Is there a way to meet benchmark goals in the arts and, at the same time, to develop creative problem solving skills and the disposition to think broadly and adventurously to our students? Or, putting it another way: Can an arts curriculum, looking for “high road transfer”, actually get you improvements in student creativity, and foster specific “thinking dispositions”, by teaching for the transfer of those skills to other disciplines after they have been learned through creating works of art, music, theater and/or dance? Niel DePonte believes that the ability to “think outside the box”, so valued in corporate America, can best be taught through the arts and he shares his thoughts in his course, “Teaching for Creativity in the Classroom”.

While emphasizing that the inherent value of experiencing the arts for the teachers own sake is necessary to ground students in the aesthetic principles of various cultures, Niel discusses how the arts make an excellent platform to teach strategies of: generating knowledge; communicating knowledge; integrating knowledge; and acting on knowledge. In addition, dispositional thinking, that is the recognition of opportunities to think strategically or creatively for example, can also be modeled and learned by making works of art and by thinking as a creative artist thinks when problem-solving in an arts discipline.

To learn more about Teacher Training Workshops email MetroArts or call 503.245.4885.

Quotes from Teachers

"I’ve never had such fun in my life, nor have I ever had such a tremendous learning experience."
- Carolyn Cardinal, K-5 music teacher

"MetroArts was by far the best continuing education class I have ever taken. The quality of the presenters with their high degree of professionalism provided the emotional link that is so often missing when we try to connect the arts to the real world of our students."

"This course has changed my life."
- Kristy Roberts, 5th grade classroom teacher

"The things I’ve done this week have been risky, but its been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had since leaving school. Sometime I’ve had to pinch myself to make sure it’s not a dream. I’ve felt more alive this week than I have in a long time."
- Loren Carner, 3rd grade classroom teacher.