Assignments

1. Survival Handbook Participatory Sketchbook

Rendering the Possible

“PARTicipatory Sketchbook: Exploring Self, Arts Education, and Broadening Your Horizons” 50%


Full Project Due: Nov.26, 2025

Assignment Overview:

This assignment will guide you on a personal and professional journey, using a participatory sketchbook to explore your identity as an educator and the role of arts education in your future students' lives. In addition to documenting your experiences, you will expand your horizons by engaging with an arts-related experience outside your comfort zone. This assignment invites you to take risks, just as we ask our students to do, and discover new dimensions of creativity and learning that will ultimately inform your teaching practice.

Participation and Engagement:

Participation is key to this assignment. It means actively contributing to discussions, taking initiative, and engaging with your peers both in person and online. Your sketchbook will be the central tool for documenting this participation, capturing your thoughts, reflections, and creative processes throughout the course.

Final Project VIDEO Presentation:

At the end of the term, you will present your sketchbook as a short story of your journey, shared in the form of a video (posted to YouTube and linked in the CANVAS assignment section). The video will showcase your personal and professional growth, along with your reflections on how arts education can influence and shape the lives of your future students. You’ll also outline your vision for integrating arts into the classroom, whether in-person or virtual.

Sketchbook Requirements:

For each module, your sketchbook must include the following:

  • Module Responses:
    • Label and date each entry.
    • Respond to the prompt: “Consider this…”
    • Document your thoughts, breakthroughs, questions, and reflections. Use a variety of creative techniques, including:
      • Written notes
      • Drawings
      • Quotes or poetry
      • Collages or mixed media
    • Use the sketchbook as a tool for exploring your evolving identity as an educator and your ideas about the role of arts education.
    • Be sure to date and title each response.
  • Reflections on Readings/Videos:
    • Provide brief reflections on the required readings and videos for each module.
    • These reflections can take any form that works for you—point-form notes, sketches, mind maps, or diagrams.
    • Be sure to date and title each response.
  • “Do” Moments:
    • Each module includes hands-on activities that require you to engage with the arts through sketching, mind mapping, or other creative processes.
    • Include evidence of these activities in your sketchbook, such as photos of your work or reflections on your creative process.
  • Personal Reflections:
    • After each module, include a personal reflection on your experiences and how they are shaping your understanding of yourself and your future role as an educator.
    • Pay attention to how arts education contributes to your growth and how it can support your future students’ development.
  • Arts-Related Experience:
    • As teachers, we often ask students to be risk-takers. As lifelong learners, we must do the same. You are required to attend or participate in an arts-related experience this semester.
    • Suggestions include, but are not limited to:
      • Dance performance
      • Drama or theatre performance
      • Literature reading or discussion
      • Musical performance
      • Visual art experience
      • Film, multimedia, or creative technologies experience
      • Other: If you have an idea that falls outside these categories, check with me first.
  • Challenge: Choose an experience outside of your comfort zone but one that piques your interest. This will allow you to expand your horizons while ensuring the experience is enjoyable and meaningful.
    • Prepare by researching the event or artist beforehand. For example, if you're attending a musical performance, learn about the pieces being played, or if you’re visiting an art exhibit, research the artist’s background.
    • Reflect on this experience in your sketchbook. Discuss how stepping out of your comfort zone contributed to your personal growth and how it might inform your future teaching practices.

Sketchbook Examples, ideas of what to include and evaluation considerations:

  • First-hand engagement with the subject matter
  • Exploration of composition, visual elements, and design principles
  • Original drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, or designs
  • A wide range of mediums and materials
  • A wide range of art-making techniques, processes, and practices

Did you:

  • Generate personal responses
  • Demonstrate subject-specific knowledge
  • Communicate with clarity
  • Critically analyze artwork, ideas or theories
  • Communicate intentions
  • Avoid the obvious
  • Reference all images, text, and ideas from others

Be sure to answer:

How has engaging with arts experiences both inside and outside your comfort zone challenged or expanded your understanding of creativity and learning?

In what ways has your participatory sketchbook helped you explore and shape your identity as an educator committed to arts education?

Reflecting on your arts-related experience, how might stepping outside your comfort zone influence the risks you encourage your future students to take in their creative learning?

How do the insights and reflections documented throughout this course inform your vision for integrating arts education into your future classroom—whether in-person or virtual?

