The elements of a high quality visual and performing arts program may be divided into the following focus areas. Indicators of quality in each focus area may be described as follows:1
Standards-Based Curriculum
Instruction and Methodology
Student Assessment
Professional Development
TIP: Looking for professional development ideas? Check out the online resource Designing the Arts Learning Community: A Handbook for K-12 Professional Development Planners: |
Program Administration and Personnel
Partnerships and Collaborations
Program Evaluation
Communication and Advocacy
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The workshop script below is designed to help your Community Arts Team explore the Elements of a Quality Arts Education Program. By clearly defining what is required for a quality arts education program, the team can develop a shared language, philosophy, and definition of high-quality arts education for your unique district context. The process helps each team member to be an articulate and passionate advocate for the arts in the district, and lays the groundwork for district policy development in STAGE 3.
Click here [PDF: 212KB] to access a diagram of the Key Components of a Quality Arts Education Program [.pdf], which can serve as a valuable visual aid for your planning team as you assess the quality of your existing arts program.
Focus Question
Print or write the focus question on a large sheet of paper and affix to the wall. Make sure it is big and bold enough that all participants can view the question easily (see sample below).
Laying the Foundation
Adopting an Arts Education Policy that clearly outlines the expected elements of a quality program is essential to the delivery and sustainability of arts education in a district. The first step in policy development is for each team member to gain a shared understanding of what that actually means by answering the focus question together.
Visualization
Think back to your education experiences — as a student, teacher, administrator, or parent — that have had a profound impact on you. What made the experiences successful? What elements had to be in place for a successful and sustainable outcome?
Brainstorming Ideas
After the visualization, invite the team members to spend a little time brainstorming. Instruct each person to take out a sheet of paper and list 10-12 key elements of a quality arts education program. Ask them to be specific. For example: Ongoing professional development for generalists and arts specialist teachers.
Pair Sharing and Clarifying Ideas
Invite the team members to work in partners and discuss their ideas. Take the clearest ideas and write them out with felt tip marker on half-sheets of paper. The aim is to generate 40-50 ideas among the group. Use the following guide to determine the number of ideas each pair should generate:
10 participants | 5 pairs | 8-9 ideas per pair | 40-45 ideas |
16 participants | 8 pairs | 5-6 ideas per pair | 40-48 ideas |
20 participants | 10 pairs | 4-5 ideas per pair | 40-50 ideas |
To ensure that the ideas are clearly visible to the group when posted, invite the participants to: WRITE BIG, 5-7 WORDS PER SHEET, and 1 IDEA PER SHEET.
Synthesizing the Ideas
Set Up the Wall in Advance
If a sticky wall is not available, you may want to put several sheets of chart paper up on a blank wall.
Put half sheets (vertically) as placeholders across the top of your wall with symbols.
Collect and Organize the First Round of Ideas
The facilitator collects 2-3 half-sheets from each pair. It is helpful to read each idea aloud as you affix it to the wall.
Ask the group: Are there two half sheets that show a similar element? Begin to make vertical columns with pairs of half sheets.
Collect and Organize the Second Round of Ideas
The facilitator collects another round of half sheets from the team members. Continue to read the half sheets as you affix them to the wall.
Continue to categorize them into columns that describe a similar element or idea.
Create a Title for Each Column
Put up a whole sheet of paper at the top of each column and have the group come up with a name that describes the contents of that column.
The title should be 5-7 words and richly descriptive.
Consider the following prompts to help the group name each column:
- What words in this column stand out to you? (Underline the words.)
- What’s your gut reaction/emotional response to the words in this column?
- What are some themes, ideas, insights that this column holds?
- What name best describes what this column is about?
Go to a deeper level of consensus rather than just labeling the column; continue until all of the columns are titled.
Closing Conversation
This has been important work describing specifically and clearly what we mean when we describe a quality arts education program. Thanks for your insights and participation.
Documentation
The facilitator or a designee should document the results of the Elements of a Quality Arts Education workshop in the form of a table. The findings will be used in the policy development process.
Click here [PDF: 2.64MB] to access sample documentation of the Stage 2 Workshop, which was created using the Table function in Microsoft Word.
1 Adapted from Model Arts Education Toolkit: A Visual and Performing Arts Assessment Process. Sacramento: California Department of Education, 2001.