Updated 7.17.24
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE | 28
Teacher Intention : The Difference between Social-Emotional Development and Social- Emotional Disaster Track : High School Presenters : J . S . Puller & Jenny Nagaoka Location : Ticino - 310 ( 3 rd Floor ) – Swissotel Chicago
Can arts education be used as a vehicle for students to develop the social-emotional factors that are foundational to success in young adulthood ? Possibly ! But the teacher is the key ingredient . Researchers from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and Ingenuity , Inc . conducted an extensive research project designed to explore what we know “ and what we think we know ” about the ways that arts education can contribute to social-emotional development . Over the course of the study , the team designed a theory of action that articulates how instruction in the arts can affect social-emotional development , and in particular what it is about an arts education that facilitates this development . The theory of action is meant to serve as both a practitioner roadmap for arts education and as an advocacy tool to help articulate some of the ways that instruction in the arts can affect student outcomes . But the fact that these opportunities exist is no guarantee that the students will take away from them the kinds of lessons that ultimately contribute to their social-emotional development . The ultimate end result is up to the teacher . While we believe that art “ and consequently an education in the arts ” matters for its own sake , the aim of this theory of action is to give adults insights to help them be more intentional in leveraging arts education toward social-emotional development . A teacher invested in social-emotional development will have a lot more success than a teacher narrowly interested in only the artistic learning side of the framework . In this session , the presenters will describe the theory of action , then invite participants to apply the theory to arts education practice and consider the implications for their work .
Town and Gown : Partnership Between Northwestern University and Evanston Schools Tracks : College / University , PreK-8 Presenters : Betsy Quinn , Rives Collins , Kaitlyn Fields , Lynn Kelso , Anne Lewinthal & Michael Rodriguez Location : Geneva ( Concourse ) – Swissotel Chicago
This session brings together university professors and K-8 public school drama specialists to highlight the partnership between the Evanston-Skokie School District and the Northwestern University Department of Theatre . Participants will learn about the current collaborations of this unique , 100 year-long partnership . The panel will reflect on the Learn and Imagine Together Through Theatre ( LITTT ) program providing every third grade student in Evanston , IL an opportunity to see a fully mounted TYA performance at Northwestern University and to enrich their experience with a lesson taught by their drama teachers . The group will also describe the Saturday enrichment drama program allowing Advanced Creative Drama undergraduates to work under the mentorship of drama specialists to plan and teach an extended process drama to diverse 4-6 grade public school students . Additional collaborations include undergraduate student interns in the public schools , youth involvement in Northwestern productions and the SeeSaw Theatre ’ s relationship with the schools sharing original , multi-sensory theatre for disabled audiences .
Vulnerability and Softness in Youth Agency Track : Applied Theatre Presenters : Renita James & Lily Odekirk Location : Neuchatel - 315 ( 3 rd Floor ) – Swissotel Chicago
Through this 75-minute panel , we ( Renita James and Lily Odekirk ) invite participants to consider their own practice in working with youth as we share our praxis for co-creating documentary and autonarrative theatre with young artists . Drawing on practices from the Performing Justice Project , Queer Black Feminist ideologies , and our own methodologies as practitioners , we share our findings from our research and offer insights and tensions that can arise when we commit ourselves to an ethic and praxis of reciprocal vulnerability and care . We do not view our work as a means to an end but rather the beginning of a conversation : how are we , as artists , educators , and practitioners , stepping out of the way to let youth take ownership of their own stories ?