2025-2026 MEDIA ARTS INTRODUCTION COHORT
Register for Perpich’s Media Arts Introduction Cohort! (formerly Media Arts Cohort Level 1)
Why Join this Cohort?
The Media Arts Introduction Cohort is a year-long, hands-on, idea-rich professional learning community designed to equip teachers with the foundational skills, tools, and curriculum structures needed to teach media arts with confidence and clarity. Whether you are a visual arts teacher ready to branch into digital forms, a tech-savvy educator seeking more creative applications, or entirely new to media arts—this cohort meets you where you are.
Participants will build conceptual and technical fluency across digital photography, video, animation, and graphic design. The work is grounded in concept-based curriculum and instruction (CBCI), inquiry-based practices, and creative production cycles that help students develop voice, critical thinking, and artistic literacy. Over the course of the year, participants will design, revise, or refine classroom-ready units aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS) or local standards, while engaging with peer critique protocols, artist case studies, and adaptable project structures.
Cohort Members Can Expect:
- Hands-on media experiences across 2D, 3D, digital, and mixed media
- Resources and exemplars to take directly into your classroom practice
- Personalized feedback and coaching as you implement new strategies and approaches
- Foundational skill-building with accessible tools (Canva, Adobe Express, Stop Motion Studio, etc.)
- Project-based learning examples ready to adapt for your students
- Support in developing or revising a unit or lesson set
- Collaborative critique protocols for teaching students to analyze and make media
- Artist case studies that inspire diverse approaches to media creation
- Networking with a statewide community of like-minded educators
This is not a “sit and get” PD — it’s active, collaborative, and immediately relevant to classroom practice.
This Cohort is Ideal for:
- Middle and high school visual arts teachers
- Technology integration specialists or digital media teachers
- Classroom Generalists adding creative technology to their classrooms
- Educators with little to no media arts teaching experience
Expectations for Joining the Cohort:
- Teaching or seeking to teach media arts in an integrated or standalone course offering this year
- Ability and commitment to attend all three in-person sessions at Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley
- Ability to collaborate and engage in hands-on media arts experiences
Cohort Meeting Dates (three all day workshops):
The Media Arts Introduction Cohort will meet in person at Perpich Center for Arts Education three times throughout the 2025-2026 academic year. These are full-day sessions (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) with a break for lunch. Cohort members are required to attend all three workshop days.
- Monday, November 17, 2025
- Thursday, February 19, 2026
- Thursday, April 16, 2026
More Details:
- The Media Arts Introduction Cohort will meet in person at Perpich Center for Arts Education: 6125 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, MN 55422
- Workshops are full-day sessions (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.) with a break for lunch
- Lunch is provided for each workshop
- There is no cost to participate in this cohort, and no cost for the online media offerings
- A clock hours form will be provided after each workshop day
If you are a teacher looking to bring a new dimension of creativity and critical thinking to your classroom, then the Perpich Media Arts Introduction Cohort will be a great support for you. This program offers an exciting and immersive learning experience that will empower you to incorporate media arts into your school.
Questions? Contact jeremy.holien@pcae.k12.mn.us
