Final Arts Assessment Webinar of MAAI Phase 1

Commissioner Bowen guest on Back to the Future Webinar

On May 23rd we had the final webinar for the series as part of Phase 1 of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI). Commissioner Bowen was the guest with facilitators Catherine Ring and Rob Westerberg. The webinar was called Back to the Future: Arts Teachers Lead the Way. Catherine and Rob put together a list of questions for the Commissioner which provide a great deal of information.

If you were one of the 40 participants thanks for joining the webinar. Throughout the discussion the Commissioner shared his perspective on arts education. The webinar, along with the interview the Commissioner did for the blog post on August 30, 2011, shows his commitment to arts education.

Below are three of the questions that the Commissioner was asked on the webinar:

1. Mass customized learning is all about shifting the paradigm in education. The Arts Assessment Initiative has been all about proficiency and assessment of proficiency. How can we use the arts in shifting the new educational paradigm, and how can this shift help the new paradigm of Arts education?
2. It has been our experience that we have encountered many misperceptions about arts education (comprehensive understanding of what it really is); it is unique in that we are the ones who teach the creative process and we reach all children. There is a difference between creativity as a life skill which you may encounter across disciplines and the creative process grades PK through 12 which is learned only in the arts classrooms. How does the nature of the arts therefore connect to 21st century skills which are the foundation of our future work, and how are they to be assessed?
3. What is the difference between LD 1422 and what we have now as it relates specifically to the arts?

Thank you to Catherine and Rob for facilitating the 7 webinars that happened throughout the school year. All of them have been archived and can be accessed with meeting plans on the Department’s arts assessment page at http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/assessment.html.

 

During the webinar we looked at a crosswalk showing the connections with the MAAI and the Department’s Strategic Education Evolving.

The webinar is archived along with the other 6 MAAI webinars that have taken place during the school year since September. You can listen to the recordings located at http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/assessment.html. Also at this webpage you will find meeting plans for each of the 7 webinars that you can use individually or at teacher’s meeting.

Thank you to Catherine and Rob for their work on the webinars. They are an important component of the MAAI and will continue to be useful for arts teachers across the state.

Below is the crosswalk that you can download as a .pdf or word document on the Department’s arts assessment webpage.

Strategic Plan	Maine Arts Assessment Initiative
1: Effective, Learner-Centered Instruction	The heart of all Professional Development IS student-centered learning Presently using MLR, will transition to national standards, expected in December 2012 Individual teachers creating assessment tools to meet needs of their classrooms/students/PK-12 local systems
2: Great Teachers and Leaders	Building on what we know, providing Professional Development opportunities for teachers to move – good to great Teacher leader training in assessment, technology, and leadership Going deeper and wider for teacher learning Collaborative opportunities Development and empowerment of teacher leaders Community of practice: Maine Arts Education Leaders
3: Multiple Pathways for Learner Achievement	Training teachers to lead in determining what tools will be used at the local level Variety of arts courses available in high schools
4: Comprehensive School and Community Supports	Encouraging collaborative work Providing successful stories, examples Beyond phase 2: ideas under discussion
5: Coordinated and Effective State Support	Identification of teacher leaders – 36 total, training in assessment, leadership, technology – developing workshops Facilitating workshops regionally Webinars – archived w/meeting plans Graduate courses being offered Arts ed list serv/Blog – ongoing communication Repository of best practices (lessons, units, assessment tools) Community of Practice