Posts Tagged ‘Catherine Ring’

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Elementary Assessment Webinar

March 26, 2012

March 14, 2012

Rob and Catherine

Rob and Catherine

Almost 25 educators participated in the second Maine Arts Assessment elementary webinar on March 14th that was re-scheduled since the first one held in January had a technology glitch and was not recorded.

Catherine Ring and Rob Westerberg did a fabulous job faciliating and their guests music teachers Barb Packeles and Alice Sullivan and art teacher Shannon Campbell shared experience and examples of assessment tools.

The participants were half music and half art teachers and 83% presently assess their students a lot with 16% assess a little. When it comes to comfort level assessing; almost 64%are very comfortable, 27% somewhat comfortable and 9% not at all.

Alice

Some of the challenges assessing students in the arts classroom include the following:

  • traveling classroom to classroom and in many cases school to school
  • standards based – translating grades to a standards based classroom
  • the number of students taught over a few days
  • hardly any time between classes

Advantages of assessing:

  • makes the learning goals clear
  • data driven world – holds us accountable and teacher can show how the teacher has done their job
  • documents how students are doing
  • 21st century teacher can exhibit the artifact of the learning
  • allows for student reflection
  • student designed assessments – effective strategy
  • provides for a more balanced curriculum when using the Maine Learning Results

This is just a small piece of the discussion that took place during the webinar.

Shannon

To access the recorded webinar session please go to: http://stateofmaine.adobeconnect.com/p2fy0uxaeaq/

Catherine and Rob have put together a meeting plan that you can use during a teachers meeting. Bring your colleagues together and use the webinar archive and the meeting plan to help lead the discussion. You can access the meeting plan for this session and the other 4 webinars at http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/assessment.html.

Barbara

Barbara

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Arts Assessment Course in York

January 18, 2012

Courses underway… 

York High School was the place to be this weekend if you are interested in taking assessment to a new level in your Music classroom. Instructor Rob Westerberg greeted music educators on the first day of their graduate level course, offered by the New England Institute for Teacher Education. Great collaboration, sharing of resources, and learning ways to improve student learning are just some of the benefits of working together with colleagues in the arts.

Music educators Ashley Smith, Drew Albert and Jen Etter at York High School

Another opportunity for music teachers: Music Educator Jake Sturtevant will be teaching the course in Augusta on Feb. 10, 11 and May 11, 12, 2012 for two weekend sessions, starting on Friday (4-8pm) and going through Saturday (8-4pm).  THERE IS STILL ROOM IN THIS COURSE, so please do register soon to take advantage of a specially discounted rate of $750 for three graduate credits.  Don’t miss this great opportunity!  To register, visit www.newenglandinstitute.org.

Also, for VISUAL ART TEACHERS:
The Assessment in the Visual Art (K-12) courses are being held in:

  • Bangor on January 27, 28 and April 27, 28
  • Augusta on February 10, 11 and May 11, 12
  • Falmouth High School on March 9, 10 and May 4, 5.  (This is new!) Thanks to Nancy Durst for hosting this at her school.

Come join us for some great learning and discussions with colleagues. All courses meet in two sessions on Fridays (4-8pm) and Saturdays (8-4pm). Please register soon to take advantage of this unique opportunity to take a three-credit graduate course at the reduced tuition of $750 through the New England Institute for Teacher Education.

York Middle School art teachers Jen Etter and Jimi Neel

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Arts Assessment Opportunities

January 3, 2012

Webinar, graduate course, regional workshops

The Maine Arts Assessment Initiative continues to provide professional development opportunities using a variety of modes of communication in different locations in Maine.

Webinar: Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 4th, 3:30 – 4:30 will be the next assessment webinar in the series: An Elementary Discussion: How in the World Can I Possibly Do This? This webinar will address the unique needs of elementary arts teachers. I hope you will join facilitators Rob Westerberg and Catherine Ring and their guests, teacher leaders Alice Sullivan (music educator) and Shannon Campbell (visual art educator). Also joining them will be music educator Barb Packales and myself.

To join the webinar go online to http://stateofmaine.adobeconnect.com/pk201012/ (sign in as “guest”). Conference Number: 1-866-910-4857, Passcode: 140893

Graduate course: Catherine Ring, Rob Westerberg, and teacher leader Jake Sturtevant will be teaching an arts assessment graduate course in different locations in Maine. They are excited to be sharing the many tools, strategies and resources on assessment with arts teachers.  Everyone is really busy, but this is a unique chance to take advantage of a reduced tuition of $750 for three graduate credits.  And, the courses have been approved by the Maine Department of Education for recertification. No matter where teachers are in their understanding of how to use assessment in the classroom, this course will give participants a chance to really “dig deeper” and try things out in the classroom with the support of colleagues and some fantastic instructors!

Dates and Locations:

  • January 13, 14 and March 16, 17, 2012: York High School, York (Visual Art K-12 and Music 7-12)
  • January 27, 28 and April 27, 28: Bangor (Visual Art K-12 only)
  • February 10, 11 and May 11, 12: Augusta (Visual Art K-12 and Music 7-12)

For Registration and Information, visit www.newenglandinstitute.org or call the New England Institute for Teacher Education at 207-367-5807.

