MAAI Mega MDIHS Review

Nancy Salmon’s review

Nancy Salmon is a member of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative’s Leadership Team. She is a dancer who has contributed enormously over the years to arts education in Maine. She attended the MAAI Mega MDIHS at Mount Desert Island High School on November 25,2014. Below you will find her review of the day. Thank you Nancy!

Nancy Salmon

Being a relative newbie on the MAAI Leadership Team, the Mega-Regional workshop at MDI High School was my first. I arrived early and friendly teachers directed me toward the “arts wing.” I knew immediately when I found it – Art EVERYWHERE! Student work on all the hall walls, three visual art studios, a beautiful and LARGE music room and a Dance Studio!

My assignment was to help register people – actually two MDI students took that on, and I was the “elder” helper handling any monetary transactions. Registration table was the perfect place for me to put names, faces, places, and teaching roles together.

I participated in two workshops even though I’m not a public school teacher. I totally enjoyed Jane Snider and Lisa Ingraham, both visual arts teachers, workshop Studio Habits of Mind: Using the “Hidden Curriculum” to Encourage Student Autonomy (or anyone’s autonomy). A couple books they use and introduced were Studio Thinking 2 and From Ordinary to Extraordinary. Jane’s and Lisa’s workshop was a perfect introduction to some very useable concepts and exercises regardless of art discipline. Participants included teachers of all the arts.

Stevie McGary

My second workshop, Stir-Crazy: A Movement Tool Kit for the Sedentary School Day was conducted by Stevie McGary, a new teaching artist on the Maine Arts Commission roster. Lots of activities in Stevie’s “tool kit” to use students’ fidgety energy in a productive, creative way. Many of the activities could be used right in the classroom.

Back in the dance studio after lunch, Stevie took us through a short dance class, demonstrating the kinds of things she does in her visiting artist/residency work. (The video of the day that Charlie Johnson created will be posted on the Maine Arts Ed blog in the near future).

For the afternoon session we divided into 2 groups, performing arts teachers (all music teachers in this instance) and visual arts teachers. I participated in Rob Westergard’s session. The session was an opportunity to share successes, challenges and helpful ideas regarding Teacher Effectiveness and Proficiency.

All in all, a success! I’m reminded of how totally impressed I am with the smarts, the passion, the commitment to the arts and STUDENTS that arts teachers are in spite of all the challenges that exist in our public school environment. Applause for all!

iPads Even the Playing Field in Band

NPR story

I suggest that you listen to this NPR piece called iPads Allow Kids With Challenges to Play in High School’s Band. It addresses the topic and also provides light how fortunate we are in Maine to have 1-2-1 laptop devices. It is easy to forget.

The link is embedded here so others can access the information provided. I am embedding the link here so you can access the story. If you’d rather just read the story please click here.

Thanks to Kevin Facer for sending this link.

 

 

March Webinar Overview

Facilitated by Catherine and Rob

This was written by York High School music educator and Maine Arts Assessment Initiative leadership team member Rob Westerberg as a follow-up to the webinar held on March 5.

On Wednesday March 5th, Catherine Ring and I facilitated the first of four MAAI sponsored Webinars for 2014. This one was on “Outreach and Arts Education Leadership”. We were joined by guests Shannon Campell, visual arts educator from Ellsworth High School, Pam Kinsey, music educator for the Easton schools, and by Argy Nestor, Director of Arts Education from the Maine Arts Commission. After tying up a few technology blips, we ended up having a great fifty minute dialogue around the primary topics of the day:

• What is “outreach” as it pertains to the arts?
• What does “leadership” in the arts look like?
• How has the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative worked to develop both outreach and leadership?
• Why are outreach and leadership essential?
• Implications and next steps for Maine’s Arts educators

Takeaways were many, but the essence of the broad message is that we have to be proactive, not reactive as we move forward in Arts Education in Maine, and many ideas, strategies and approaches are at our fingertips for doing so. Along those lines, we have put together a pair of meeting plans that you can implement with your colleagues during professional development days in your own schools and districts. Be sure to utilize these if you are looking for professional development ideas or an alternate agenda item for your own district’s Inservice Day; bring your colleagues together and use the webinar archive and the meeting plan to help lead the discussion.

To access the webinar archive: http://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/MAAI-Webinars
To access the meeting plan for this session:

The next Webinar will take place on Tuesday, April 8th from 3:30 to 4:30 as Catherine and I dig deeper into “Visual and Performing Arts and the Common Core”. More details and instructions on how to log in will be made available shortly. Please be sure to join us if you can for a topic that certainly impacts us all.

Brian’s Room

Standards-based classroom videos

It was great to have a chance to visit art teacher and Maine Arts Assessment Initiative (MAAI) Teacher Leader Brian McPherson’s classroom at the Woodside Elementary School in Topsham. Debi Lynne Baker and I traveled there recently to video tape Brian “in action”. The school is very welcoming with artwork everywhere.

Our day was filled with interviews with Brian and parents and colleagues, including principal Richard Dedek. The highlight was talking with students and visiting Brian’s classes. One class was drawing vessels using giant Chinese containers for models.

At the conclusion of the day there was a reception for students and families celebrating Chinese New Year and most importantly to view the clay relief sculptures based on Chinese architecture. Kudos to the students and Brian for a wonderful exhibit. Marvelous!

Debi Lynne is busy editing the hours of video footage to create another video showing standards-based arts education as a part of the resources provided by MAAI. All the videos that are available are posted on the Maine ARTSEducation YouTube channel. To learn more and view the videos please go to https://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/MAAI-VIDEOS.