13 Strategies for Making Thinking Visible in the Classroom
For many educators focusing on the process and not the product has been a gradual change. The pandemic has forced this shift rapidly and educators are gracefully embracing it in many cases. This requires a growth mindset and ideas and suggestions from supportive colleagues. Susan Riley’s Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM has put together a comprehensive list of strategies that you can apply (in person and/or remotely) in your classroom environment that will make your students thinking visible.
Why make learning more visible you may wonder? Critical and creative thinking skills are an integral part of teaching and learning, always have been part of arts education. I’m glad that other educators have gotten on board with this in this 21st century. One key for developing and assessing critical and creating thinking skills is to making thinking more visible. If we can see the process students are using to analyze problems, make predictions and draw conclusions, teaching and guiding students thinking becomes easier.
I encourage you to take a look at the ideas Susan Riley suggestions below to support your teaching and students learning.
Hamilton is a story about hope, revolution, and love. The original cast of Hamilton singing “Helpless” will have you moving and smiling. How might you incorporate this into your curriculum this year? Let me count the ways!
Interested in teaching online with the Farnsworth Art Museum? The Education Department is seeking teaching artists and lecturers in the fields of visual art and traditional arts, literary arts, theater, dance, music and multidisciplinary / interdisciplinary fields, and art history. Let us know a bit about yourself, your discipline and teaching experience in the form link below. At this time, all programming is offered online via Zoom.
In the beginning of June 2020 the Music Educator Award presented by Recording Academy and Grammy Museum announced their quarterfinalists for 2021. I was proud to announce on the blog that three Maine music educators were named to the list of nearly 2,000 nominees!
CAROL CLARK – Gray-New Gloucester High School
PATRICK VOLKER – Scarborough High School
TRACY WILLIAMSON – Gorham Middle School
As a follow up Tracy shared her Covid story posted on this blog that provided details on her teaching journey through the school year.
Tracy Williamson
Recently Tracy learned that she is one of 25 music teachers from 24 cities across 16 states to be named a semifinalist for the award given by the Recording Academy and GRAMMY Museum.
CONGRATULATIONS TRACY!
The finalists will be announced in December and Maine Arts Educators will be waiting to hear the outcome!
The Music Educator Award recognizes current educators who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the field of music education and who demonstrate a commitment to the broader cause of maintaining music education in the schools. The recipient will be recognized during GRAMMY Week 2021.
The award is open to current U.S. music teachers, and anyone can nominate a teacher — students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans, and administrators. Teachers are also able to nominate themselves, and nominated teachers are notified and invited to fill out an application.
Each year, one recipient is selected from 10 finalists and recognized for their remarkable impact on students’ lives. They will receive a $10,000 honorarium and matching grant for their school’s music program. The nine additional finalists will receive a $1,000 honorarium and matching grants. The remaining fifteen semifinalists will receive a $500 honorarium with matching school grants.
The matching grants provided to the schools are made possible by the generosity and support of the GRAMMY Museum’s Education Champion Ford Motor Company Fund. In addition, the American Choral Directors Association, National Association for Music Education, NAMM Foundation, and National Education Association support this program through outreach to their constituencies.
The finalists will be announced in December, and nominations for the 2022 Music Educator Award are now open. To nominate a music educator, or to find more information, please visit www.grammymusicteacher.com.
I know how time consuming it can be for teachers to collect resources so I’ve put together another list to help support your work – this one compiled over the last several weeks. Hopefully you’ll find the information informative!
Neuroscience and Music written by Cassandra Sheppard – At a time when singing in school is marginalized this article/research reminds us that we need to sing!
ArtsEdSearchA hub for research on the impact of arts in education where you’ll find academic studies and resources
pink portfolio exercises As in Daniel Pink who I heard speak about the importance of the creative thinking people.
STE(A)Mrolled Blog post from Americans for the Arts. Writer Daryl Ward is the principal of the Harrison School for the Arts in Florida.
Teaching Arts Education Advocates Blog post for Americans for the Arts. Written by Jennifer Katona, Director and Founder of the Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at the City College of New York (CCNY), oversees the certification of pre and in-service Theatre teachers and training of non-certified theatre educators.
Collective Impact in the Arts – Createquity. One persons information on the possibility of developing a collective impact model for the arts. Written by Ian David Moss a few years ago but information is still relevant for those interested in this work.
Kind, dependable, consistent, committed, and considerate are words that describe Jim Small. Jim had a huge heart and soft voice and was devoted to teaching. He was one of those teachers who was ALWAYS teaching – in his classroom and throughout his day – demonstrating for students and writing and recording ideas. He had a clear and deep understanding of creative thinking and taught it as a foundation to all of his art classes. In fact, he wrote about it over many years to make it more understandable for others and was an amazing advocate for arts education. Sadly Jim left this world on October 10 at the age of 67. Even though Jim is gone he has left us all resources on his YouTube channel called Imagine Again Jim – it’s soooo Jim! Below is Jim’s obituary.
Mr. Small – Art Teacher Extraordinaire
SKOWHEGAN – James Keith Small passed away peacefully in his sleep on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020 at the age of 67 at his home in Skowhegan.
Born on March 23, 1953 in Westbrook to his mother, Cora Ida York, and his father, Shirley Small. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; children, Stephanie, Adam and Ricky; and his grandchildren, Coraline, Geronimo and Torrington; as well as his sisters, Linda, Judy and Valerie. James also had the good fortune of being taken in by the late Pauline and Bob Johnson and siblings Gene, Alan, Patrick, Paula, and Lisa after the passing of his parents.
