Arts Impact/Arts Leadership

U.S. Department of Education
Arts Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant: 2006-2010

Arts Impact/Arts Leadership (AI/AL) is a joint research project of Arts Impact, ArtsEd Washington, Bethel School District and Tacoma School District. The project investigates the impact of principal leadership training, intense and sustained teacher professional development, and arts-infused learning on the ability of schools to integrate the arts, the ability of teachers to successfully teach arts-infused concepts, and on student achievement.

Project Design

Arts Impact/Arts Leadership is a quasi-experimental evaluation design. Nine schools were randomly selected from a pool of 12, whose eligibility was based on greater than 35% free or reduced lunch and a willingness to participate. These schools were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups:

  • Group A receives Principal Arts Leadership training rom ArtsEd Washington and Arts Impact teacher professional development.
  • Group B receives Arts Impact teacher professional development only.
  • Group C serves as the control group.

Quantitative and qualitative data is collected to compare integration of arts education into the core curriculum, growth in teacher practice, and student academic achievement in the arts, math, and writing. Instruments include:

  • Autonomy Rubric for Teachers (PDF, 76KB)
  • Arts Knowledge Test (PDF, 116KB)
  • STAR Observation Protocol assesses the presence of powerful teaching and learning at the school level as evidenced by observation of students and teacher’s skills, knowledge, application, and relationships. For further information on the STAR Observation Protocol, go to www.bercgroup.com.
  • Arts Leadership Teacher Journal (PDF, 788KB)
  • Performance-Based Assessments: Specific criteria-based performance assessments are included in each lesson and can be found in the Arts Impact lesson database.
  • Measurements of Student Progress: Information about the Washington State Assessments, Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) Tests, can be found on the OSPI website.

Project Goals

  • Improve and integrate standards-based arts education into core elementary school curriculum
  • Improve the academic performance of students in the arts, math, and narrative writing
  • Demonstrate growth in teacher practice to teach arts-infused concepts and in overall teaching practice
  • Replicate and disseminate at state, regional, and national levels

Teacher Professional Development Components: Groups A and B

  • Whole School (all 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers)
  • Two years of direct professional development: 51 total hours of instruction per year include:
    • Experiential Summer Institute: 30 hours per year
    • Classroom mentorship: 11 hours per year
    • Cultural study trip to museum exhibition, dance or theater performance
    • Supplementary Workshops: 6 hours per year
    • Learning Communities: 4 hours per year
    • Up to 51 clock hours or 4 graduate credits from Seattle Pacific University per year
  • One year of follow-up, tracking teacher autonomy in implementing Arts Impact/Arts Leadership curriculum

Principal Arts Leadership Training Components: Group A

Principal Arts Leadership program components (380KB)

  • Three years of direct leadership training
  • Annual workshops
  • Long range plan development
  • Principal coaching

Curriculum

AI/AL Scope and Sequence Writing (188KB)

AI/AL Scope and Sequence Math (200KB)

  • Infused Dance/Math: geometric sense
  • Infused Visual Arts/Math: geometric sense
  • Infused Theater/Writing: narrative writing

Resources

  • Curriculum Notebook
  • Artworks from local museums as object-based references of concepts in each visual arts lesson and on disc
  • Professional performances at partnering theaters and performing arts centers
  • Museum tours customized to complement Arts Impact/Arts Leadership lessons
  • Web-based lesson plan database
  • Long range arts plans (Group A)

Report