The Missouri Arts Council has awarded $3,500 to the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art on the State Fair Community College (SFCC) Campus. The funds will be used to offer professional development to Missouri educators including elementary and secondary teachers in SFCC’s 14-county service region and SFCC’s faculty.

The professional development will train teachers how to implement Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) into their curriculum to improve student learning. VTS is a learner-centered teaching method that uses facilitated art discussions to build 21st-century skills such as close observation, critical and creative thinking, purposeful listening, effective communication and respectful debate.

The grant funded professional development will be used to support the museum’s long-range Daum Escape program, ongoing VTS experiences for SFCC’s faculty and students and a new partnership with Cole Camp School District.

The partnership with Cole Camp Elementary will involve VTS methodology in every art class throughout the academic year by engaging in monthly discussions generated by VTS curriculum. Students will be given pre and post-test assessments and art teachers will choose one control classroom from the student body.