Each summer the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Division of Education offers teachers of grades K–12 of all subject areas the chance to renew their spirit of inquiry as they immerse themselves in the Museum’s collections and explore the special nature of art and its use as a resource in their classrooms. This summer the Museum will offer two one-week courses that explore the visual arts as sources for teaching. Take one course—or both—as your schedule permits. Each 30-hour course is available for PA and NJ professional development hours or 2 graduate credits.

The Museum’s collections will serve as the starting point for lively discussions, lectures, and workshops that stress an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach to looking at and teaching from works of art. In each program, teachers will build their personal looking skills and develop strategies for teaching humanities- based curricula through the arts.

This August the Philadelphia Museum of Art will hold a six day teaching seminar that will explore the objects represented in the Picturing America reproduction set and connect them with local resources available to area teachers and students both at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other Philadelphia art and history institutions. Teachers attending the course will work together in school teams to create lessons that will unite school curricula, the Picturing America teaching materials and the local resources they have explored together.

The course will be organized into three two-day sections that will explore works in Picturing America by century, beginning with the art and history of the 18th century, moving on to the 19th century and ending with 20th century as well as through the themes outlined in the Picturing America teaching materials: Leadership, Freedom and Equality, Democracy, Courage, Landscapes, and Creativity and Ingenuity. During each unit teachers will attend lectures by museum curators and invited scholars, explore the Philadelphia Museum of Art galleries with Museum educators and curators and visit other sites that relate to each century and to the themes highlighted in the Picturing America set. At the end of each two-day section, teachers will work in groups to develop lessons based on what they have explored. At the end of the seminar, teacher teams will refine their lessons so that they may be shared with other educators.

Location

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Audience

40 teachers from NJ, PA and DE whose schools have or are about to receive the Picturing America reproduction set. Teams of two teachers from each school are encouraged to attend.

Stipend

Each teacher will receive a $250 stipend

To Register

Call the Philadelphia Museum of Art Ticket Center at (215) 235-7469

• Monday, August 4, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, August 5, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, August 6, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Thursday, August 7, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Friday, August 8, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Saturday, August 9, 2008, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.