Collaboration by Design: A School-University Partnership Facilitates Arts Specialist Communities of Practice

• In Event: Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: Taking Professional Development to Scale in Arts Education

Abstract

This longitudinal study examines the impact of an urban Professional Development School (PDS) network on arts specialist communities of practice in public and private PK-16 schools. The urban school-university partnership facilitated long-term school-and university-based arts professionals’ collaboration. Partnership participants engaged in site-specific content-based arts instruction, classroom arts integration, professional development, and project design/implementation, all facilitating a strong community of practice among teachers. The school-university partnership was designed to develop organizational structures most supportive of teacher development, and consequently, most likely to impact curricular development and implementation. Findings included increased inquiry-based arts instruction by arts specialists; increased collaborative planning, implementation and assessment of sequential arts curricula across arts disciplines; and increased collaboration among classroom teachers and arts specialists.

Author

• Catherine Larsen, DePaul University