Faculty Listing

Dr. Helene Robinson

Title: Associate Professor of Instruction
CV:  View CV
Phone: 941-359-4364
Email: helene2@usf.edu
Office: B211

Dr. A. Helene Robinson is the director of the Critical, Creative, and Design Thinking program, the Arts Integration Coordinator, and an Incredi-Bull Faculty Member in the College of Education at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. She was a special education teacher for 14 years before moving into higher education in 2007. She obtained an EdD in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction in 2009 from Liberty University. She also holds an EdS in Early Childhood Special Education with an emphasis on English for Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Miami and graduated with an award of academic merit.

Additionally, she has a MS degree in Emotional Handicaps and a BS in Physical Education. She has designed and instructed a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in Exceptional Student Education and Elementary Education. Additionally, she led the development of a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education, and also created an interdisciplinary graduate degree in Arts Integration. With this degree, she broke new ground in forming interdisciplinary collaborations with arts faculty from different colleges to co-design new courses in arts integration.

She was a Principal Investigator on a subcontract for the Untie the Right Brain grant, which was a Title II-A Higher Education Agency Partnerships Florida Teacher Quality Grants Program providing about $500,000 from a larger $2,250,000 grant administered by University of Tampa and ICUF. This collaborative grant involved multiple private universities to offer undergraduate and graduate level courses in Arts Integration and served 175 teachers in multiple high needs districts throughout Florida. She has also secured other smaller grants to support arts integration research.

Dr. Robinson has published and presented nationally and internationally on arts integration methods to include marginalized and struggling learner populations in inclusive classrooms, positive behavior intervention supports, social/emotional skill development, developing collaborations through cultural reciprocity, teacher quality indicators and the reading achievement of students with special needs and on arts integration efforts in higher education. She has conducted multiple professional development workshops for teachers, interns, and administrators on arts integration and has mentored undergraduate students in conducting research in arts integration.  She worked with the CAICC grant mentor teachers and interns to support their arts integration curriculum development and teaching. Most recently, she was involved with project SAIL and project EAGLE to plan and implement arts integration at the middle school level and pre-k level targeting schools with a high percentage of marginalized students. For her efforts at facilitating arts integration, she was given the honor of being identified as a PAInT Fellow for the 2013-2014 year.  Additionally, she was awarded with the USFSM Community Engagement award in 2019.

Education

EdD, Liberty University

EdS, University of Miami

MS, Nova Southeastern University

BS, Liberty University

Research

Robinson, A. H. (2019).  Frameworks and Methodologies for Understanding Arts Integration with Culturally Diverse and Struggling Learners. In P.C. Onishi (Ed.), Artistic Thinking in the Schools: Toward Innovative Arts in/Education Research for Future-ready Learners. Singapore: Springer.

Robinson, A.H. (2018, September 6).  Five tips for using the SMART I AM approach for inclusive arts integration.  Kennedy Center VSA International Tips, Retrieved from https://vsainternational.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/five-tips-for-using-the-smart-i-am-approach-for-inclusive-arts-integration/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-2

Robinson, A.H. (2017). Voices from Diverse Freshman Students:  How Arts Integration Impacted their Learning. Journal for Learning through the Arts, 13(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.21977/D913125528

Robinson, A.H..(2013). Arts integration and the success of disadvantaged students: A research evaluation. Arts Education and Policy Review, 114(4), 191-204.

Robinson, A.H. (2012). Understanding how arts integration contributes to disadvantaged students’ success: A theoretical framework. International Journal of Arts and Sciences, 5(5), 371-376.

Robinson, A.H. (2012). Using creativity and collaboration to develop innovative programs that embrace diversity in higher education. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 5, 6-12. Retrieved from http://celt.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/CELT

Robinson, A. H. (2011). Research review of the effects of arts integrated curriculum on student success. International Journal of Arts and Science, 4(11), 289-303.

Robinson, A. H. (2011). Differentiating instruction in higher education. In J. Chambers (Ed.), Selected Papers from the 22nd International Conference on College Teaching and Learning (pp.181-203). Jacksonville, Florida: Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Robinson, A.H. (2011). Highly qualified teacher status and the reading achievement of students with disabilities. American Secondary Education, 39 (3), 42-66.

Robinson, A.H. (2011). Instructional and grouping practices impacting the reading gains of diverse students. Journal of Education and Social Justice, 1(1), 129-139.

Robinson, A.H. (2011). Climate of High Expectations Correlate. In M.J. Ratcliffe & L.M. Harts (Eds.), Schools that make the grade: What successful schools do to improve student achievement. Baltimore: Brooks Publishing.