The classroom offers a unique and effective venue for community engagement and an opportunity for teaching artists to dive into a topic on both practical and theoretical levels, resulting in well-informed input. That well-informed input is then translated into thoughtful action. It is exciting to engage students early on in shaping their community…

This case study is one of twenty cases derived from Anderson and Risner's international study of teaching artists in dance, and theatre, which investigated participants' (n=172) artistic and academic preparation in dance, and theatre, initial entry into the teaching artist field, rewards, challenges, and obstacles in participants'…

This section is full of stories from teaching artists working to clarify what needs to change within their practices and moving toward solutions--whether it's supporting a classroom of learners in new and unexpected ways, reassessing one's approach in the classroom, shepherding an individual child toward success, or professionalizing an…

When one says "writing about teaching artist practice," what exactly does that mean? In the first two sections (EJ1039315 and EJ1039319), the authors considered different ways to frame a story by either zooming in closely to a specific moment or zooming out to provide more context in an effort to address complex issues. The stories in…

Writing about the teaching artist practice should mean writing about art making. As both teacher and artist, the authors are required to be cognizant of their own art-making processes, both how it works and why it is important to them, in order to make this process visible to their students. They also need the same skills to write about how and…

The last two sections (EJ1039315 and EJ1039319) presented stories about specific moments or lessons. Also, situations infused with complexity where the writers had to toggle back and forth between providing the larger context and the details that support readers' understanding of that big picture were presented. In this section each story is…

It is definitely easier to write about work when things are going well, but it is even more important to write about what happens when things get challenging. The act of writing about the challenging times can be challenging in itself but can also provide invaluable insights into the process of teaching: important for the writer and just as…

In this article, the author describes how high-inquiry questions, wait-time, assessment, and reflection can yield deep learning connections for elementary and middle school students in the world of theater-making. He explains that building understanding of theater-making processes for students is supported when they: (1) Use theater vocabulary;…

Stories in the "ALT/Space" section of each issue of "Teaching Artist Journal" illustrate and document a wide variety of topics surrounding the work of teaching artists while simultaneously revealing some larger truths about what it means to be an artist who teaches. This particular section focuses on the process and realities…

As a percussive dancer, Malke Rosenfeld makes rhythm with her feet while she dances, and she also helps elementary students make their own percussive dance steps by integrating mathematics into her lesson plans. To do this she uses the Jump Patterns tool, a tool she developed during the first six years of her teaching artist career to help…

Begun in 1994, the New York Philharmonic School Partnership Program (SPP) gives elementary schools the unique opportunity of integrating symphonic music into the school community through collaborations between Philharmonic teaching artists and classroom teachers in full-year residencies. During the three-year curriculum, students gain skills in…

This article describes a project in poetry and visual art that leads students to explore metaphor in generative and novel ways. The author shares what she and her teaching partner Ronna Pritikin have learned about fostering brave and joyful student artist and poets. "Be an Artist With Your Words" is a twelve-session residency, in which the author…

In a virtual space between nations, children can come together to learn about and appreciate each other's culture--and their own. As the Co-Executive Director of Blue Planet Writers' Room, a nonprofit writing center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the author was one of the creators of an international collaboration through which they taught…

In this article, the author shares her experience working on a multimedia project with her students. The project creates a context for students to reinterpret space and ethos in an elementary school. It allows students to poetically enter physical spaces and the written word through collaborative observation, contemplation, and remixing.

In this article, the author describes an innovative collaboration with an elementary school math teacher that leads to original student choreography and engaging mathematical thinking. Using a tool the author created called Jump Patterns, students at Fox Hill Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana, engage in a robust, creative, choreographic…