Participant Reflections on the K-12 Full-Day Integrated Teaching Through the Arts Workshop

Everyone had a great day at our Integrated Teaching Through the Arts workshop at Barnstable High School on January 18th. Focusing on Creative Movement, Poetry, Music and Drama, the day was full of energy and engagement. Here are some reflections from the participants.

I loved it! I'm excited to go to school next week and try some of the ideas that were presented.

It brought me back to the most important aspect of a child's learning-the process and not necessarily the product.

It gave me more insight as to how some students could learn and understand content better by using kinesthetic methods through the arts.

I got so many great ideas! It was great discussing different subjects and how these ideas could tie into these subjects.

I knew movement was important for children, but now I have some knowledge of how to incorporate it into any area of the curriculum.

Great way of looking at some ways to pique the interest of our students and relay subject matter in a more exciting and engaging way...very successful.

This workshop was totally awesome. It has given me a better insight on how to teach children.

I never realized that using the arts could be done to incorporate so many learning skills.

I spend my whole day trying to get students interacting. This has given me a fresh outlook and great resources to lean on.

Time flew. I never looked at the clock. One of those days I wish I could stay longer in class.

Each of the activities was discussed after and how it could be adapted to different content areas and grade levels.

Provided reassurance that teaching should be student-centered and they should be able to process. It's a journey not a sprint.

Activities were presented with time for the group to experience the activity. Very well done.

The workshop was extremely well organized-minimal amounts of teacher talk- lots of doing. Serves as an example on how to organize and facilitate a workshop.

The workshop was very well organized. The day went by without the need to look at the clock. This is the worst part of the workshop, because it's over!

I will use skills learned in this workshop to raise the comfort level of all students and to lower affective filters.

The group accomplished quite a bit in one day, but the workshop wasn't rushed. I feel like I have a good grasp of each activity and am leaving with confidence and knowledge to try some of the ideas on my own.

I do not believe that it would be possible for a teacher to leave this room today without a new idea and an excitement to get back to work.

I can't come up with any way it should be improved other than making it mandatory for all teachers to participate.

Their [the presenters] knowledge, prep and presentation were inspiring as well as enlightening. I want to go back and be a better teacher.

All presenters certainly knew the material well; however, it was truly the belief in what they were teaching that made the biggest impact.

All three presenters did a wonderful job! There was a great flow to the workshop. They managed to keep everyone engaged.

We will be posting some of the activities that we used during the day in the near future. Please feel free to comment and post some ideas that have worked for you. Keep checking the blog for more workshops and graduate level college courses that we'll be offering in the near future. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to have us come to your school and conduct a workshop or a course.