Arkansas A+ Trains Future K-6 Teachers on Integrating the Arts Into Classrooms

Sean Rhomberg

Arkansas A+ Fellow Chrissy Callaway encourages College of Education and Health Professions students to growl like bears during a drama workshop featuring activities the future teachers can use in their own classrooms.

Arkansas A+ trains K-12 schoolteachers and leaders in research-based methods for integrating the arts — visual, performing and creative writing — into their curriculum to benefit students.

The program has partnered with 28 schools throughout the state since 2011, leading to increased student achievement, higher engagement and an enhanced school climate.

The A+ team recently connected with faculty in the College of Education and Health Professions, where the whole-school arts integration program is based, to introduce these concepts to U of A students preparing to teach in K-6 classrooms.

Chrissy Callaway, a veteran Arkansas teacher and A+ fellow who provides professional development to schools, taught interactive lessons in two U of A classrooms featuring drama activities that these future teachers can use with their own students.

Allison Steiling was among students in Donna Owen's classroom who growled like a bear, danced during a brain break and participated in small group dramatizations during the workshop. The experience offered strategies for her own future classroom, not only for content purposes but as a classroom management tactic.

"I thought the lessons were very engaging for me as a future teacher," she said. "There were practical and realistic strategies. Bringing theatre into the classroom is something that I can imagine will stand out to students, get their bodies moving throughout the day and create a knowledgeable environment for the information being taught."

The arts integration lessons were specifically geared toward teaching elementary students who speak English as a second language. Qian Zhang, who co-created the A+ workshop with Callaway, was also in attendance. Zhang has studied arts integration related to enhanced language acquisition and is currently a doctoral student and graduate assistant in the College of Education and Health Professions' Curriculum and Instruction Program.

As Arkansas A+ continues to grow, its leadership is actively looking for ways to share A+ and arts integration with university students interested in education as a focus or future profession.

"Arkansas A+ loves to be invited to collaborate and is happy to create custom interactive presentations to fit the needs of the faculty or staff and the students involved," said Alyssa Wilson, the program's executive director.

For more information about collaborating with A+ or the program's whole-school arts integration program for Arkansas schools, contact Wilson at alyssaw@uark.edu.