<--back to theatre education

The Creative Arts Informance Project is a uniquely collaborative on-site program shared by the East Carolina University School of Theatre and Dance, The Schools of Music and Art and Tarboro High School, Edgecombe County Public Schools. ECU student interns participate in all phases of this collaborative effort including planning through implementation and supervised instruction. University faculty and public school faculty also interact and participate in "shared-teaching" opportunities in both the public school and university setting.

This participatory session and project concentrates on the issues, techniques, and pedagogical methods used in the development and implementation of this two-year project. Session members explore the use of integrated arts techniques while focusing upon the unifying theme of "Images." Session leaders demonstrate various techniques developed while working in the high school classroom including basic music instruction, response to various musical selections, improvisational scenarios, physical movement and dance, and visual arts techniques integrated within the various arts activities.

Group discussion explores how this Creative Arts Informance Project touches upon the following educational concerns:

• The Broadening of Social Skills and Cultural Understanding through the Arts.
• Collaborative Planning and Instruction in the Integrated Arts
• Using the Arts in the Classroom to Express Adolescent Concerns: An Alternative Voice to Public School Violence

Effective Partnerships in the Arts: Collaborative Pedagogical Techniques, Curriculum Development, and Intern Extended Experience

The Creative Arts Informance Project for 1998-1999 produced the following conclusions:

• Student-directed learning in the arts presents a challenge for classroom teachers, but the educational results are stronger. Students express more of an ownership of the material and learning experience when involved in this type of educational experience. The premise was that more arts lessons should be "guided" rather than teacher directed to allow students the opportunity for creative and critical thinking in the creation of an artistic piece.
• Collaborative teaching and exploration shared by the University and public high school yields several opportunities for faculty and students to exchange ideas, gain experience and insight's regarding the other's "normal" day, and offer professional support for all involved. When faculty are readily available to for each other, the students benefit as well as the teachers due to the broadening of the knowledge, experience, and creative base.
• When students are given various creative arts techniques to express their ideas, concerns, and goals, they also engage in discussion, cooperative learning, and collaborative experiences. Through collaborative projects such as this, students begin to find and individual, unique voice, as well as a sense of group sound.

These various topics were further explored in the second phase of the project as well as new areas of interest and exploration.
ECU faculty, the participating high school teacher and student interns present an overview of their unique experiences and demonstrate pedagogical techniques developed while involved in this collaborative integrated arts project. Participants also have the opportunity to examine collected data, scripts, creative writing, visual art, and video documentation, which illustrate the combined efforts of faculty and students to explore new methods of teaching and shared learning.

Lesson Plans

9-12

Tarboro Blues Writing Activity
Sample Student Writing
Music Dramas
Tarboro Project-Musical and Movement Images
Tarboro Project-Body Shape and Form