Safety, Connection & Empathy: Trauma-informed teaching practices for the Visual Art Studio

Facilitator: Carien Quiroga

This insightful and intentionally crafted workshop will explore trauma-informed practices empowering visual arts educators and teaching artists in their vital role as facilitators of healing and creativity. Through engaging in the creative process, participants will acquire strategies to foster resilience, build meaningful connections and promote agency in artistic expression.  Emphasizing culturally responsive teaching and the creation of safe, supportive and empathetic creative spaces, this workshop aims to empower educators to make a lasting impact on their students' lives.

March 29, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
April 5, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

World Groove Dance

Facilitator: Keedra Brown

As educators, creating a culturally responsive classroom is essential in fostering an inclusive and empowering learning environment. In this dance workshop, we will explore ways to meaningfully incorporate the diverse cultures represented in our classrooms. Taking a global journey, we will discover dance traditions from around the world, using movement as a tool to honor and celebrate cultural identities. Additionally, we will dive into insights from Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond, uncovering practical strategies for engaging all learners. Join me on this trip across the globe to find dance inspiration from other cultures, enhance your teaching practices and build stronger connections with your students.

March 29, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
April 5, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Those Other Cs: Integrating Culture, Choice, and Community in the Theatre Classroom

Facilitator: Dana Carr

We are all familiar with the 4 Cs of 21st-century learning; however, in the theatre classroom, additional Cs—Culture, Choice, and Community—are equally vital. This course draws upon the insights of Zaretta Hammond and other experts in Culturally Responsive Teaching to guide participants in crafting compelling narratives that will resonate and reveal. We will explore strategies for incorporating students' cultural contexts into the creative process, empowering them to make meaningful artistic choices. By embracing these Cs, educators
can engage in powerful self reflection and transform their theatre classrooms into spaces where every young artist’s story is heard, shared, and celebrated.

March 1, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
March 15, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Responsive Realities: Immersive Media Arts

Facilitator: strikeWare

For MC3’s Media Arts Workshop, join strikeWare Art Collective to create visuals with evolving technologies and align your expression with the principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching. This workshop is designed to emphasize authentic engagement among diverse learners by way of extended-reality hardware and virtual environments. strikeWare’s workshop is collaborative and group-oriented, and we’ll encourage ways to apply culturally relevant and cognitively rigorous practices into your media arts classroom.

March 29, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
April 5, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Dancing to Deepen Understanding and Connection

Facilitator: Lacey Sheppard

Movement is a powerful, culturally relevant tool that enhances cognitive processing, fosters deeper engagement, and supports diverse ways of knowing and expressing understanding. In this interactive workshop, participants will unpack and explore tools for communicating effectively through movement while using dance integration to deepen comprehension across curricular areas. By embodying concepts and making intentional movement choices, learners connect more deeply with themselves and others, strengthening both personal expression and collective meaning-making. This process empowers individuals to take ownership of their understanding while amplifying their unique voices. Educators will leave with practical strategies for using movement to facilitate meaningful, inclusive learning experiences in their classrooms, regardless of their dance background.

March 1, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
March 15, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Making the Music Pop - Strategies for Creating

Facilitator: James Dorsey

In this session we will engage in a creative process to further our abilities to:

• Connect and engage with others through multiple layers and find shared big ideas

• Guide others to develop their own systems and structures for collaborative and independent music-making

• Use ongoing reflection and metacognition to create an original song.

March 29, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
April 5, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Tell It from the Heart Interactive Games for Educators

Facilitator: Tavish Forsyth and Blue Cavell

As teaching artists and storytellers, it’s incredibly important that we consider the personal benefits of collective play. Mischief, games, and telling it from the heart can unite people and facilitate dialogue around an idea. At the same time, extreme competition can harm, divide and contribute to a culture of bullying. How do we invite students to play and take risks through interactive learning, while making space for every-body to express themselves and learn from their mistakes. How do we welcome all ideas and uplift the things that make one another unique? In this workshop, educators will learn how to play culturally responsive games for emerging artists. Participants will walk away with theories, frameworks, and activities to enrich their learning communities with laughter and meaningful experience. Along the way, we will illuminate the pit falls and problems that arise when we take risks and when we practice playing together, offering ways of defusing difficult situations by pointing to what hurts. Through experiential learning that utilizes improvisation, creative writing, and peer-to-peer dialogue, we will remember and celebrate the serious craft of play. Explore play and storytelling as modalities of cultural responsive learning that facilitates social emotional growth, healing and mindfulness through ensemble games, improv and creative writing.

