In this episode, The Creativity Department is joined by their friend Brice McCasland, the K12 Visual Art Coordinator for Lovejoy ISD in Texas to discuss building community in the art room. Recalling college days when art professors created a deep sense of community, the discussion dives into how they now emulate that in their own art rooms. Sharing a passion for art with students, allowing them to express themselves, creating opportunities for them to work toward a common goal, and giving them space and reason to connect and take risks are all ways they use to foster community with students. Listen in to learn more from this inspiring episode! 

In this episode, The Creativity Department is joined by 2018 Ohio Teacher of the Year – Jonathan Juravich to talk about the importance of being intentional with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the art room. Jonathan shares his dissertation work on SEL, experience working as a national arts advocate, and expertise from years of teaching Elementary students incorporating SEL into his curriculum. Jonathan makes a constant effort to set a good example not only for his students, but his fellow art educators as well. Listen in to discover a plethora of resources you can use for your own practice!

It’s National Arts in Education week! Established in 2010, this week-long celebration was created to recognize the impact arts have in education. Dive into this episode and learn the story of The Creativity Department and the impact arts have had on them! Hear how they became Art Educators and what their “who & why” is. Learn who inspired them to become art educators, why they became art educators, and what keeps them inspired to teach day in and day out! Listen in to this inspiring episode and share your art education story for a chance to win our raffle! 

Paul Kretchmer returns in this episode all about setting art room rules and guidelines in the art room! Paul follows a philosophy he coined as “Happy Art Teacher Rules” which are guidelines for fellow art educators and students to follow – helping create a positive environment, celebrating diversity, and amplifying student voice. Listen in to hear how Paul implements these into his art room!

Art educators, Raine Valentine and Joe Boatfield join The Creativity Department in this episode to explore preparing for a new school year! Explore everything from setting the tone of the classroom and connecting with students in the first days of the year, to art room layout and organization and adjusting curriculum to align with standards. Hear what advice these art room veterans have and learn about what could excite students for the coming year.  

In this episode the Creativity Department is joined by fellow art educator Mike Mitchell to examine the networks, communities, and connections that can create an “Art Ecosystem” around us. Mike is the Art Education Coordinator at Tennessee State University (TSU) with years of experience teaching high school art. Listen in as he dives into what exactly an “Art Ecosystem” is and how it can affect you as an educator as well as an artist. Mike also talks about how he built his own Art Ecosystem through years of teaching, networking, connecting through social media, and mentoring.

In this episode the Creativity Department is joined by fellow podcasters Jen Ferrari & Abi Paytoe Gbayee – hosts of the TAB Storytellers podcast. Dive into TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) during a discussion covering how Jen and Abi chose it as their pedagogy. Listen in as they share implementation advice, resources for using it in the art room, and useful information like how it can be assessed using a skill criteria. 

In this episode, the Creativity Department is joined by art educators Sharon Carr & Christine Colby to talk about ceramics in the art room! Discover how these experienced ceramic teachers introduce students to the medium. Gain helpful insight into managing student frustrations, tips on classroom and materials management, and discover contemporary ceramic artists to showcase in your art room! 

In this episode, the Creativity Department is joined by Susan Martin and Melissaa Friedwald of the Bower Center in Bedford, Virginia to discuss how art educators can build relationships with local arts and cultural organizations. Melissa goes into how having a local arts center gives her students the opportunity to discover a community outside of the art room and real-world experience. Melissa and Susan walk us through the process of how they collaborated on the LOVEworks project for the Bedford welcome center – including how they planned the project with students, allocated materials, how the students infused their own artistic style, and how they incorporated student participation from multiple schools. Listen in to hear more! 

In the second part of the Teacher Leadership episode of the Connected Arts Networks (CAN) series, Dr. Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz and The Creativity Department are joined by arts educators Corazón Tierra and Charles Jabour. Dive into this informative conversation focusing on questions such as how do you want to lead? What ways do you want to change lives positively, for yourself or others? Discover for yourself if there is a way to pinpoint how or when we can spark the same inspiration to lead in others.