By Stephanie Kistner, Education & Programs Associate
This year, P.S. ARTS was presented with the exciting chance to partner with The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles’s Contemporary Art Start Program.
Through this program, P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists have the opportunity to attend professional development workshops that focus on Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) teaching methods, as well as in depth training that highlights MOCA’s arts education curriculum tools.
Besides offering teachers up to 40 hours of professional development, through the Contemporary Arts Start (CAS) Program, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) offers each participating teacher with two guided museum visits for students, including one free bus for a class field trip!
Last Friday, November 16th, P.S. ARTS Teaching Artist Matt MacFarland, who is participating in the CAS program this year, took students from Camino Nuevo Charter Academy’s Harvard campus to visit The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Students were led on a tour of current exhibits by a MOCA staff member trained in VTS strategies. The VTS method, developed by educators Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine, focuses on asking open-ended questions about visual art that stimulates critical thinking and increases students’ language and literacy skills.
Thanks to MOCA and the CAS Program, P.S. ARTS students are able to visit a major cultural institution (many for the first time!), and view and think about art in a fun and meaningful way. Thank you MOCA!
