Professional Development

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Think 360 Arts offers training and professional development in arts integration for classroom teachers, arts specialists, administrators, and cultural organizations. We assist leaders in exploring ways to create, support, and sustain educational environments that foster creativity, innovation, student engagement, and 21st-century skills. Programming is supported by Colorado Creative Industries.

Upcoming Events at a Glance

 

Click the tabs to learn about each type of Professional Development we offer.

Creative Learning LabsInstitute for Creative TeachingCustom PD
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Creative Learning Labs are half-day workshops on a variety of topics relevant to educators, teaching artists, and arts education providers. We assist leaders in exploring ways to create, support, and sustain educational environments that foster creativity, innovation, student engagement, and 21st century skills.

 

Past Workshops: May 15, 2020

1:00pm – 2:30pm MST

The Power of Story for Change

Presented by: donnie l. betts, Teaching Artist

Session Details
The artist has a social responsibility to not only entertain but to educate. This session will focus on the power of sharing one's own story with others to inspire change. To encourage inclusive, intentional behavior in teaching, in conversation and in our interaction with others. We will use storytelling, radio (podcast) and visual art of Romare Bearden, Faith Ringgold and others to walk with us through this. The voice of playwright August Wilson will also play a role. This is an interactive experience. This workshop is available on YouTube.

 

Past Workshops: May 8, 2020

1:00pm – 2:30pm MST

Celebrating Strength: Identifying opportunities and wellness paths for self and others in context mass trauma

Presented by: Bianca Mikahn, Teaching Artist

Session Details
As a cultural connector and creative wellness champion, Bianca Mikahn utilizes her own experiences in mental health, social justice activism, and trauma-informed care to curate dynamic sound and word-art experiences designed to increase self-awareness and civic engagement. This workshop is available on YouTube.

 

Past Workshops: April 24, 2020

Video Release

Teaching Social Justice Through Music

Presented by: Andrea Asali, Teaching Artist and Katrina Hendrick, Denver Public Schools

Session Details
Many people have a strong sense of when something isn’t fair…but how do we define fairness, and how do we create social justice? What can educators, artists, and administrators do to foster a culture of social justice within the groups they lead? Join us in this interactive workshop as we explore how creating, listening to, and analyzing music allows us to experience privilege and opportunity from different angles. Together we’ll brainstorm ways you can use music in your practice/classroom to spark discussion of social justice. This workshop is available on YouTube.

 

Past Workshops: April 10, 2020

1:00pm – 2:30pm

The Wellness Workshop

Presented by: Andrea Moore, Teaching Artist

Session Details
Managing our individual isolation with the expectation that we should be as connected to our community as before has many of our heads spinning. For educators, quarantine is anything but idle: suddenly, you’re responsible for the impossible task of meaningfully connecting with students across space. If you’re feeling burnt out, stressed, and overwhelmed, you’re not alone.  We need new tools to respond to this challenge… and to build new tools, we need inner capacity. The Wellness Workshop aims to slow you down, tune you up, and get you ready to work again… with a little more peace of mind. This workshop was hosted live through Zoom and was FREE for participants. Please come prepared with your favorite writing utensil and a notebook, notepad, or journal for this workshop. The workshop is available on YouTube.

 

Andrea Moore is a social artist, activist, educator, and entrepreneur. She began working with people who experience disabilities in 2002 as an adventure camp counselor at Adam’s Camp. Andrea discovered quickly that her own “special needs” were being fulfilled alongside the people she was hoping to serve, and her interest in the concept of mutual aid was sparked. In addition to serving as Executive Director for The Wayfaring Band, Andrea is a working artist using writing, performance, and photography to foster dialogue and connection across social and cultural lines. She is passionate about advocacy and responsible leadership, particularly in partnership with unprotected and disenfranchised communities, and she brings this experience to bear in all her pursuits.

 

Please contact Jason Diminich for details.

Collaboration and sharing is one of the founding principles of great educational practice. Think 360 Arts reserves the right to publish photographic testimonies and representations of the experiences within the structure of the Creative Learning Labs on our social media platforms, and in our marketing materials.

