The Artful Planner is a document, a process, and a tool. It allows teachers and artists to sit down together to plan—anything from a single performance or exhibition to a fully integrated curriculum. The Artful Planner helps teachers and artists to better understand each other and their own work as together they thoughtfully map their journey—from the very first planning meeting to the final reflection session.

Planning Backward
Planning backward from a compelling and meaningful destination helps artists and teachers create absorbing, relevant learning experiences through which all learners come to a deep understanding of a subject.

Through a series of questions, the Artful Planner helps teachers and artists stay focused on their students and on their shared vision:

—Who are my students?
—What do they already know?
—What are they confused about?
—What do we want students to understand?
—Why should they care about this topic?
—What am I interested in as an artist?
—What am I striving to understand as a teacher?
—How will we know if students understand?
—What will success look like and how will we get there?
—How will we know if we have achieved success?

Planning backward in this way helps build long term collaborations. It can change the way teachers teach and students learn.