Page 15 - The Song Room 2021 Year in Review

Transformational Learning
through Creativity (TLC)
The Song Room completed the second year
in its three year TLC pilot program in 2021, with
80 teachers and 1,686 students benefiting from the program. Outcomes indicate that the arts are becoming increasingly embedded in the 17 participating schools across regional South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales.
The multi-year, multi-artform program includes; weekly in-class arts lessons delivered by Teaching Artists, mentoring and professional learning for generalist teachers, Australian digital learning resources integrated into classroom work, and community engagement projects which provide educational outcomes for students, teachers, school leaders and school communities with sustainable benefits. The impact of combining these key elements over a three-year period is being evaluated by ACER who will deliver their final findings in 2023.
The pilot is supported by the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment, South Australian Government’s Music Innovation Fund, Third Link Investment Managers and Thyne Reid Foundation.
DUET: Teacher
Mentoring Program
For a third consecutive year, The Song Room partnered with the Department of Education and Training in Victoria to deliver the Music in Schools DUET: Teacher Mentoring program. Song Room Teaching Artist Mentors delivered 1,235 in-class sessions across 82 Victorian schools. 16 online professional learning workshops were attended by 323 teachers and 86 principals.
The Victorian education system was severely hampered by COVID-19 in 2021, and The Song Room continued to support teachers through this most critical time for Victorian schools. Displaying resilience and innovation, we were able to deliver our programs despite COVID-19 lockdowns by providing flexible and practical online solutions. The program was extended to provide teachers with an additional five sessions to support them as they returned to onsite learning in Term 4. 37 of 82 schools accepted this opportunity for their teachers to gain from extra DUET mentoring.
Community projects
Despite the challenges of COVID-19 that restricted public gatherings on school sites, partnerships between schools, local artists and arts organisations were nurtured through 28 community engagement projects in 2021.
Teaching Artists created opportunities for connection in a variety of projects. Public art exhibitions where held, murals were painted, and art adorned school fences to celebrate and acknowledge the traditional owners of Country. Musical performances took place at school assemblies and within the local community. Concerts were held online and in person to connect parents, carers and members of the wider community with their child’s learning and school communities.
The result - joy, pride, celebration and an increased understanding of the value of the arts to build strong school cultures.
The Song Room: 2021 Year in Review 15