March 1, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
March 15, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

Listening, Learning, and Liberating

Facilitator: Joseanne Francis

Music education can be a space for fostering student agency, cultural affirmation, and emotional well-being. This interactive workshop explores a democratic and culturally relevant music curriculum designed for young learners, integrating trauma-informed practices to support diverse student experiences. Through aural learning, improvisation, and engagement with non-Western and popular music traditions, participants will experience first-hand how inclusive pedagogical strategies amplify student voice, nurture creativity, and build community in both classroom and community music settings. Educators will leave with practical tools for implementing student-centered, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed approaches that cultivate meaningful and equitable music-making experiences for all learners.

March 1, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Session
March 15, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - In Person; Annapolis, MD
April 26, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Virtual Share Day

A-REALL Virtual Book Club: Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond

Don’t miss your chance to dive deep into Zaretta Hammond’s transformative text Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, facilitated by MC3's professional team: Kimberly Brown, Kelli Johnson, and Kayla Morgan.

Earn 4 CPD Credits from the Maryland State Department of Education upon completion!

In this virtual book study, you'll explore how culturally responsive pedagogy can help create learning environments where all students and teachers feel seen, heard, and empowered. Perfect for educators committed to continuous growth and fostering inclusive classrooms.

Dates to Remember:
Application Opens: December 25, 2024
Application Deadline: January 24, 2025
Virtual Sessions Begin: February 9, 2025

Only 25 participants will be selected, so apply now for this unique professional development opportunity. Applications are due by January 24, 2025 at 11:59 PM.

Maryland Micro-Credentials for Creative Classrooms: Arts Education Through a Trauma-Informed Lens

Facilitator: Candy Alexandra González

Dates: March 23, 30, and April 6, 2025

Time: 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Format: All sessions will be virtual

Spaces are limited to just 24 participants, so apply by February 20th at 5:00 p.m. for a chance to join this transformative cohort. Successful completion earns 1 MSDE CPD (15 PDPs) credit and a certificate of completion (upon request).

Description: This Micro-Certification Training will build on the introduction level training titled “Defining Trauma Informed Practice”. The training will kick-off with a guided reflection on how participants have begun to integrate trauma-informed skills into their teaching practice. As a group, we will establish goals and intentions for continuing to build a trauma-informed art teaching practice. This training will offer a brief review of key concepts, such as Zaretta Hammond’s social interaction elements and culture tree, before integrating new concepts, such as toxic shame and systemic trauma, and its impact in the classroom. This brief review and introduction, will serve as the foundation upon which we will deepen our understanding of trauma-informed practice through trauma-informed facilitation skill building. As a group, we will practice reflection, active listening, and critiquing skills. As a group, we will also workshop challenging classroom scenarios and practice navigating those challenges. Time to process small group and large group discussion, brainstorming using sample tools, self reflective free-writes will be threaded throughout the training to help arts educators integrate trauma-informed practice into their own teaching practice. This training is only available for people who have taken Defining Trauma Informed Practice (Summer 2022 or Winter 2023).

This course is presented by Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation.

Maryland Micro-Credentials for Creative Classrooms: Supporting LGBTQ+ Students and Families 

Facilitators: Lyndsay Smith and Alyssa Fenix

Dates: March 2, 16, 20, 2025

Time: 4:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Format: All sessions will be virtual

This course is limited to 24 participants—apply by February 20th at 5:00 p.m. to join the cohort. Successful completion earns 1 MSDE CPD (15 PDPs) credit and a certificate of completion (upon request).

Description: Participants will develop an understanding of the importance of adult allies to LGBTQ+ students and explore the specific ways in which they can educate, advocate and support LGBTQ+ students and promote safe learning environments for all students. This virtual 3-session course includes both synchronous and asynchronous components. By the end of the course, participants will synthesize and apply what they learned into a final Arts Integrated Project that showcases best practices for supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in educational settings.