the content. Participants will examine and collaborate on ways to provide “Multiple Means of Representation, Action and Expression, and Engagement” in the general music classroom (virtually/hybrid/in person). |
|
Vertical Divider
"Basic Brass and Woodwind Repairs" with Steve Johnson of Virtuosity Music
Learn the basics of woodwind and brass repairs! |
|
Vertical Divider
"Creating Dance Pieces with Students with Disabilities" with Ava Untermyer of the Curley K-8 School
Creating Dance Pieces with Students with Disabilities explores the significance of equitable performance opportunities for youths with disabilities within K-12 public schools. Throughout the session we will examine “What are equitable performance opportunities?” “Why are they important to youths and overall school culture?” and “How can we create more equitable performance opportunities within BPS?” We will draw from samples of student work, interviews with students and professional Choreographers with Disabilities and our own personal experiences. Creating Dance Pieces with Students with Disabilities is an opportunity for us to collectively support inclusive arts experiences within the Boston Public Schools. * Please note, the workshop approaches performances as live and filmed pieces that can be shown through remote learning |
|
Vertical Divider
OBS How-To: Bringing Actors/Dancers from Different Locations Together Into a Virtual Scene to Livestream or Record Performances with Brendan Bradley
You will learn how to use Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), a free software download, to create virtual scenes and stages, and to bring dancers and/or actors together from different locations into the virtual scene. OBS can then be used as virtual camera to broadcast your performance out through ZOOM! Yes, find out how they do it |
Afternoon Breakout Sessions
|
Vertical Divider
Naming the World: Constructing an Activist Music Education with Dr. Juliet Hess
This workshop considers the work of 20 activist-musicians—individuals who identify as both activist and musician—and explores the ways in which music educators could construct an activist music education in K-12 schooling. A key question I asked in interviewing these activist musicians encouraged them to think about, given their current activist music-making, what they would have liked to have had in their own public school programs. This workshop engages with the tenets of an activist music education rooted in the work of activist-musicians. Together, we will explore what it might mean to implement a pedagogy of community, a pedagogy of expression, and a pedagogy of noticing in K-12 classrooms. All participants in this session will be provided the book via mail. 
Music Education For Social Change:
Constructing an Activist Music Education Dr. Juliet Hess, Michigan State University |
|
Vertical Divider
Finding Your Light: Sharing Resources to Uplift Your Practice
As BPS arts educators, we are a great resource to each other to build meaningful and impactful educational experiences. During this session, we will reflect collectively on our current practices in the remote/hybrid classroom, participate in teacher-led activities, and engage in important conversation on serving the needs of students during this time. By doing so, we will celebrate and learn from each others’ teaching styles, borrow ideas for our curriculum, and obtain strategies for designing and implementing curriculum in different and new ways. We kindly request 4-5 session participants prepare to lead 1 activity that they have facilitated in their classrooms. Please consider sharing an activity that worked well and you are excited to share. This activity must only be 2-5 minutes in length. **Interested teachers should email Nikki Olusanya at [email protected] by 12/29 with 1-2 sentences on what you will teach and some context about the activity. -Co-facilitated by Company One Theatre Staff |
|
Vertical Divider
Targeting Student Engagement through Tech Tools Swap with Amy Wedge (Visual Art, Music, and Dance Session)
Our VAMA Curriculum Swap was such a hit that we've dedicated a session to sharing all your Engagement/Tech tips. What techniques are working for you on Zoom? What programs? What apps? What teacher moves? Come share out and receive a $15 Target GC for participating. Complete this FORM so we can create a lineup for sharing.All arts disciplines are welcome! |
September 2020 PD Week
September PD Week Keynote: Collection X Reflection = Art
Dr. Sheril Antonio bio NYU Tisch School of the Arts 
Student Engagement
Corey Depina Zumix Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. -Benjamin Franklin In this workshop we drive into the world of creative learning by exploring one's persona while teaching online and its relationship to engaging students . 80% of what you teach is who you are. Social Emotional Learning in the Performing Arts