 


The Institute for Creative Teaching is an in-depth week-long summer institute, in collaboration with the University of Denver’s Morgridge School of Education, offering the theory and practice of arts integration.

2019 Institute for Creative Teaching

Dates: June 17-21, 2019

Location: Graland Country Day School

55 Clermont Street, Denver

Times: 8:30am – 4:00pm

Tuition Cost:

Full price = $375

Group Discount (3 or more) = $350

*DPS Scholarship = $175 (plus 3 session residency in the fall)

**Rural Educator Scholarship = FREE (plus free 3 session residency in the fall)

Think 360 artists = FREE

Refund Policy: If Think 360 Arts cancels this class, all participants will receive a full refund. If a participant cancels after June 1st, 2019  there will be no refunds given.

*Denver Public Schools Scholarships Thanks to our partnership with Denver Arts & Venues, we are pleased to offer 10 special scholarships to Denver Public Schools teachers. These scholarships come with a FREE artist residency in your school during the fall of 2019. Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis after teachers fill out a simple scholarship application no later than May 7th,  2019. Teachers of all grade levels and content areas are eligible.

**Rural Educator Scholarships Thanks to the generous sponsorship from Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetii, we are pleased to offer 2-3 special scholarships to educators from Colorado’s rural Creative Districts. In addition to free admission, these scholarships come with a FREE artist residency in your school during the fall of 2019. Scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis after teachers fill out a simple scholarship application no later than May 7th,  2019. Teachers of all grade levels and content areas are eligible. Limited travel stipends are also available.

Register Now

If you have any questions, please contact Jason Diminich, Education Director at jason@think360arts.org.

What is the Institute for Creative Teaching?

It is a nationally recognized professional development institute, offered in June, for educators, artists, and administrators to:

  • Reignite passion for teaching and find renewed joy in the classroom.
  • Explore strategies to equip students with 21st century skills such as innovation, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking.
  • Participate in hands-on workshops with master teaching artists to discover how to integrate arts-based practices into everyday teaching.
  • Collaborate with arts integration specialists to connect and apply artistic experiences to the standards-based curriculum.
  • Participants receive 30+ contact hours toward CDE license renewal.
  • Discover ways to implement the NEW 2020 Colorado Academic Standards in Visual and Performing Arts!

Testimonials from past Institute participants:

“This was one of the best trainings I have been to, and one of the most applicable to who I want to be as a teacher.”

“The personal growth is as important as the ideas for the classroom.”

“The most memorable thing was collaboration with other participants and instructors and the quality of the artists and their approachability and flexibility.”

“Every teacher should take this training. It will enable you to reach children in a completely different way.”

2019 Institute Faculty

Pam Faro, Storytelling

Tony Ortega,Visual Arts

David Reuille, Dance

Bob Hall, African Drumming

Chelsea Gilmore, Nature Art

Curious Theatre Company, Theatre

Shannon Burgert, Ph.D, Boulder Valley Public Schools

Erin B. Lea-Dougherty, Denver Public Schools

Michael Medina, Cherry Creek Public Schools

Bruce Uhrmacher, Ph.D, Program Chair, Curriculum and Instruction, DU Morgridge College of Education

Custom Professional Development

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Think 360 Arts offers custom-designed programs for school faculty that support teachers’ efforts to reach every student through imaginative and alternative ways of teaching. We encourage schools’ commitment to the arts as a key component of the teaching and learning environment. Think 360 Arts will customize a program that is the right length and focus for your faculty. Sessions may include:

  • Connecting arts-integration to new Colorado Academic Standards, and 21st Century Skills
  • Hands-on workshops with professional teaching artists
  • Curriculum connections to specific content areas
  • Demonstration lessons, unit and lesson planning, and discussion
  • Aesthetic education theory and practice

Art Education Consultants:

Is your school looking to make a deeper impact through the arts? Develop an arts strategic plan? Create an art academy? Design a visiting artist program? Contact Jason Diminich at jason@think360arts.org for suggestions or more information. In addition, you may choose to deepen the impact of a Think 360 Arts performance, workshop, or residency at your school by adding professional development sessions for the faculty. Prices vary depending on the program you select.