Mega-regional Workshop at USM
March 11, 2014March 7 – in Lisa Ingraham’s words…
On Friday I attended the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) Mega-Regional workshop at USM, this time as a participant rather than a teacher leader. I got to take it all in without a focus on preparing for my own workshop. I met many arts educators I haven’t had the opportunity to spend time with before, quite a few with a similar elementary visual arts background. And I finally got to attend other teacher leaders’ workshops that I have been dying to see since first hearing about them at last summer’s MAAI Institute!
MAAI teacher leaders Amy Cousins, Jennie Driscoll, Brian McPherson
There were a couple of big take-aways from the day for me. The first was as a result of Amy Cousins’ workshop “From Overwhelmed to in Control: Power Standards Help Connect the Dots”. Before the session was over I began mentally planning for when I could really dive into power standards (most likely this summer), and I realized that while I have done a substantial amount of work around the what, why, and how of assessment since the MAAI Institute, it is an ongoing process. While “ta das!” regarding student learning should be celebrated, as a life-long learner I then look toward the next step. Thanks Amy for showing me the next step!
My second take-away was as a result of another participant’s comment that when she thinks about her curriculum, she considers what she would like her students to know and be able to do as adults. This changed my view of the art curriculum from the five years I get to spend with them from kindergarten through grade four and extended it ahead into the future. It left me with the question, “What kind of relationship would I like my students to have with the visual arts as grown-ups?”
Time with visual and performing arts teachers is always creatively well spent. The day was filled with questions and answers both small and large. I look forward to the Mega-Regional workshop April 11th at the University of Maine, Orono!
THANK YOU Madison Elementary School and Maine Arts Assessment Initiative teacher leader Lisa Ingraham for contributing to the Maine Arts Education blog!
For more information and to register for the April 11 workshop at UMaine, Orono please go to http://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/MAAI-Mega-Regionals-Orono#orono
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