CommonGround
2008
Mindful Innovations
April
9 - 11, 2008
Crowne Plaza, Albany
General
Program Information
CommonGround
is the annual New York State arts-in-education conference
that brings over 200 administrators,
teachers, teaching artists, and community
members together for three days of
policy setting, planning, exchange
of skills and inspirational speakers.
This gathering contributes to fresh
curriculum design, school reform
and new models for classroom learning.
PAE
coordinates the conference for the
state through collaboration with
the New
York State Council for the Arts and Association
of Teaching Artists, Empire
State Partnerships, New
York Foundation for the Arts, NYS
Alliance for Arts Education, and the NYS
Education Department.
Our
Essential Question:
How does creativity engage
mindfulness to generate
nuanced perspectives, skills
of focus, balance, and compassion,
and capacity for innovation?
Mindfulness, at its roots, is a
psychological notion that reflects
upon the cognitive qualities of the
individual (Langer 1989b; Langer
and Moldoveanu 2000). The key qualities
of a “mindful” state
of being involve:
(a) openness to novelty; (b) alertness
to distinction; (c) sensitivity to
different contexts; (d) implicit,
if not explicit, awareness of multiple
perspectives; and (e) orientation
in the present.
Among the different contexts and multiple
perspectives we are examining more
closely are:
- Higher
Education Partnerships:
Arts in education is becoming
a subject of academic research.
How does arts in education help
universities to connect to local
communities?
- Technology
as a Tool: How do we
make new technologies accessible
to student artmakers and teaching
artists? How does technology
change how they create and experience
art?
- Global
Citizenship: What does
being a “global citizen” mean,
and how can arts-in-education
become a tool to promote global
citizenship?
Conference
Workshops:
These
are the three "strands"
we will use as organizing principles
for the conference
offerings:
 CORE
KNOWLEDGE: How does the field of
NYS AIE work?
- Where does one go to for
resources?
- How do individuals advance
& grow?
- Which elements of the
field are still confusing?
 CURRICULUM
and ASSESSMENT: How do we design
deep and relevant opportunities
for students and adults for sustainable
curriculum design?
 EDUCATION
REFORM: How can education policy
and practice transform our global
community?
- How do we look beyond the
school, district, state to reform
and reformers?
- What has been tried? What
does success look like? When can
something be tried in a new context?
- What are the current larger
issues and buzzwords that we must
be aware of?
See
the conference
schedule.
See a listing by "strand" of workshop
offerings.
You can
also see all the workshops with descriptions
organized by session as a downloadable/
printable Word
document or PDF.
(17 pages)
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