The Power of Collaboration in the Classroom

Collaboration is one of the A+ Essentials that makes LAA+ unique among education programs. Classroom teachers and arts specialists are trained to design and teach arts-integrated lessons to help students make meaningful cross-curricular connections. As certified teachers who are trained to teach music, dance, visual art, or theatre, arts specialists often work in isolation in schools, rarely interacting with classroom teachers.

LAA+ Schools are different. In our network, collaboration is a key essential for success, and monthly planning time between classroom teachers and arts specialists is required. Collaboration not only supports cross-curricular arts integration but also school transformation.

Tiffany Jeansonne (left) and Melanie Alexander (right) collaborate to present a special lesson plan on math and music.

Rollins Place Elementary in Zachary, LA, began their journey as an LAA+ School in 2015. Led by Principal Jennifer Marangos, Rollins Place serves 1st and 2nd grades with almost 1,000 students and close to 45 teachers. Five Rollins Place teachers have also been invited to serve as LAA+ Fellows, a cohort of 63 master educators who provide training to the 18 LAA+ Schools.

Two Fellows, Melanie Alexander (music specialist) and Tiffany Jeansonne (2nd grade math teacher) recently designed and co-taught a math and music-integrated lesson.

Alexander and Jeansonne frequently meet to discuss activities that integrate the arts into the math curriculum. They decided that creating pan pipes using measurement skills learned in math and knowledge of pitch in music fit perfectly.

In music class with Alexander, the 2nd graders learned about higher and lower pitches through experimentation with xylophones. They knew that longer bars on a xylophone made lower pitches and shorter bars made higher pitches. In math class with Jeansonne, the students completed a unit on measurement in centimeters and practiced how to use a ruler to measure different objects.

In this collaborative activity, the students relied upon their musical and measurement knowledge to create a set of pan pipes from drinking straws. They measured and cut the straws to specific lengths to create a working instrument that played six different pitches. They then used color-coded music sheets to perform a few well-known songs. The colors of the notes on the page matched the colors of the straws.

Through this project, student demonstrated knowledge of pitch and measurement, as well as math and music skills. 

The teachers benefit from these collaborative activities, as they strengthen math content knowledge for Alexander and music knowledge for Jeansonne. As LAA+ Fellows, they continue to add to the bank of activities that can be shared with educators receiving professional development through LAA+ Schools.

About the Teachers

Melanie Alexander has taught music for twelve years in the Zachary Community School District. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University, receiving her Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2002 and her Master of Music in 2006. She is also National Board certified in Early/Middle Childhood Music.

Tiffany Jeansonne is a second grade math, science, and social studies teacher at Rollins Place Elementary in Zachary, LA. This is her 16th year teaching. She received her National Board Certification in 2007, serves as a LAA+ Fellow, and received the honor of Rollins Place Elementary's Teacher of the Year for this school year.