Earlier this month, two teaching artists went back to school—but they weren’t guiding students through their creative, arts-integrated approach; this time, they were guiding educators!

On October 1, the UMBC Arts Integration Conference brought together teachers, principals, district leaders, and organizations to explore new ideas and best practices for using arts integration to enhance student learning and classroom instruction. Featuring a range of workshops, presentations, and collaborative discussions, the conference was an inspiring look at what arts integration can be for students.

Arts for Learning teaching artists Quynn Johnson and Katherine Lyons delivered workshops that inspired and educated participants!

In Quynn Johnson’s workshop, Once Upon a Rhythm, the dancer and choreographer guided attendees on how tap dance and its elements—like beat, improvisation, and choreography—can be used to strengthen literacy and math skills for young learners. The workshop featured demonstrations, discussions, and suggestions for delivering tap dance arts integration in the classroom! Learn more about Quynn and her programs here.

In Math Detectives – Where’s the Math? Using Drama to Discover the Math Hidden in Books, storyteller and theater artist Katherine Lyons helped attendees look at books in a different way to uncover instructional math concepts embedded in stories that students read and love. Attendees explored fun, arts-based classroom experiences that support the curriculum such as numbers and number sense, geometry, algebra, measurement, and more! Learn more about Katherine’s programs here.

These compelling workshops and other impactful arts-integrated programs are available to educators across Maryland! Click here to explore all of the Progressional Development workshops our artists offer.