MANSFIELD―The Mansfield Partners in Education Team, consisting of the Renaissance Performing Arts Association, the Mansfield Art Center, and Mansfield City Schools, will be hosting a one-day professional development workshop on arts integration for educators and administrators. The workshop, titled “Listening to Comprehend: Deepening Understandings Through Music,” will take place on Wednesday, August 2, 2022, at the Renaissance’s Theatre 166 venue.
Led by renowned teaching artist, music educator, and Arts Integration Specialist Emily Smith, the workshop aims to provide primary, intermediate, and middle grades educators, particularly those teaching students in grades K-8, with valuable insights into arts integration. The registration fee for the workshop, set at $125 per participant, has been generously covered by the Ohio Arts Council, Charles P. Hahn, CFP, and the Key Bank Foundation.
During the interactive workshop, Emily Smith will guide teachers in exploring the ways in which music communicates with us, helping both educators and their students unravel the mysteries of music’s impact. The workshop will focus on how instrumental music provides context, elicits emotions, and creates lasting memories in various settings such as movies, plays, celebrations, and cultural events. Attendees will delve into strategies for tapping into the power of listening and decoding music, enabling students to construct and demonstrate their understanding of vocabulary and various curriculum concepts. The workshop aims to ignite deep critical thinking skills in educators while enhancing their own listening abilities.
The professional development session will be held from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. Registration is currently open and can be completed online at the Eventbrite page [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/listening-to-comprehend-pd-workshop-for-teachers-featuring-emily-smith-tickets-676702885547]. Participants will have the opportunity to receive contact hour verification for Continuing Education Units (CEUs). For further information, interested individuals can contact the event organizers at 419-522-2726 ext. 212 or via email at dauphne@mansfieldtickets.com.
Emily Smith, a dedicated music educator and arts integration specialist, brings a wealth of experience to the workshop. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Shenandoah Conservatory and pursued a Master’s in Choral Conducting at the same institution. In her previous roles, Emily served as a Pre-K through 5th-grade general music teacher at the John F. Kennedy Center Changing Education Through the Arts School in Alexandria, VA, where she also acted as the arts integration coordinator. Her commitment to arts integration led her to receive multiple certificates of study in Arts Integration from the Kennedy Center.
Beyond her work in public schools, Emily has served as a teaching artist and Program Director for the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra’s Sympatico, an education program inspired by El Sistema. She actively collaborates and consults with various El Sistema USA programs across the country, focusing on music-for-social-change projects that integrate music composition with current events and social issues. Emily’s expertise as a music educator has earned her opportunities to lead professional development engagements at numerous universities, as well as events such as the LA Philharmonic’s “Take a Stand” festival and the El Sistema USA National Symposium. Her passion for learning is equal to her enthusiasm for teaching, making her an ideal facilitator for this workshop.
The Renaissance Theatre, located at 138 Park Avenue West in Mansfield, Ohio, is proud to host this professional development workshop. For those seeking further entertainment options in Mansfield, the Renaissance Theatre’s website, rentickets.org, offers a comprehensive guide to upcoming events, tours, and cultural experiences. Additional inquiries can be directed to renaissance@mansfieldtickets.com.