Promoting Teacher Leadership and Interdisciplinary Collaboration to Improve Student Engagement

• In Event: Teachers and Teacher Educators Using Action Research to Inform Practice

Abstract

Project InterArt is a teacher team from the High School of Art and Design, a career and technical school in New York City that specializes in the commercial arts. InterArt is committed to creating opportunities for teachers and students to engage in interdisciplinary projects that integrate the commercial arts and academics. To have students better understand other perspectives, we use interdisciplinary learning and promote collaboration among our art teachers and academic teachers. As a school-level action research project, InterArt is in its fourth year and seeks to expand by providing professional development to teachers at our school in interdisciplinary collaboration, while increasing teacher leadership opportunities. The InterArt group is comprised of an Art and Architecture teacher, a Spanish teacher, a Social Studies teacher, and an English teacher. These teacher researchers will share their experiences, describing the challenges related to teacher-led school improvement strategies and promoting new forms of teacher collaboration.

Authors

• Lorraine Liriano, The New School

• Maeve Gavagan, The New School

• Donna Lewis, The New School

• Nanci Richards, The New School