Character & Values
Online Professional Development Session Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024
4:00-5:15PM Pacific Time
All K-12 educators are invited to join this free online session! Explore the LMC Unsung Heroes as role models. Learn strategies to engage students with the stories of LMC Unsung Heroes by building historical empathy—the ability to connect with the experiences of people from different times. Historical empathy can foster greater creativity and understanding in visual art projects. This session explores hands-on activities, research-based methods for arts-integration, and K-12 curriculum connections.
All registered will receive a copy of the session recording and lesson plan. Certificate of Participation available for attendees.
Learning Objectives for Character & Values Session
In this session, educators will:
Understand historical empathy as a tool for students to examine issues and problems from the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place.
Create approaches for teaching students the importance of individual moral standards, and heroic traits and actions with an emphasis on the LMC Unsung Heroes.
Support students in visually interpreting the stories of LMC Unsung Heroes as role models who have made a difference in the lives of others by comparing the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of events and decisions, and determining the lessons that were learned.
Strengthen connections between visual art, English language arts, and social studies.
This session explores some Heroic Traits and Acts (listed below) demonstrated by the LMC Unsung Heroes:
About Dr. Veronica Alvarez
Instructor
Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Dr. Alvarez is an educator, historian, and arts advocate. She has worked with students of all ages, teaching subjects such as Spanish, ancient Greek and Roman history, and inclusive pedagogy. She was a museum practitioner for over 20 years, working at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she wrote curricula and led professional development for teachers. Dr. Alvarez has served as an education consultant for various entities including UCLA’s Fowler’s Museum, LMU’s Family of Schools, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. State Department, and the State Department of Cultural Affairs in Chiapas, Mexico. Dr. Alvarez has also developed online learning models on arts integration with the Teaching Channel and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. Dr. Alvarez holds a BA in Liberal Studies, an MA in History, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice. Dr. Alavarez is currently Executive Director of Create CA, an art education advocacy organization, and was previously Executive Director, Community Arts Partnerships at CalArts.
ARTEFFECT Annual Competition Resources Open through April 27, 2025
The 2025 ARTEFFECT competition invites submissions from all students in grades 6-12 around the world interested in making a positive impact through their art. Students creatively interpret the story of an Unsung Hero by creating an original visual artwork, accompanied by an artist’s Impact Statement. Check out the competition resources below!
