Art Ed Radio

"Craft" is a contentious word in many art rooms and art programs. Craftsmanship is an important part of what art teachers do, but "craft" is also synonymous with googly eyes and pom-poms. Many parents and members of the community have a negative association with “crafts", so how do we accurately depict what we do while also letting it be known that craftsmanship is important? Tim comes on the show, and the guys talk about the difference between art and craft (8:30), Andrew's problem with craft-based curricula (10:30), and how to turn crafty materials into a viable form of creative expression (16:00). Resources and Links: A great article (and discussion) about art vs. craft A good 5 minute TED lesson that explains the difference Moving beyond Art vs. Craft Why Preschool crafts are a waste of time

AP Studio Art is tough to get a handle on. Questions abound about the best types of work to submit, portfolio scoring, and the role of teachers in helping students develop their concepts and their work. It's time for us to unlock those secrets and start sharing our best ideas on how to teach this class. Jeanne Bjork, a longtime AP Studio Art teacher from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, joins Tim to compare notes on the structure of their AP classes. They talk about building community to start the year (05:45), their best projects and when to teach them (08:15), and what makes for a good portfolio that will score well with the College Board judges (17:30). Resources and Links: The article Tim promised at the end of the episode is here--every AP Studio Art resource you could ever want. Tim has written a few articles on teaching AP. His favorite is called Is Teaching AP Studio Art Really Worth It? Jeanne has an incredible website for her art room that you can see right here.  

If we want to offer up choice and student voice in the classroom--which just about everyone agrees we should do--how do we deal with ideas that might need to be censored? Andrew talks about how to know when students are pushing the envelope too far, and how to deal with the issue when they do (4:00). Ian Sands comes on to talk about how student choice affects expression (10:30), what he allows in his classroom (14:45), and what compromises you should be willing to make (20:00).   Resources and Links: Here are two great articles by Ian, and two more that deal with how we deal with censoring artwork. https://www.theartofed.com/2015/04/27/what-happens-when-your-students-work-is-censored/ https://www.theartofed.com/2014/09/02/when-if-ever-is-it-ok-to-draw-a-gun/ https://www.theartofed.com/2016/04/19/april-naked-vs-nude-discussion/ https://www.theartofed.com/2013/09/20/to-censor-or-not-to-censor/ If you'd like to see more from Ian Sands, check out his old articles or visit his website.

Summer offers great opportunities and possibilities to better ourselves as people, artists, and educators. This episode is the perfect tool to help you decide exactly what you are going to do this summer. Holly Bess Kincaid joins the show to talk about her Fulbright-Hays Seminar which allowed her to spend last summer in China. She talks about experiencing educational culture in China (3:00), seeing art from throughout China's history (4:30) and sharing cultural understanding with her own students (5:30). Alecia Eggers also stops by to share her six tips for making the most of your time off (9:15). So what will you do? Learn new media or techniques? Take classes? Spend time with your family? Recharge and relax? Listen to this episode, make a plan, and get the most out of these two months--no matter what you choose to do. Resources and Links: Here are some of AOE's favorite articles about summer: 12 Signs You’re Ready For Summer Vacation 10 Ways to Get Summer Break Started Off on the Right Foot 5 Ways to Get

Contemporary pop artist, Romero Britto, comes on the show to talk to Tim about his life and his work. Britto is known around the world for his colorful, bold, and optimistic artworks drawing inspiration from the joys of everyday life. He believes in art as an agent of positive change, and he and Tim discuss why this positive approach is so important. Britto also talks about his upbringing in Brazil (4:00), his biggest influences (11:15), a day in the life of an artist (15:00), and what he has coming next in his career (17:00). Resources and Links: Take a moment to look at Romero Britto’s website and read a more in-depth biography. If you are interested in hearing more from Britto, make sure you register for Art Ed Now, where he will be a featured presenter! Here are a few articles from AOE to keep that positivity going! Spreading Positivity One Sticky Note at a Time 5 Powerful Tips to Stay Perfectly Positive at Work Positivity Notes