Regional workshops: At the end of January are regional workshops being presented by three teacher leaders. More information will follow on these but please mark your calendars if you are unaware of these opportunities:

  • January 27: District 3 high school Honors Festival: Cony High School – Deb Large, facilitator
  • January 27: District 1 high school Music Festival: Noble High School – Jake Sturtevant and Matt Doiron, facilitators
  • January 27 or 28: District 2 high school Instrumental Festival: Oxford Hills High School – Bill Buzza, facilitator
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Arts Assessment Graduate Course

November 28, 2011

Learning about arts assessment

The New England Institute for Teacher Education is providing a unique opportunity for arts educators throughout Maine to take a three-credit, graduate level course on on Arts Assessment. Visual art and music educators who are interested in deepening their learning in arts assessment are invited to participate in a cohort of peers to collaborate, and to learn about and apply best assessment practices in their classrooms. Course credit is given through Endicott Collegeʼs Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

These courses have been specially-designed as an outgrowth of the Maine Arts Assessment Initiative. Teachers can expect to work at growing their level of understanding and enhancing their schoolʼs practices in an individually-tailored, inquiry- based class. Classes meet on a teacher-friendly schedule, over two weekends, with inter-session and post-session work done online.

Rob, Argy, Catherine on our way to assessment workshop for Aroostook county arts teachers

Rob Westerberg and Catherine Ring are the instructors for the Music and Visual Art courses respectively. Both Rob and Catherine are experienced arts educators and teacher leaders and bring a wealth of knowledge in their disciplines and in assessment practices. Join them for a great opportunity to meet and work with colleagues while improving your teaching and student learning in the arts!

Dates and Locations:

  • January 13, 14 and March 16, 17, 2012, York High School, York (Visual Art and Music)
  • January 27, 28 and April 27, 28, 2012, Bangor    (Visual Art only)
  •  February 10, 11 and May 11, 12, 2012    Augusta (Visual Art only)

Three ways to Register:

  1. Call Catherine Ring at 207-367-5807
  2. Email: newenglandinstitute@gmail.com
  3. Download the Registration Form at www.newenglandinstitute.org/index.php/
    registration-arts-assessment/
    . A flyer with the information can be downloaded from this page.

If you would like the New England Institute to bring a course to your area, please contact:

The New England Institute for Teacher Education                                            P.O. Box 460                                                                                                        Stonington, Maine 04681    207-367-5807                                                           Website: www.newenglandinstitute.org
Email: newenglandinstitute@gmail.com

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Almost 300 Maine Arts Educators

October 12, 2011

Professional Development Opportunities

During the last week amost 300 arts educators have participated in opportunities to learn more about assessment in arts education. That is about one fourth of all the arts teachers in Maine.

On Wednesday, October 5th teacher leader Audrey Grumbling presented to her colleagues in RSU 21. At the statewide arts education conference Arts Teachers Leading the Way… Back to the Future: Arts Assessment For Learning at USM, Portland on October 7th, 225 teachers participated in 27 workshops and large group sessions. The workshops were facilitated by the 18 Maine teacher leaders.

Rob converses with colleagues in Presque Isle

Yesterday, October 6th, Lisa Marin, teacher leader from Jonesport presented all day in Machias at the Harvest of Ideas workshop to 10 Washington county teachers. And, I traveled to Presque Isle with teacher leader Rebecca Wright from Ellsworth High School, and leadership team members, York High School music teacher Rob Westerberg, and Catherine Ring. We facilitated an all day workshop with 40 arts teachers who had traveled from all over Aroostook county.

During the next 8 months there will be 21 more workshops available facilitated by the 18 teacher leaders and 4 webinars on arts assessment. The webinar information is located at http://www.maine.gov/education/lres/vpa/assessment.html

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Exhibits/Performances Throughout the State

May 13, 2011

‘Tis the season…

All over the state there are exhibits and performances taking place exhibiting the work of students. Many of them are a culmination of the accomplishments of students from throughout the year and a testament to the outstanding work that arts teachers do in classrooms. These exhibits and performances are evidence of the learning that has taken place.

An email from Ruth McAtee from the County yesterday included the following: Our art show opens tomorrow the 11th of May at 5pm.  Beginning with music from the 4th grade chorus.  The art gallery spaces provided by the Aroostook Centre Mall will be ready for browsing and enjoying the student work created this school year by students in grades K-12.  Students in
grades 4-12 will entertain the crowds with their musical talents…..which includes chorus and band selections.  The time is from 5pm-8pm.

Bucksport High School art work

A couple of weeks ago Catherine Ring stopped by Bucksport High School (RSU 25) to see the Visual Art Show. She said: “The work being done by the students in Holly Bertrand’s art classes is just spectacular.  Bucksport must be very proud of their students and their art teachers!” WOW!

This from Charles Hamm from Belfast yesterday: RSU20 2nd Annual Art Show, sponsored by the Senior Festival of Arts, University of Maine, Hutchinson Center, Belfast, May 1st-June 6th. Reception May 14th, 10-12.

And from Jake Sturtevant and the teachers in SAD 6: SAD 6 Spring Art Show, which will include our whole district K-12 for Visual and Performing Arts.  It will be at the Bonny Eagle Middle School on Wednesday, May 18. The Art show will open at 5pm, and the performances from 6-8pm. 

Let me know about your visual and performing arts events happening between now and the end of the year so I can include them for others to know about.