What connections can you draw between your personal artistic growth and your emerging teaching practice, especially regarding how arts education supports diverse learners?

EXAMPLES:

 

2. Inspiring Arts in Education Video

Inspiring Arts in Education 50%

Full Project Due: Nov.29, 2025

Assignment Overview:

For this assignment, students will create one 4-minute video that includes both a persuasive "Ted Talk"-style presentation and a brief arts-integrated lesson demonstration, as well as a 30-second social media teaser clip. Here’s how to structure it:

Video Details:

  • Total Duration: 4 minutes
    • Part 1: Persuasive Presentation: ~2 minutes
    • Part 2: Arts Integration Lesson Demonstration: ~2 minutes
  • Plus: A separate 30-second social media teaser clip

Part 1: Persuasive Presentation (within the video)

Goal: Persuade educators to embrace the importance of teaching the arts in education.

Guidelines:

  1. Quick, Powerful Argument (~60 seconds):
    • Highlight the essential role of the arts (four strands)  in motivating students and improving their learning across subjects like math, science, and literacy.
    • Offer a real-world example of how arts integration positively impacts student engagement and academic outcomes.
  1. Addressing Teacher Concerns (~30 seconds):
    • Recognize that some teachers might feel unprepared to teach the arts. Reassure them that arts integration doesn’t require expertise—small, creative activities can make a big difference. Offer one easy strategy, like collaborating with arts specialists or using simple techniques that integrate into their existing curriculum.
  1. Personal Experience and Call to Action (~30 seconds):
    • Share a personal story of how the arts impacted your life or reflect on the absence of arts in your own education. Make this connection heartfelt and inspiring.
    • End this segment with a call to action, urging teachers to incorporate arts in even small, manageable ways that build student creativity and critical thinking.

Part 2: Arts Integration Lesson Demonstration (within the video)

Goal: Demonstrate a simple, arts-integrated lesson that combines creativity with other disciplines.

Guidelines:

  1. Brief Introduction (~20 seconds):
    • Introduce the grade level, subject areas, and focus of the lesson (e.g., combining visual arts with math for Grade 4 students).
    • Mention the contemporary artist or professional who inspired the lesson (e.g., an artist who uses geometry in their work).
  1. Lesson Demonstration (~90 seconds):
    • Showcase a quick hands-on activity that integrates arts with another subject. For example, demonstrate how students can use drawing to explore geometric shapes and patterns in math or illustrate a scientific concept.
    • Explain how the activity builds both artistic skills and subject-specific understanding (e.g., drawing to visualize math patterns).
  1. Closing (~10 seconds):
    • Wrap up the lesson by reinforcing how arts integration can make learning more dynamic and engaging, even with simple activities.
    • Encourage educators to give arts integration a try, emphasizing that the arts can enhance student creativity and comprehension.

Part 3: Social Media Teaser Clip (separate video)

Goal: Create a 30-second teaser to promote the longer video and inspire educators on social media to explore arts integration.

Guidelines:

  1. Attention-Grabbing Hook (5-10 seconds):
    • Start with a compelling line or visual that highlights the power of arts integration (e.g., "What if math could look like art?" or a quick visual of students creating art in the classroom).
  1. Key Message (15-20 seconds):
    • Condense the core argument from the 4-minute video: share the importance of arts in education and how easy it is to get started.
    • Use quick, exciting visuals from the lesson demonstration to show how arts can intersect with subjects like math, science, or literacy.
  1. Call to Action (5 seconds):
    • Encourage viewers to watch the full video to learn more, ending with a call to action like “Bring creativity to your classroom—watch now!”

Submission Instructions:

  • Main Video Length: 4 minutes
  • Social Media Clip Length: 30 seconds
  • Platform: Upload both videos to YouTube and post the links in Canvas.

Self Assessment Thoughts:

How effectively does your lesson integrate artistic creativity with another subject area to support student learning in both disciplines?

In what ways did the contemporary artist or professional you chose inspire your lesson design and objectives?

Reflect on the hands-on activity you demonstrated: how does it build both artistic skills and subject-specific understanding for students?

How did you use the video format to engage and communicate your lesson clearly and dynamically to other educators?

What strategies did you include in your social media teaser to inspire educators to explore arts integration, and how do you think this might impact their teaching?

• Platform: Upload both videos to YouTubE/Social Media Platform of your choice and post the links in Canvas. • 

See example: