ArtsBridge Scholar Information

Scholar Applications for the Fall Semester are Due by Friday, April 25, 2008

USU ARTSBRIDGE SCHOLARS are Utah State University students who:

• Create and teach visual and performing arts lessons and projects in area K-12 schools and community settings.
• Work collaboratively with an assigned classroom teacher or community leaders to create unique lessons and projects in the arts which are linked to other areas of the curriculum (such as linking music to math, using plays to learn about U.S. History, creating dances to explore storytelling, or using poetry to explore science).
• Create partnerships between university scholars and K-12 schools and community organizations. Work with a classroom host teacher or community leader in instructing K-12 students in art, dance, music, theater, creative writing, landscape architecture, and interior design, and provide arts enrichment for community needs.
• Work with a class or community-based organization to provide hands-on instruction in the arts by sharing their knowledge as teaching artists.

All USU students are eligible to apply. USU ArtsBridge awards are not limited to students with a major or minor in the arts. Team projects involving more than one USU student will be considered.

AWARDS:  USU ArtsBridge scholars are recognized for their efforts with an ArtsBridge scholarship not to exceed $1,200 per project. Fifty-percent (50%) will be distributed mid-way through the project, with the final 50% given at the completion of the project. Award size and distribution may vary depending on project size. Average award: $600.
Independent studies credit is available through the ArtsBridge scholar’s individual USU college affiliation.

APPLICATION:  Applicants are required to develop and describe a preliminary project idea for what they would like to teach. Flexibility is vital. Adjustments or revisions to the project proposal are typically needed, in consideration of curricular, classroom or community needs. Students interested in applying to be an USU ArtsBridge scholar should complete the attached application and return it to the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art by Friday, April 25, 2008.

HOST TEACHERS:  Each scholar works with a supervising classroom host teacher or community leader who plays an active role in project planning, classroom management, and the instruction of pupils. Host teachers are selected through recommendation and an ArtsBridge program approval process.

FACULTY MENTORS:  USU ArtsBridge faculty mentors will provide guidance and mentorship throughout the project.  ArtsBridge will provide orientation meetings and scholar workshops to explain policies and procedures and to bring together scholars, mentors, and host teachers for project planning meetings.

PROJECT PLANNING:  Projects should be designed for a class of 20-30 pupils or 15-30 participants if the project is not classroom-based. Scholars are expected to develop lesson plans after consultation with their assigned host teacher/community leader, faculty mentor and the Arts Bridge program director. ArtsBridge will provide forms for lesson plans and project planning. Scholars are required to maintain a typed narrative journal of the project progress. Culminating performances, exhibitions, or other forms of presenting the work achieved by project participants are often attended by their peers, parents and community members. This ‘public sharing’ can be a powerful element of the project.

HOURS:  A full ArtsBridge project is a minimum of twenty teaching contact hours with students/project participants during the semester. Teaching hours can be adjusted depending on the details and scope of the project. Projects consisting of 8-12 contact hours also encouraged. USU ArtsBridge school-based projects are scheduled to correspond with the K-12 semester system. Scholars can expect to spend about two hours per week teaching in the classroom, and 3-4 additional hours a week on lesson planning, project preparation, updating lessons, and meetings with their faculty mentor and in seminar. A series of 2-3 orientation and training sessions are required prior to beginning a project. A one-hour weekly seminar with all scholars will provide a forum to discuss teaching challenges as they arise throughout the semester. Seminar time and day will be mutually determined by all participating scholars.

Application Materials

Application - Word doc. PDF
Scholar Guidelines - Word doc. PDF
Categories of Learning - Word doc. PDF

“ArtsBridge is a model for bringing together the schools and universities for the good of all. We greatly admire the program and wish to help actively promulgate it as a national model.”

Robert Weisbuch, President
Woodrow Wilson Foundation