CCT: HOT S.I. 2010 Home


Connecticut Commission on
Culture & Tourism -
Arts Division
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Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism
Higher Order Thinking Schools - Summer Institute 2010

July 12 - 16, 2010
Hilton Hartford Hotel - Hartford, Connecticut

{HOT Schools Summer Institute Logo}


Registration Deadline: Passed

HOT Schools, an arts in education program of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, is funded by the State of Connecticut and the
National Endowment for the Arts. 

 
The Summer Institute

The HOT Schools Summer Institute, a hallmark of the HOT schools program, is an exceptional professional development opportunity designed to provide intellectual stimulation, creative growth, and opportunities for educators to rediscover their passion for teaching.

During this weeklong residential Institute, educators (teachers, parents, artists, school and arts administrators) from across Connecticut and the nation come together to be immersed in an arts integrated approach to teaching and learning. Participants work with some of the finest artists and educators in the country.

Through presentations, workshops, interactive demonstrations and performances, educators learn and share HOT Strategies and explore the HOT Approach to school renewal. Mornings are spent learning an arts integrated approach in a particular discipline or theory, while afternoons are dedicated to exploring individual creativity and raising one's comfort level in different art forms.

The Connecticut  HOT Schools program, established in 1994, has served over 40 schools in all congressional districts reaching over 25,000 students, approximately 2,500 educators and 100 artist educators. The HOT Approach has been adopted by schools, arts organizations, and teaching artists across the country that are interested in understanding school culture change, curriculum integration, and arts-infused program design. In our partnering schools, we have established a supportive learning community, whose collective experience has molded the unique approach to teaching and learning that is HOT schools.

The HOT Approach can be adopted by arts organizations, individual artists, and state and local arts agencies interested in understanding school culture, and curriculum design, and wishing to strengthen their school/arts partnerships and arts in education initiatives. The HOT Approach is designed to be flexible for adaptation and uniquely suited to help individual school communities address their specific needs and build community. The program directors work closely with each school to design a professional development plan to implement the HOT Approach.

Schools using the HOT Approach share a commitment to academic achievement through 3 essential components:

Strong Arts
Education in, about, and through the arts helps students develop critical thinking abilities, independent judgment and creative problem solving skills. The arts, as rigorous academic subjects, each with their own sequential comprehensive curricula, convey knowledge not learned through studying other academic disciplines and provide stimulating vehicles for children to communicate their ideas.
 
Arts Integration {Arts Explorations}
Developing basic skills is central to the HOT Approach to school renewal. An interdisciplinary approach to teaching reinforces learning in all disciplines; encourages students to seek, establish and test connections; and allows them to synthesize relationships between ideas. Integrating the arts into all subjects and creating arts-rich environments enhances and reinforces the power of the arts in learning in each school community.
 
Democratic Practice

The arts provide avenues for expression in an authentic democracy. HOT Schools cultivate a school culture in which purposeful activities support choice, participation, connection and contribution to celebrate the unique voice of each member of the school community. HOT School educators plan and work collaboratively and invite parent partnerships, input and participation.

For more information on the HOT Schools program, including how to become a HOT school, please visit  CCT’s website.

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{Town Meeting}

"Town Meeting" at the Hartford Stage
Summer Institute 2009

Leading the Way - Higher Order Thinking In The New Decade

The 2010 Institute theme “Leading the Way - Higher Order Thinking In The New Decade” focuses on the important role the arts play in designing innovative teaching strategies and learning opportunities that prepare students as contributors and participators in the 21st century.  Regardless of mandates and recommendations that direct our educational systems, intentionally and meaningfully focused arts learning practices prove, time and again, to just make good sense. The marriage of strong arts, arts integration, and democratic practice is a true force that is executed within, yet jostles and stretches the boundaries of, any parameters set. Through these components educators address the intellectual, emotional and social needs of the whole child. They stimulate students’ curiosity, ignite their wonder, and engage them in their learning.

“Leading the Way - Higher Order Thinking In The New Decade” invites participants to discover and explore best practices in higher order thinking. Participants will discover the positive ways in which learning in, about, and through the arts influences instruction and learning.  They will be introduced to myriad techniques that will help them teach, assess, and document arts learning. The Institute will advance collaborative, professional development and leadership skills, highlight the value of learning communities, and foster communication.

The Institute faculty will include national experts and noted artists as well as Connecticut HOT School teachers, teaching artists and arts organization educators.

Plenary speakers and performances include Derrick Ashong, musician and social entrepreneur; Steve Seidel, Bauman and Bryant Chair in Arts in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education; Richard Thomas, Director of Exhibits, Connecticut Science Center; Gail Freeman, HOT Schools Educator; and Janet Luongo, CCT teaching artist and educator.

Who should attend the HOT Schools {Workshop - Summer Institute 2009} 2010 Summer Institute?

Administrators looking for a new vision to reshape their schools; classroom teachers seeking new perspectives, teaching strategies and an opportunity to re-energize and re-discover their creative spirit; parents interested in understanding the power of schools that reflect an arts-infused culture and the potential of partnering with educators in their child’s learning process. The HOT Approach can be adopted by arts organizations, individual artists, and state and local agencies (interested in understanding school culture and curriculum design), who wish to strengthen their school/arts partnerships and arts in education initiatives.

This weeklong Institute is choreographed to provide intellectual stimulation, creative growth and opportunities to rediscover your passion for education.

We encourage you to join us on this journey!

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HOT Schools Staff:

Bonnie Koba,
CCT Arts in Education Program Manager, HOT Schools Program Director

Amy Freidman,
CCT Arts in Education Program Associate, assists with the HOT Schools Program

 





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