In my 17 years of teaching this is by far
the best professional development that I
have ever done.
The Summer Teacher Institutes offer
educators from around the country the
opportunity to spend a week of intensive
professional development with us at the
Smithsonian American Art Museum,
exploring ways to integrate American art into rich
learning experiences for their students.
Teachers are active learners in our
galleries and return to their classrooms
invigorated with new ideas and concrete
ways to engage students.
I was so excited to come to Washington DC and be at the
Smithsonian. They had so many amazing
resources and it just draws people from
all over the country.
From the moment I saw their application I knew it would be
a great honor to be accepted to it, and
it was! I'm glad I got to come to
this place to learn from some of the
experts, the world's greatest experts on
American art, about how I can incorporate it
into my curriculum.
Teachers come to our Institute with varying levels of
experience using art in their teaching.
Most of our participants teach Social
Studies, History, or English. So while they
might have an interest or realize
innately that their students are engaged
by visuals, they don't necessarily feel
confident teaching with art. What we do
during this week is open that door for
teachers and help them build the
knowledge and skills that they need to
integrate art in a meaningful way.
Looking at it not just as illustration, but
as rich, complex content in itself.
I came to the Institute because I lacked the skills
to make my classroom teaching of art
student centered. I am leaving the
Institute with a plethora of skills that
can be used in my humanities class, but
can also be used in my English classes,
and that my students can put in their
tool belt and
take into any of their classes and
beyond when they're done with school.
During the Institute, teachers have the
chance to spend time with a wide range
of artworks in our galleries, see a variety
of teaching approaches modeled, and get
hands-on experience putting them into
practice. We discuss how to pair works
of art with historical documents and
literary sources, we explore digital tools that
they can use to bring art into the
classroom, and we go behind the scenes to
learn from experts in the Museum. Teachers come
away with a physical toolkit of artwork,
strategies, and activities that they can put
to use immediately when they get back to
school.
It's hands on, so you're not always sitting down and listening to lectures,
but you go and you see the artwork
and you analyze it. They have
different activities: you work
independently, and then you work with a
partner, and then you work in a team.
They incorporate enough time for you to
explore on your own.
During the Institute each teacher develops a lesson concept
that uses American art to teach a piece of
their curriculum. The possibilities for
interdisciplinary connection between
American art and teacher's curricular
content are endless.
The way that being at the Smithsonian
changed the way I approach teaching is to
really be more thoughtful about the
imagery I show my students in class when
I teach history. Now I'm really going to
take the time to think about what the
images are saying to the students and
how it can be a piece for analysis.
My students are going to benefit by
being able to look at a piece of art,
look at it for its artistic value, but
they are also going to be able to understand
the history. They're going to be able
to apply it to their everyday lives and
also make those curriculum connections.
There's a positive spirit of
collaboration and sharing ideas that is
fostered here. That professional
community continues beyond the week that
teachers are here at the museum. Teachers
join a network of alumni that continues
to share resources with each other
throughout the school year and they
receive ongoing support for lesson
development from museum's education staff.
Participants will learn how to connect students with our
shared culture through works of art
using artworks as primary sources to
unlock key moments in America's past and
present. Teachers come away confident in
their ability to use these tools to
enhance the content, context, and critical
thinking skills needed for students to
be successful learners.
The more I learned about art, the more I realized
I didn't know and the more I wanted to
keep learning.
You cannot learn from a better place
with a more professional staff, or better
materials, or a more gorgeous setting.
You should absolutely apply, because it is
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The locale, the staff, the institution, the
art they're all masterworks, and I was
lucky to be a part of it.