American Association of Teaching and Curriculum
In October 2015, MAT faculty Fern Tavalin and Kelly McConnell presented early efforts to create visual benchmarks that show the developing expertise of teacher candidates as they learn to create engaging environments for PK-12 students. Click the above link, and you’ll find the paper presented at the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum (AATC) conference along with supporting materials that show how the program’s Collaborative Circle of Learning affects the individual, the cohort, the faculty, and the teacher mentors.
National Art Education Association
In March 2015, MAT faculty and teacher candidates with BFAs in design fields were invited to offer workshops at the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) sponsored Live Learning Lab. As the NAEA conference theme suggests, the importance of teaching design extends beyond the specific content of any given field. Our program’s motto, “We teach for possibilities,” expresses the fact that design thinking prepares people to creatively face the unimaginable challenges of tomorrow.
In 2013, Kelly ran a Family Day activity workshop at the National Folk Art Museum in Manhattan. Activities were inspired by the vibrant exhibit of paintings and drawings of master 20th century of self-taught artist Bill Traylor, who depicted “exciting events.” Implementing gallery tours, discussions, and hands-on art-making activities that are part of the curriculum that she designed for children’s book, It Jes’ Happened: Exploring the Art of Bill Traylor, was a tremendous success.