Do art teachers need to be artists? Absolutely! We don't need to be creating work at the highest level, pursuing gallery shows every month, and constantly chasing sales. We do, however, need to be creating in some fashion; the habit of consistently creating artwork makes us better, more engaging teachers. Andrea Slusarski returns to the show as she and Tim talk about making time to make art (8:00), the higher standard to which art teachers are held (11:30), and how being an artist helps inform our teaching (15:45). Resources and Links: Check out Andrea's Instagram page and her website. Read some great AOE articles about making art: https://www.theartofed.com/2014/12/22/making-time-for-making-art/ https://www.theartofed.com/2015/01/06/should-teachers-make-art-during-class/ https://www.theartofed.com/2013/12/06/how-art-teachers-make-time-to-create-art/ https://www.theartofed.com/2015/09/23/how-to-make-art-no-matter-how-busy-you-are/ 3 of Andrea's favorite art-related sites: www.vistaprint.com (A great/affor

Art teachers everywhere can identify with the "penny-pinching blues." It seems every year art budgets are cut. Teachers have to beg, borrow, and get really creative to ensure students have enough quality supplies to last the year. In this episode, Andrew brings up broad strategies for advocating for (and using!) your budget while Tim shares some great classroom hacks to help teachers get the biggest bang for their buck. Listen up and learn how to budget like a boss! Andrew and Tim share some practical tips and tricks for stretching that art budget (14:15). These tips are especially relevant to new teachers or teachers transferring to a new building, Next, Tim and Andrew discuss some common mistakes in budgeting and ordering supplies (19:00). Finally, the guys go out on a limb to discuss how budgeting like a boss can actually add legitimacy to an art program as an advocacy piece (26:00). Resources and Links: 5 Tips to Stretch Your Art Room Budget  Get Art Supplies for Free With This Simple Tip

We've all had projects that have flopped, but how do we transition out of that failure into something meaningful? Andrew joins Tim on the show as they discuss the need to figure out how to make those failures relevant. They also talk about salvaging learning experiences for our students when things aren’t running as smoothly as we had hoped. Tim provides tips on using reflection and discussion as a learning experience (3:00). Andrew shares his ideas about what causes our projects to fail (7:00) and why he purposefully designs projects that force students to struggle (11:45). This episode has great suggestions for trying new projects in your classroom, saving lessons that go awry, and even using those lessons to teach our kids about failure. Resources and Links: https://www.theartofed.com/2013/06/20/when-to-toss-a-project/ https://www.theartofed.com/2013/02/28/cut-your-losses-when-art-projects-flop/ https://www.theartofed.com/2015/02/24/should-art-students-be-allowed-to-ditch-projects/ http://blogs.edweek.org

In this episode, Andrew brings up a topic that we all agree happens on a daily basis: student immaturity. It's a topic we don’t always feel comfortable sharing as somehow confessing this is an admission of classroom management failure. If creativity is the currency of art teachers, immaturity is the currency of our students. Be it fart jokes, sexual innuendo, or “that’s what she said” remarks, students revel in immaturity. Teachers deal with these antics in their own ways. Some see them as inevitable and harmless little quips that can lighten the class mood or build rapport. Others see them as a huge distraction that can completely derail your class and undermine everything you’re trying to do as a teacher. Andrew and Tim begin by sharing some memorable stories of how student immaturity reared it’s head in their classrooms. You won't want to miss the epic fart story that Andrew tells (7:45)! They then discuss tips and tricks to deal with or circumvent immature and offensive behavior (11:30). And finally comin

In this episode, Andrew shines a light on a pretty serious and worrying thought… the death of art education. While this may seem a bit melodramatic, there are serious shifts underway that are undermining and changing the status quo of art education. Right off the bat, Andrew brings on special guest Danny Gregory whose blog post, “Let’s Get Rid of Art Education in Schools,” had the art teaching world all worked up. Love it or hate it, the article brings up some interesting points and got Andrew and fellow Art Ed Radio podcast host, Tim Bogatz, thinking about the current reality of art education (7:30). Tim and Andrew discuss advocacy strategies and how art teachers can take a stance in the face of shifting paradigms to champion our programs, whether these programs are more traditional or new and more inclusive to the world outside art (13:50). Resources and Links: Let’s Get Rid of Art Education in Schools San Diego Unified Looks to Move Beyond Art for Art’s Sake How to Revamp Curriculum to Meet the National V

