Crayola Launches CreatED — PD for Educators with Focus on Arts

• By Richard Chang
• 07/20/17

Crayola, the crayon and coloring company, has launched its first professional development (PD) and learning program for teachers, called creatED.

CreatED is designed to give schools practical, art-infused teaching strategies and insights for bolstering cross-curricular, creative thinking in K–8 classrooms. The program bases much of its material on project and inquiry-based learning that has been district and state approved, and incorporates STEAM subjects as well as literacy, according to a news release.

CreatED features two to three days of onsite training; an online repository of resources, classroom application ideas, and project-based learning materials; and remote coaching and webinars to discuss innovations and best practices.

John Ceschini, arts integration officer at Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, said teachers from 10 schools in his district participated in a pilot version of creatED last year. All of the schools have signed up again for 2017-18, and an additional 10 schools will be part of the creatED program in the coming school year. Ceschini said he hopes all 65 schools involved in arts integration in his district will participate in the near future.

“Our CEO, or supervisor, understands the value of the arts in teaching creativity in 21st century skills,” Ceschini said in an interview. The arts are “one of the things that always gets short shrift. The arts are important in their own right. Through integration, the arts can be a vehicle to teach the other curriculum. The arts help with problem solving and essential skills.  The arts are academic; they are essential.”

CreatED is available in one, two and three-year formats. The program includes the following topics:

• Creativity in project based learning;
• Developing cross-curricular STEAM projects;
• Building creative leadership skills for teachers and students;
• STEAM: Design thinking in student-centered learning games;
• Math as a visible language;
• How literacy draws upon art;
• Brining nonfiction to life through art; and
• Using the power of art to explore diversity.

CreatED tools and resources include:

• Teacher reflection journals;
• Leadership guidance;
• Coaching resources; and
• Arts-infused education leader series.

In addition to creatED, Crayola is offering “Creatively Speaking,” a free webinar series that covers best practices for implementing art-integration programs and art-infused math and language lessons.

To learn more about creatED or register for “Creatively Speaking” webinars, visit Crayola’s education site.