Inspiration boulders
Modeling Practice
MAKING NEW PRACTICES a REALITY
“Seeing someone masterfully use arts integration with my own kids made it reachable and tangible. So that was the beginning.”
Many of the teaching artists who presented workshops also spent time in Artful Teaching classrooms, providing teachers the option to observe expert educators and artists modeling new strategies with their own students. This offered them the opportunity to not only see a new strategy in practice, but also how their own students responded – a significant stepping stone to making new practices a reality of their own classroom setting.
Teachers could also observe Artful colleagues, across the hall or across town, to see effective teaching moves and evidence of kindred teacher mindsets and dispositions in practice.
MODELING PRACTICE 3 WAYS:
Cross-observation of a colleague
“One of my life rafts, was Miah Lager, who taught at my school. Whenever I could, I would go and observe her class because she was doing so many of the things that I thought were so powerful, just to kind of see, oh, there is another way to teach…”
Lesson demonstration with a teaching artist
“I’d been doing years of tableau but still felt like I wasn’t necessarily growing. I was doing it and we were putting the work in, but I couldn’t see how to extend or I didn’t know if there was a next step. Just having Jamin (Focus 5 teaching artist) come in for one 45 minute period to push me to that next place and see where my kids could go was validating and encouraging. A class that was very challenged behaviorally was able to rise and meet the expectation. Like, look, I can do this. They can do this.”
Teaching Artist Residency
“Being able to work with Kathy Hocker (local scientific illustrator/teaching artist) – who’s totally an expert…her voice and everything was just a different feel than I had had in my classroom. That was a great example for me of how to create that environment where our kids are learning and you can fit a lot in without it feeling like you’re doing a lot. She just did so much that week that we were together and it felt really rich, but it didn’t feel jammed in and jam packed. It’s a lesson I still use. I still email her for help and ideas; that’s been a great connection.”
REFLECTION EDDIES
What insights do the stories from Sam, Jess and Shawna offer?
What might be the conditions that create a powerful modeling/observation experience?