Urban Classroom Teachers and Arts Integration: The Impact of a Professional Development School Network on Preservice Preparation and Induction

• In Event: Perspectives From Neuromusic, Arts Integration, and New Media Research for Student Achievement and Teacher Education

Abstract

Reporting initial results of an on-going study of a cohort of novice elementary classroom teachers engaged in arts integration in public, private and charter urban classroom settings. The three years of data collection and analysis included per-service candidate experiences, the first year of teaching and in-depth planning/implementation of arts integration units for the second teaching year.
PDS structure and collaborative partnerships facilitated a more effective pre-service experience (classroom work intermeshed with concurrent clinical experiences), a more intensive and opportunity-laden student teaching experience, and the kind of induction during the critical first year of teaching that a professional community of learners can provide. These critical components intersected to create a supportive environment for authentic arts integration by elementary classroom teachers.

Authors

• Catherine Larsen, DePaul University

• Nancy L. Whitaker, University of Wisconsin - Parkside