LOGAN – The Arts Are Core Program at Utah State University has scheduled an all-day conference on Aug. 1 for Kindergarten through 6th Grade classroom teachers, art teachers and school administrators.
The theme of the event, slated for 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the USU campus, is “Small Miracles: Transforming Learning through Arts Integration.”
Keynote speakers for the conference will be Sherry Norfolk, an award-winning story-teller, author and teaching artist, and Bobby Norfolk, another internationally known story performer and teaching artist.
Conference attendees will also participate in hands-on art integrated workshops in visual arts, dance, music, drama and story-telling.
“Why do we do this?” asks Aurora Hughes Villa, the director of the Arts Are Core Program. “The answer is clear. Arts integration transforms the classroom by building greater understanding across disciplines. It also offers experiences that span multiple modes of learning and motivates learning through the creative process.”
The arts integration conference will, she adds, facilitate participants’ hands-on experiences, integrated with content curriculum designed to stimulate arts learning at the elementary level.
“Each participant will walk away with engaging arts ideas, lesson plans and resources to start the new school year with creativity and energy,” according to Villa.
A dynamic story-teller, Sherry Norfolk is a recognized leader in integrating learning through stories. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Library Science, with a focus on children’s work. Sherry Norfolk has appeared at story telling festivals in Manitoba, Taiwan, Singapore, Manila and many more.
A former stand-up comic, Bobby Norfolk used dynamic movement and vocal effects to create vibrant characters who come to life through imaginative, creative stories. A three-time Emmy Award winner, Bobby Norfolk has also received multiple Parents’ Choice gold and silver awards as well as a National Storytelling Network Oracle Award.
The Arts Are Core conference is being held at the Edith Bowen Laboratory School on the USU campus.
The conference will conclude with a reception featuring the Jay Richard Jazz Trio at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
Additional information about the conference can be found by going online to https://cehs.usu.edu/teal/arts-are-core/conference-2024.
Arts Are Core Program at USU provides professional development opportunities supporting the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts schools’ implementation of the collaborative arts integration teaching model.
The program provides year-round professional learning opportunities in arts integration for Kindergarten through Grade 12 teachers, instructional coaches, arts educators and USU students.
Professional development is also provided by the BTS Arts statewide University network which includes the University of Utah, Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University, Dixie State University, Weber State University and Westminster University.