In this episode, Andrew will shed some light on new acronyms from the art ed world including STEM, STEAM, and PBL. He'll share how to start incorporating these teaching philosophies into your classroom in order to get your students thinking like designers. He'll even talk about why having the STEM vs. STEAM debate isn't worth your time. Joining Andrew will be his longtime friend and colleague, Ryan McInry. Ryan is a fellow Iowa art educator and a bonafide STEAM expert. Andrew and Ryan discuss the unifying threads of STEM, STEAM, PBL and art and why these new paradigms don’t have to be a source of fear or confusion for art teachers (16:00). They also talk about how STEAM and PBL can lead art teachers to collaborate with other teachers in the building (21:00). Finally, Ryan and Andrew discuss how art teachers can be leaders when schools start adopting a STEAM or PBL approach (24:00 ). Resources and Links: How to Keep the Integrity of Art in STEAM Why Art Teachers are the Leaders of the Future A Case for Hoardi

Art clubs always start out with a sense of excitement and passion, but that feeling rarely continues all the way until June. How do we keep our students interested and our art clubs productive throughout the school year? Tim and Andrew get together for a great discussion on these topics, offering some specific takeaways that can keep your art club going strong. The guys talk about new ideas for scheduling your activities and keeping the excitement going (8:00), Andrew shares his ideas about letting students use catapults to launch pianos across the room (11:00), and they both talk about why it’s a good idea to let students take the initiative (14:30). Tim closes the show by sharing his 3 tips to keep your art club not only surviving, but thriving. Resources and Links: More tips from AOE on successful art clubs: https://www.theartofed.com/2012/11/12/5-steps-to-making-your-art-club-a-success/ https://www.theartofed.com/2013/03/12/trade-in-your-art-club-for-saturday-school/ Ideas for incredible projects: http

A classroom where every student is intrinsically motivated is an art teacher's dream, but it's rarely a reality. In this episode, Tim brings back AOE writer Abby Schukei to continue their discussion from Episode 002 on how to best motivate our students. This time, they are also joined by art teaching superstar Nic Hahn, author of the blog Mini Matisse. The three discuss how we can teach students to value their work (12:30), whether students have the ability to develop intrinsic motivation (15:30), and how to work with students that don't like art (17:00). The show raises important questions to help all art teachers reflect on what they do for their students and why. Resources and Links: 3 Ways to Motivate Your Students on Tough Days 4 Innovative Ways to Display Your Students' Work

Too often, art teachers rely on the canons of art history when introducing the subject to their students. This episode is here to tell you there's a better way! Tim shares some of his best resources and reasons for teaching contemporary artists (listen for a cameo from the great Don Masse). Andrew comes on the show and he and Tim discuss their favorite contemporary artists (4:00), what art history looks like in their classrooms (8:30), and why we need to get away from those dead white guys (17:00). Tim closes the show by talking about the power of contemporary art to help develop thoughtful, inquisitive, and engaged students in your classroom.

In this episode, Andrew sheds light on how teachers can use technology to end the dreaded nightmare that is grading in the art room. Teaching is tough, and teachers have to learn how to work smarter, not harder, to survive. Using tools like apps, websites, and learning management systems to help is a no-brainer. Andrew welcomes TAB, tech, and assessment extraordinaire Linda Papanicolaou from sunny California to learn more about how teachers can use tech to streamline their grading practices. Learn why Andrew and Linda love the learning management system Schoology (15:30), how to keep students accountable during the ideation phase (21:00), and how to incorporate technology to get students writing and talking about artwork in a way that's manageable to track (26:30).  Resources and Links: 3 Ways Social Learning Platforms Can Enhance Your TeachingA Quick and Easy Way to Get Students Writing About ArtA Way to Engage Your Entire Classroom

The NAEA convention is an annual event that draws thousands of art teachers together for learning, reflection, and celebration. Tim and Andrew decided that this year's convention, in Chicago, would be the perfect time and place to record a special bonus episode of Art Ed Radio. Listen as the guys recap their convention experience (3:00), Andrew tells what it's like to be a presenter (4:45), and they both talk to convention attendees from all over the country about what they love about being an art teacher (12:00). These teachers’ stories illustrate why, as Tim says, we have the best job in the world.

