Welcome to the Consenses at Home Professional Development & Teacher Training!

Introduction

We're so glad you're here. Over the course of the following ten lessons, we are going to teach you everything you need to know to be able to bring the "Consenses at Home" curriculum into the community of your choice all from the comfort of your own home. 

Consenses at Home offers art as a conversation rather than as a statement and encourages a creative language through which students learn to explore their differences and bridge divides.  The curriculum offers students SEL skills and artistic tools to experiment and explore their creativity through 7 independent mediums. Students learn tolerance and empathy through “listening” to others, not through their words, but through various art forms.

Using Consenses in the classroom teachers: 

• Enhance students' social an emotional skills.
• Expose students to multiple artistic disciplines.
• Empower students to engage their creativity and deepen their connection with classmates.
• Build confidence in self-expression.
• Bridge divides by growing tolerance and appreciation for each other’s differences.
• Enhance students' grasp and engagement of subject matter.  

You’ll come away from this training with certification to teach Consenses at Home, the relief that comes from creative expression, and a way to integrate creativity into your teachings to engage an even wider population of students and colleagues. 

See what students, teachers and parents have to say about Consenses' Curricula: Testimonials.

*Should you have additional questions about how to modify Consenses at Home to fit your particular needs, you’ll be able to schedule time to meet with Sally face to face at the end of your training. Once you start teaching "Consenses at Home" you will also have access to our Teacher Portal that offers ongoing connection to our Consenses team as well as other Consenses teachers offering the curriculum. 

In this quick welcome video, you'll meet your instructor (Sally Taylor) and learn more about what you'll be able to accomplish by the end of the training.

Optional: Before you continue you might enjoy watching Sally's TED Talk or The Consenses Documentary.

What to expect from this teacher training:

·      Lesson 1: We'll introduce you to an ancient fable; “The Elephant and the Blind Men” which is the cornerstone of Consenses' curricula. The fable acts as a metaphor to teach students empathy, introspection, humility, and appreciation for those whose perspectives differ from their own.

·      Lesson 2: We'll explain how Consenses works, discuss its origins in the professional art world and talk about Consenses' evolution into education.

·      Lesson 3 We'll introduce you to "Essences." This game will serve as a tool to excavate students' perspectives and scaffold their interpretive skills.

·      Lesson 4 We’ll introduce you to the process of interpreting a piece of art and translating its essence into another medium. You’ll get the opportunity to practice this skill.

·      Lesson 5 We'll discuss the 'Elephant' in the room and show you how to pick an appropriate subject matter for your class.

·      Lesson 6 We’ll give you an introduction and overview of the Consenses at Home Curriculum and offer you a checklist to help you, as a teacher, gather everything you need before starting your own Consneses class.

·      Lesson 7 We'll take you on a deep dive into the heart of the curriculum. This is where the rubber meets the road. You’ll be getting an intimate understanding of what teaching the Consenses at Home curriculum looks like by exploring lessons in depth.

·      Lesson 8 We'll teach you to how to stay organized while teaching Consenses at Home. This section is dedicated to the very important and sometimes challenging task of staying organized in this course. There are three tools we provide to make collecting students' work, organizing them and finally showcasing them for your final exhibition.

·      Lesson 9 We'll close out our formal training.

·      Lesson 10 You'll schedule your face-to-face 1/2 hour with Sally or a Consenses team member to ask any questions you have. We'll tour you around our Teacher Community Portal and have you fill out a final survey so we can improve and bring you even better content in the future!