A devoted father, husband and career educator, he worked tirelessly to provide a magical world for his children to grow up in. Always a kid at heart himself, he believed that the imagination was the key that unlocked each person’s individual super power.
He was an extraordinarily gentle soul who was loved by many, and had endless love to give. He touched countless lives as an art teacher for the MSAD 59 and MSAD 54 school districts. Jim made friends at every turn and always knew how to spread his joy to those in need. His students always knew that his classroom was a safe place, free of judgement, where he would do anything in his power to inspire creative thinking and personal growth.
Other lifelong pursuits included passion for the arts, film, photography, and last but certainly not least, fishing. Recently retired, Jim had far too little time to be on the water whenever he desired, catching all the trout he could manage.
James passed his unfiltered creative energy to his daughter, Stephanie, along with a good portion of his immense compassion for those less fortunate. He would graciously admit cribbage defeat and fish until the bats came out with his son, Adam, and he would always be his son, Ricky’s #1 fan.
Jim courted his beloved wife, Dorothy, after retrieving her lost barrette at the former Sandy Beach in Madison, and the two spent 43 years in love. From barrette to soul mate, James was an ever-devoted husband to his stunning wife and would wade into any sized waves to do it again.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday Oct. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan. We ask that all attendees be respectful of the COVID guidelines and wear a mask while attending. Anyone wishing to virtually attend the funeral service may do so via the Albion Christian Church website – https://albionchristianchurch.com/, there will be a link located there to go to the live Facebook link starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 17.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Smart and Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan. Anyone who wishes to leave the family messages can do so on our website at ? http://www.smartandedwardsfh.com.
James (Mr. Small to many) would want us all to move forward with pride and confidence, while reminding us to also Imagine Again, and Imagine More.
In lieu of flowers, the Small family will be encouraging anyone who wishes to donate to a scholarship for all manner of creative pursuits and the arts in Mr. Small’s name.
Activating Hybrid Learning with Center for Maine Contemporary Art MAEA Workshop
Saturday, 17 October 2020, in-person
Center for Maine Contemporary Arts in Rockland, 9:30AM – 3:30PM.
ONLY 19 SPOTS LEFT!!! JOIN US TODAY!
Pre-registration is required – $50.00 per person
Registration Deadline: Monday, October 12th
In support of the Maine Arts Education Association (MAEA), CMCA is offering a full day professional workshop for Maine Art Educators, including contemporary art exploration, making, and conversation featuring the CMCA 2020 Biennial. CMCA curatorial and education staff will guide participants through a variety of activities and ideas for incorporating contemporary art into your classrooms, both in-person and online. We’ll take a close look at the diverse themes and artworks in the Biennial and discover a range of artmaking processes, ideas, and artists that will heighten curriculum and personal practice. Re-energize and regroup as a community of artists, educators, and contemporaries during this one-day workshop. Please email mbogyo@cmcanow.org with any questions about the workshop. To ensure safe social distancing, the workshop will be split into 2 groups; masks required. For the complete schedule, please visit MAEA website!
#ArtsAreMySuperpower is a national campaign launched recently with Theatre for Young Audiences USA and 20,000 member youth arts institutions. The campaign is taking place throughout the month of October and is designed to empower young people’s artistic and civic voices across disciplines and regions, unifying national voices in support of communities’ choirs, orchestras, bands, ensembles, dance companies, theatres, museums, arts programs, and arts workers everywhere.
Specifically, #ArtsAreMySuperpower will empower young people to:
1. THINK about the ways they have been impacted by the arts in their community
2. WRITE a letter to their Senator
3. SHOW their “superpower” through their art: singing, instrument, visual art, acting, dance, puppets, etc.
4. POST their superpower and their letter to social media, tagging their Senators, @beanartshero (Instagram) or @BeAnArtsHero1 (Twitter), and hashtag: #ArtsAreMySuperpower, #ArtsHero, and #DAWNAct
5. MAIL their letter using the Post Office
For inspiration, you may enjoy this video created by the bassists from the Metropolitan Opera to the LA Philharmonic, and the many symphony orchestras in between. It was made independently but specifically for and the DAWN Act. It is a true gift. And a testament to how artists are coming together during this unprecedented and historic moment.
Your support and engagement in this campaign are welcome and you are encouraged by the campaign to share with colleagues. You can find more info about the individuals responsible for the campaign at www.BeAnArtsHero.com.
The Maroon 5 song, Memories is sung by the One Voice Children’s Choir on youtube. Taking a few minutes to watch and listen to these precious voices on the fist day of a month – Happy October!
I’ve always loved The Muppets and for many years I’ve been inspired by Jim Henson. Hard to believe that he’s been gone for 30 years. I am so happy that the Muppets have continued in different ways for so long. And, here they are on the Late Show with James Corden.
Although James Corden, Reggie Watts and The Late Show Band The Muppets couldn’t be together in a studio, the group came together on video chat to sing The Beatles classic “With a Little Help from My Friends.” Sing along with Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Swedish Chef, Animal, Gonzo and so many more.
Looking for silver linings? I suggest that you watch this (and sing at the top of your voice) today or tomorrow – at the end of another week during a pandemic. I promise you’ll be moving by the end of it! Afterwards call a friend.
Argy Nestor
Arts Educator, Blogger, Artist, Connector meartsed@gmail.com
https://sites.google.com/view/anestor/
Argy’s Blog
The purpose of this blog is to share stories about people and places; and to celebrate the amazing work (and play) that students, educators, and organizations are doing in and for arts education. In addition, the blog has a plethora of resources and innovative ideas. This forum gives blog readers the opportunity to learn from each other. It is essential that we listen, learn, and collaborate in order to build on teaching practices for the benefit of every learner in Maine and beyond.
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