In this episode Andrew will dissect how we as art teachers can fit into the current “big data” educational paradigm. Art teachers are all too familiar with the buzzwords, Professional Learning Communities, Common Formative and Summative Assessments, Student Learning Objectives, and standardized tests. Everything in education seems to be about hard, quantifiable data. This shouldn’t leave teachers on the outside looking in or force them to wave the white flag or stick their heads in the sand and say that using data isn’t relevant. AOE’s good friend and go-to data diva Sarah Dougherty joins the show to talk about how art teachers can make data work for them… in short, how to make data sexy! Sarah will help answer how art teachers can make data important, fun, and meaningful and ultimately work in the art room. As Andrew and Sarah dig into data they discuss what good data and data collection looks like in the art room (6:30), what kind of assessments are best for getting that kind of authentic data (8:45), and h

In this episode Andrew will share our deep dark secrets… that there are plenty of things in the art room that students love, but art teachers hate. Andrew and his faux-grumpy partner Tim Bogatz look at specific media and projects teachers can’t stand which normally boil down to students making really obvious and unoriginal aesthetic decisions. From zentangle and tie-dye, to glitter and even Pinterest, Andrew and Tim take no prisoners (5:00)! Rather than let this turn into a big ole’ grump fest, Andrew and Tim look at the reasons why these love/hate relationship divides exist (19:45). Best of all, the guys talk strategies for dealing with those things students love but teachers hate (22:30). Teachers can’t just outlaw reviled materials or choices. Learn how to encourage students’ interests and choices while also pushing them to think more deeply and creatively. Resources and Links:5 Innovative Methods For Maximum MotivationA Surefire Way To Kill Creativity In The ClassroomDid You Steal That Off Pinterest?How P

This episode is a great discussion on color theory, as well as the hows and whys of teaching it. Andrea Slusarski, aka The Nerdy Art Teacher, joins Tim to talk about using color theory to develop student engagement and a better classroom experience for her students. Listen for a discussion on the exciting parts of science and color theory (5:00), why we need to ditch our color wheel projects (9:30), and the perfect project to inspire students’ confidence (15:00). Tim closes the show talking about student engagement and the benefits of engaging instruction. Take a look at some of our favorite articles about color theory: https://www.theartofed.com/2013/01/18/3-fresh-new-ways-to-teach-about-color/ https://www.theartofed.com/2014/08/22/3-creative-ways-to-explore-color-mixing-with-students/ https://www.theartofed.com/2015/02/17/a-revolutionary-tool-for-teaching-color/ https://www.theartofed.com/2015/09/21/all-our-favorite-ways-to-teach-color-theory-in-one-place/ Check out Andrea’s blog: thenerdyartteacher.wordpre

Discussing 3 times the art world broke the Internet, and how those viral moments can be utilized to engage our students. They talk about the infamous dress (8:00), the Old Navy shirt that every art teacher hates (12:00), and the red Starbucks cup (18:00). Andrew shares some lessons learned from a failure in his classroom, and shares why he wants his students to think like designers. Tim talks about incorporating pop culture in our classrooms and why we need to be ready to capitalize on teachable moments when those opportunities arise.   http://www.theartofed.com/2015/12/11/how-to-include-current-events-in-your-classroom/http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/09/starbucks-holiday-red-cup-brews-controversy-on-social-media.htmlhttp://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/http://mic.com/articles/131481/t-shirt-for-girls-making-people-pissed-at-old-navy#.KPLp2otLY