Inspiration boulders
ArtLabs
SUPPORT for TRYING NEW THINGS
“Having a really solid ArtLab, to say, okay, we’re gonna try that, we’re gonna bring back our experience of what we did, how it went. We were encouraging, but we were also holding each other accountable. And you always left those experiences with a lot of new ideas. You felt like, oh, man, that was such a good use of my time going there – idea generating, but also support and a time to reflect and have people to reflect with.”
“And then you’re going to your ArtLabs. It was really nice to have those connections with other people who were struggling through and to see that it wasn’t magic. It didn’t happen overnight. It’s a lot of work.”
The ARTLAB FORMULA
Some call them study groups, or communities of practice, or PLC’s: Artful Teaching “ArtLabs” were self-selected groups of teachers that opted to extend and deepen their arts integration practice by meeting routinely to reflect and collaborate. Over the ten years of the project, we learned a lot about how these groups could work effectively:
Formula for a “solid” ArtLab:
Ample, compensated time to meet regularly (most ArtLabs met for approximately 1.5-2 uninterrupted hours a month–not broken into 30 minute chunks in between periods of a busy day)
A diverse mix of 4-6 teachers (levels of experience, school sites, even content areas)
A shared focus (e.g. arts integration, place-based teaching, or cultures of thinking)
A well-facilitated protocol to organize close looking, reflection and conversation around that student work
Curated samples of student work or classroom documentation that connect to that focus
= Gaining new ideas and perspectives and the accountability and support to try new things
REFLECTION EDDIES
What is your formula for empowering teachers to authentically collaborate and support one another?
What tweaks might the teachers you serve suggest to this formula?