Arts Express 2007

Claudia Cornett Keynote: The Fourth R: Literacy IS the Arts: Teaching With, About, In, and Through Dr. Cornett’s inspiring message centered on how, “the arts transform learning by deeply engaging learners in creative problem solving that parallels the comprehension and composition processes.”  She also described the way literacy involves effective communication through understanding, responding to, and expressing thoughts and feelings. She emphasized that participation and skill development in the arts deepens learning and improves performance in these literacy skills. Watch the video of her keynote online Download the handouts from her presentation

George Nelson Keynote: What secrets do all great teachers share? Teaching from the inside out. Dr. Nelson uses theatrical structures and an understanding of learner characteristics to help teachers engage and teach all learners. “No one gathers anything they don’t value. Teachers need to know their students and what they value so that subjects taught will be internalized.” In both his keynote presentation and breakout session, Dr. Nelson engaged educators in the experience of “teaching in the nexus.” Watch the video of his keynote online

Arts Express 2007, held on June 25-27, went off smoothly with 200 participants attending the Literacy Day events and 150 staying for the entire conference. The beautiful Timberline Middle School in Alpine provided a gorgeous backdrop as teachers explored the concepts of arts integration led by two distinguished keynote speakers, Claudia Cornett and George Nelson, and a host of well respected presenters drawn from BYU faculty and Utah School Districts. For the official news item from the McKay School of Education newsroom, read the article Artists Among Us.

Further Information & Links

Photos - A collection of the best photographs from the conference.

Media Arts Projects - Three hours, one computer, and a lot of imagination went into creating these videos produced by the participants in the Media Arts workshop. Examples include public service announcements, circle stories, book trailers, and a multitude of other creative ideas.

Handouts - Misplaced a handout? Want to share them with others? Here are the links to selected handouts.

Forum - Remember the conference? Want to share your favorite memories? Ready to discuss the implementation of ideas from Arts Express in your classroom? Visit the forum and discuss the conference with other attendees.

Video from Arts Express Conference 2007