EP. 14- "Turning Small Projects into Big Movements" with Nic Hahn

Check out AOE Live's final episode as the guys talk to Laura Lohman, elementary teacher and author of the incredibly popular Painted Paper blog. She was able to give us some great ideas for diving into paint with your kids, some insight into the inner workings behind her blog, and why she loves to share what she does with art teachers around the world.

Andrew and Tim had a chance to chat with Bob Reeker, the Coordinator of the NAEA 2016 National Convention in Chicago. The talk covered all things related to the convention, the role of NAEA in art teachers' lives, and why professionalism and positivity are of the utmost importance.

Addie Hirschten stopped by to talk about the role of storytelling and making meaning in art. Storytelling is a great tool for artists, teachers, and students alike. Addie is the author of the book “The Alchemy of Art” which compiles fifty folktales throughout history and cultures to detail the creative process. Addie weaves themes and stories together to show how humans have always been using stories to teach ourselves how to build empathy, persevere, be patient, tolerant, and find inspiration.  Check out this podcast and the book (Addie’s website azhirfineart.com). We think you’ll really enjoy it!

Laura and Matt Grundler of "Team Grundler" fame stopped by to talk about their incredible Twitter chat #K12artchat which you can check out every Thursday at 8:30.  We discussed why art teachers should be interested in building an online presence, and how to create and make meaningful connections with a PLN or Professional Learning Network.  We heard the story of how a little idea for an online chat has turned into vital professional development for art teachers around the world.

Art teaching superstar Nic Hahn, an elementary teacher from Minnesota, stopped by the show to offer up her expertise on a variety of subjects. Tim and Andrew talked to her about artist trading card swaps, her Mini Matisse blog, and the idea of social media as professional development. Most importantly, the three of them dove into how the little things we do as teachers can have a big impact and create even bigger connections to the world around us.

Sarah Dougherty, Visual Arts Curriculum Coordinator and Turnaround Arts Program Coordinator for the Des Moines Public Schools, dropped in for a chat. She was able to share her expertise on all things grading and assessment, and how we can work toward "Taming the Grading Game". The guys talked to her about also ask her about the Turnaround Arts Initiative, Arts Integration, and why we should never grade behaviors.

Cindy  Foley joins the show to talk about the upcoming creative revolution and how and why art teachers should be at the forefront of this shift.  Cindy is the Executive Assistant Director and Director of Learning and Experience at the Columbus Museum of Art. You may know her from keynoting the AOE Summer Conference or her fantastic TED talk entitled “Teaching Art or Teaching to Think Like an Artist?” Some big takeaways from this episode go back to the three big tenets Cindy laid out in her TED talk on how to get students thinking more like an artist and not just going through the prescriptive motions of an art program. Being comfortable with ambiguity, learning how to generate ideas, and delving into trans-disciplinary research… research that truly serves student curiosity. 

Learn some great back to school strategies with the one and only Janine Campbell.  Janine is a fantastic middle school art teacher in Michigan and a big proponent of TAB and CBAE. She's heavily involved with the Scholastic Arts competition and has presented widely at the state and national conventions.  Learn how Janine taps into what she calls the “avoiding the car accident” and how she gets her kids into something fun and messy like clay on the very first day of school.   Many teachers think they have to set the right environment and get everyone on the "same page" that first day.  So ditch the boring old syllabus and rules talk and don’t let your class fall into the same old "sit and get" first day.  

An oldie, but a goodie! We look back at Andrew and Tim's debut AOE Live Podcast where they on take on the subject of classroom management. Special guest Alecia Eggers, elementary teacher, organization extraordinaire, and writer with The Art of Education joins the guys for an in-depth conversation on keeping a positive environment, tips and tricks for classroom management, and how you deal with your worst students. And what does Andrew mean when he says “Kids don’t do ‘nothing’ well?”

Join Tim and Andrew as they talk with Joy Schultz about all the fantastic work she does with her high school student inside and outside of school. Joy is a fantastic champion and model teacher who uses service learning to provide truly empowering and creative avenues for her students to change the world.  Her creative approach to art education naturally lends itself to effective arts advocacy as she was doing all those educational initiatives like STEAM, Design Thinking, service learning, entrepreneurship before they were buzz words.  Joy talks about how she finds the energy to do it all while keeping her passion and fire for art education burning strong.