Teaching Artists

TA Opportunities

Teaching Artists Martin Steingesser and Martin Swinger, MALI summer institute, August 2015

The Maine Arts Commission (MAC) is committed to providing learning opportunities for Maine Teaching Artists. On August 3, during the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative summer institute, MAC worked with Teaching Artist Nancy Salmon, to provide an all-day workshop. Dancer and teaching artist/teacher leader John Morris provided a segment on creativity and the Elements of Dance. Teacher Leader MaryEllen Schaper provided a segment on the Maine Learning Results and the visual and performing arts learning standards. Barb Vinal provided a segment on technology tools and how to leverage them as a Teaching Artist. In all, fourteen Teaching Artists participated and received information about arts education teaching and learning standards, technology tools, and discussed their roles as Teaching Artists in 2015.

In answer to the question What about this professional development day has been useful to you? the Teaching Artists response was:

• Networking
• Kick started some creativity that has been lacking in my professional life
• Creating together
• Exploring arts education verbiage
• Being able to talk/network with other teaching artists, share challenges, ideas, frustrations, make some work together.
• Meeting and chatting with other teaching artists what they do and HOW. I enjoyed active workshops.
• It’s been encouraging and inspiring to share information and experience among my artist and teaching peers—as well as to renew a sense of community among them. One specific area is identifying and re-affirming underlying principles among our different arts disciplines.
  High on the useful list also is networking, meeting teachers and administrators who share like loves, passions and goals who may help connect me with professionally rewarding engagements.
• The opportunity to come together & meet other TA’s, exploration into marketing and social media, and creative process.
• ALL of it!  Lively conversations with fellow artists. GREAT information about using technology with Barb. Hints about Pinterest, Password manager, FB, Google Presentation, Personal Learning Network, Klout…
  Inspiring and informative workshop with John about Elements of Dance and the meanings of Creativity….  the tour of all of Argy’s amazing network of information, blog, connection and the new directions for the MAC. Suddenly, I’m excited to be a ‘Maine Teaching Artist’ again!!  THANKS!!

Some of you who are not teaching artists might be wondering what is a Teaching Artist?! MACs definition: Teaching Artists are professional artists who are dedicated to lifelong learning and arts education, have made it an integral part of their professional practice, and who have cultivated skills as educators in concert with their skills as artists.

If you are a PK-12 visual or performing arts teacher or a school administrator, or perhaps a parent/community member please consider hiring a Teaching Artist to enhance your educational program. MAC provides a Teaching Artist roster located at https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/Teaching-Artist-Roster to help you consider who you might want to invite to your school. You will find information including the Teaching Artist contact information so you can communicate with them directly.

If you are a Teaching Artist and are interested in applying to be a member of the roster please email me at argy.nestor@maine.gov. For further information please go to https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/Teaching-Artists.

Just a reminder that on August 3, 2015, MAAI, the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative, announced its new name, MALI, the Maine Arts Leadership Initiative. You can read about it at https://meartsed.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/maai-goes-to-mali/. Please let me know if you have any questions.