Dr. Scott Edgar Lake Forest College Adolescents encounter a great deal of social and emotional challenges affecting their lives personally, academically, and artistically. These students, seeking support for these challenges, approach arts educators regularly. Arts educators and their arts programs are in a primed position to provide students this support through a socially rich and emotionally sound environment. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is a framework intended to help students become socially and emotionally competent. The purpose of this session is to introduce the framework of SEL and to highlight explicit connections to arts education. Additionally, we will engage in the BPS SEL in the Arts resource of over 30 lessons focused on the themes of Community Building, Self-Identity, and Social Justice connected to the SEL Core Competencies and the Massachusetts Core Arts Anchor Standards. Culturally Diverse Picture Books in the General Music Classroom
Dr. Suzanne Hall Temple University Theatre teachers, teaching remotely, don’t have to give up on “the fun stuff”—improvisation games and exercises—which engage and inspire students. Participants in this session will learn techniques for conducting several well-known improv activities remotely. We will look into how to run improv online for the sake of theatre training, for competitive team-based practice, and improv geared to satisfy theatre standards. Incorporating other subject areas into theatre improv will also be covered. In The Role of Student: Strategies for Rehearsing Plays and Musicals Online
Emily Culver Edison K-8 School Yes, theatre teachers can persevere to direct and produce performances remotely. In this practical session, participants will assume the role of students (and actors) engaged in a play rehearsal. We will learn techniques for organizing actors, conducting rehearsals, and for recording scenes for performance using the Zoom platform. Topics covered will include managing actors (and spectators) and manipulating the Zoom application to create monologue, dialogue and group (or chorus) scenes. Costumes, make-up and the use of green screens to create scenery will be covered as well. We will look at performance options—pre-recording, editing and “broadcasting” vs. live-steaming. Yes, the show can and must go on! |
Poetry and Spoken Word
Porsha Olayiwola, Boston Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla, Boston Youth Poet Laureate Join Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola and Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla in an engaging discussion on the power of spoken word. We will learn about entry points for classroom integration, sources of inspiration, and unique ways for showcasing student presentations. Arts Integration
Sadie Soto Applegate-Dance Educator at the Mildred Avenue K8 School, Katina McClain-Dance Educator at The English High School, Cara Campenelli-Music Educator at the Mission Hill K8 School, Constance Cummings-Visual Arts Educator at the Roger Clap Elementary School, Fabiola Decius-Theatre Arts Educator at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School, Julia Perlowski-Theatre Arts Educator at the Blackstone Innovation School, Paul Sedgwick-BPS Theatre Content Specialist We will review the various forms of arts integration and examine several sample lesson plans created by BPS arts teachers which demonstrate ways in which the arts may be in alignment with the scope and sequence of other subject areas such as ELA, Science and Math. Conducting Standards-Based Theatre Improv via Zoom
Joe Gels Boston Latin School Theatre teachers, teaching remotely, don’t have to give up on “the fun stuff”—improvisation games and exercises—which engage and inspire students. Participants in this session will learn techniques for conducting several well-known improv activities remotely. We will look into how to run improv online for the sake of theatre training, for competitive team-based practice, and improv geared to satisfy theatre standards. Incorporating other subject areas into theatre improv will also be covered. Supporting Transgender and Non-Binary Students
Dr. Christy Whittlesey Chelmsford Public Schools/UMass Lowell Transgender and non-binary students are at risk in our K-12 schools (in-person or remote). Our students experience almost constant challenges as they navigate spaces and institutional practices that were not designed to accommodate their gender identities. So how can K-12 arts educators ensure these students feel safe, seen, and supported in their arts classrooms? It’s OK to Say They offers practical tools educators can use to foster an inclusive environment for all students—regardless of gender—and incorporates the voices of transgender and non-binary students. |