The Missouri Fine Arts Academy provides a unique program of artistic, extracurricular, and social opportunities to Missouri's talented high school students, and has done so since 1996. Click here to learn more about MFAA...
"I dream about the Academy sometimes, both from being on staff and a student. I can’t decide where I learned more. I think the Academy, with the interdisciplinary events especially, really..." Click here to read more.
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Professional Development
Activities | Unit Plans
The Missouri Fine Arts Academy has two professional development goals:
- To encourage local schools to establish and/or improve programs for artistically gifted youth
- To provide leadership in curriculum development, teacher training, and the development of special materials and teaching strategies that employ interdisciplinary arts instruction to improve education within artistic disciples and the wider curriculum
Missouri Fine Arts Academy's professional development program is made possible by a grant from the Department of Elementary And Secondary Education.
The Missouri Fine Arts Professional Development Program for 2008 involves integrating arts experiences to help meet objectives in non-arts courses. This program is a follow-up to previous programs. In summers of 2006 and 2007, selected teams of educator’s visited the Academy, observing Academy students in interdisciplinary classes and integrating arts experiences into their own lesson plans. The MFAA professional development staff visited the educators’ schools during the 2007-2008 school year, and helped the educators implement the arts experiences with their own students.
What have previous participants said about the program?
- "Now I have to be a risk taker if I expect my staff to be one."
- "Very enjoyable and an enlighting experience."
- "A breath of fresh air and fresh approaches to interdisciplinary lessons. I am excited to try some of the strategies on my lessons."
- "The Academy is right on target with current educational pedagogy."
- "This is a very worthwhile program."
- "I love what you did with all the lesson plans that were submitted."
- "Best Professional Development I’ve ever attended!"
What are the "effective teaching strategies" in this professional development experience?
- Creating an active learning environment
- Integrating art experiences
- Applying multiple intelligences theory to appeal to a variety of learning styles
- Utilizing upper level thinking skills (such as those defined in Bloom’s Taxonomy)
How will the MFAA professional development experience be structured?
The experience will be facilitated by two seasoned educators with assistance from the Missouri Fine Arts Academy faculty.- Leatha Ault (BS in Ed., SpEd, EdAdmin) graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and a lifetime certification in speech pathology and junior high speech and drama. She received a Masters Degree in Special Education and a Specialist Degree in Education Administration, also from Missouri State University. Mrs. Ault has certification in Early Childhood Special Education, Special Education Director K-12; Elementary Principal; Middle School Principal; and Superintendence K-12. After twenty years as a speech pathologist, she finished her thirty-year career in public school as a superintendent at Manes R-V, Pierce City, and Morgan County R-II school districts and as an Elementary Principal in Springfield R-XII district at Fremont and Horace Mann Elementary Schools.
- Raymond Castrey (BM in Music, Percussion Performance) is a percussionist / multi-instrumentalist with interests in ethnomusicology and new music. He recently retired after a 30-year association with the Department of Theatre and Dance at Missouri State University where he played and taught music for dance. Other experiences include eleven years as a faculty member of Missouri Fine Arts Academy, five years with the New Arts Festival of F. Myers, FL, and numerous residences, workshops, and festivals. Mr. Castrey has created music for more than 70 dance, theatre and multimedia presentations, and is active as a performer, teacher, and facilitator of drumming and music activities.
Professional Development Activities
The Missouri Fine Arts Academy professional development staff facilitated integrated arts instruction with students during the 2007-2008 school year in collaboration with classroom teachers at- Green City R-I School District
- Kearney R-I School District
- Missouri School for the Deaf, Fulton
- Houston R-I School District
- Clever R-V School District
- Greenwood Laboratory School, Springfield
- Sunshine Elementary School, Springfield
And for
- Springfield R-VII School District's Middle School Communication Arts teachers
- Missouri State University's College of Education's pre-service teachers, fall 2007
The professional development grant also provides funding for
- Teacher Appreciation Day at Missouri Fine Arts Academy
- Missouri Fine Arts Academy faculty and staff professional development workshops before, during, and after the summer Academy
