| In our efforts to enhance understanding and usefulness of both the Rubric and the residency design process, we offer the following definitions. However, many words that characterize quality in the arts cannot be adequately defined. For example, one can recognize “quality” or “inspiration” in the work of teaching artists without being able to define these terms precisely. |
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| Certified Arts Specialist – a Visual Art, Music, Dance, Theatre or Creative Writing Teacher, who is certified to teach. |
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| Classroom Teacher – a state certified educator who teaches students at one or several grade levels and/or in a particular curricular area. |
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| Curriculum – Sequential units of instruction that enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge that students should know and be able to do in a discipline or subject at a particular grade level. |
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| Interdisciplinary education – Units of instruction that enable students to make authentic connections between two or more disciplines, and/or to understand essential concepts that transcend individual disciplines. |
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| Learning Styles – A term inspired by Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types in learning that refers to a student’s preferred capacity to learn, e.g.; visually and aurally, etc. |
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| Multiple Intelligences – A theory by Howard Gardner that defines eight “intelligences,” or “ways of knowing”: Verbal-Linguistic, Logical-Mathematical, Visual-Spatial, Musical-Rhythmic, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Naturalist, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. |
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| Residency – Multiple, participatory sessions, often designed around a unifying theme, led by a teaching artist, with the collaborative planning support and participation of a classroom teacher, and/or certified arts specialists. For the student, residencies result in direct experience of the art form, the role of the artist, and the relationship between the art form and its larger social context. |
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| Teaching Artist – a practicing professional artist, with many of the skills and sensibilities of an educator, who collaborates with certified teachers to design and implement units of instruction aimed at engaging students in learning in or through the arts. |
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| Virtuosity – A quality that combines great technical skills and highly developed artistic sensibilities. |
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| There are three basic elements common to most residency programs: |
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| | Performance Demonstration – a live performing arts experience presented to students as an example of the art form; the performance program is typically interlaced with demonstration of particular aspects of the art form and the role of the artist, along with opportunities for students to participate.Workshops – participatory sessions in which a group of 20 – 30 students explore the process of creating artistic works.Teacher Workshops– Professional development sessions designed to introduce and involve teachers and/or administrators in particular residency programs, and the use of the arts in their work with students. |
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| Combining and ordering these three elements is determined by the content and objectives of each residency, and by the logistical considerations of available time, space and funding. |
Teaching Artists' Residency Rubric
