I bet most of you probably have Applied Interdisciplinary Arts (AIA) floating around as a goal in myLC, but do you actually know what it is? Out of all of our charter-specific courses, AIA is arguably the most important: it’s a 2 credit course!
AIA is a course designed to help you create successful projects that combine academics and the arts throughout your four years at Kettle Moraine School for Arts and Performance (KM Perform). There are 4 competencies you must meet, each requiring 4 pieces of evidence. One project can count for up to 2 pieces of evidence, but not for the same target. The following excerpts are derived from the KM Perform Applied Interdisciplinary Arts Submission Form.
One learning target is Collaboration. “Your evidence should be an exemplar of how you collaborated to make a project come to life.” It must include at least 2 of the following:
A formal team structure with named roles and responsibilities
A team built on and respectful of opposing strengths and viewpoints
A deadline (i.e. performance date, project deadline)
A project with a real audience beyond the classroom
Another category is Inquiry. To show proficiency, you must “pose questions that arise from curiosity, . . . list the questions and how you addressed these in your project, . . . and [explain] why you were curious about these questions in the first place.” It must include at least 2 of the following:
Posing of questions
Researching and focused exploration of ideas
Reflecting of brainstorm process
Gathering evidence of feedback from others, including peers
The next area is Critical Thinking. “Your evidence must make the case for how you questioned, analyzed and synthesized your ideas in your project.” It must include at least 2 of the following:
Use data in your investigation
Use your project as a solution to a problem
Use patterns to make connections
Use design thinking process (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test)
The last section is Communication. To meet this competency, you must “express ideas in a variety of ways using multiple forms of media.” It must include at least 2 of the following:
High quality media to communicate central idea
A named audience and focus
Multiple iterations or drafts with feedback from a target audience
Practiced, rehearsed, and/or edited final product
AIA projects can range from putting on a skit (including research, script-writing, acting practice, costuming, and music) to stitching and dyeing your own fabrics to create a disease-based avant garde outfit. (Yes, I’ve done both of these.) Whatever you may choose to do, just remember that you should be getting at least 0.5 credits of AIA per year. You can do an AIA project in almost any class, too; you just have to put your mind to it and follow through. Once you have completed a project, you can make a copy of and fill out this reflection form and submit it to your desired target(s) in myLC. But remember, AIA isn’t just a box you need to check off: it’s a tool you can use to help you create high-quality interdisciplinary projects that have a real impact.
Image courtesy of How to Clean Things