Episodes
3 days ago
Culturally Relevant Curriculum
3 days ago
3 days ago
Playful Inquiry - that’s the student-centered approach discussed in this episode about re-imagining curriculum. Angela and Lauren welcome Soobin Oh, Co-Director of Teaching Preschool Partners (TPP), a nonprofit that engages with schools to nurture inclusive, inquisitive, and collaborative school communities. In the playful inquiry promoted by TPP, educators are encouraged to let go of control and instead to be flexible and listen, responding to each child’s interests, aspirations, cultural background, and linguistic capabilities. Classrooms become places for curiosity, joy, and possibility to thrive.
Families are ideally involved in this concept of curriculum with the cultural wealth that they can bring in dialogue with the classroom. The result is a curriculum that revolves around collaboration, a culturally relevant curriculum for all grade levels.
Resources -
Teaching Preschool Partners
Soobin Oh Discusses Anti-Bias Education in Early Childhood
Soobin Oh, an Early Childhood Teacher Nerd on YouTube
Funds of Knowledge, Norma Gonzalez, Luis C. Moll, and Cathy Amanti, editors
Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy, Gholdy Muhammad
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Grassroots Organizing for Community School
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
How can a school become a community school? Hosts Angela Vargas and Lauren McCartney talk with Christine Schuch and Karen Alford of United Community Schools, who work with interested schools in New York City and offer suggestions for schools everywhere.
United Community Schools is a teacher-inspired nonprofit that seeks to expand the traditional sense of a school as merely a place for students to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Christine and Karen explain how community schools arise out of a collaboration of educator, parent, and community stake-holders to provide health and wellness resources, extended learning time with a seamless after-school component, educator and academic support, and educational justice - equity, access, and possibility.
Learn from this episode how schools across the country are using the community school model to support student success, teacher retention, and community engagement.
Resources -
What are Community Schools?
United Community Schools
Schools Uniting Neighborhoods (SUN) in Portland
Transforming a School, a Neighborhood, and a System in Cincinnati
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Season 15 Introduction: Community Schools
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Does your school focus on the whole child, emphasizing not only academic learning, but also wellness and community engagement? Tune into Season 15 of our OEA Grow podcast to learn about Community Schools in Oregon, public schools that provide integrated services and support to meet the needs of students, families, and communities.
Our hosts for the season are Angela Vargas and Lauren MCartney, both educators in the Beaverton School District and leaders on state and national levels in racial and social justice efforts in education. Angela is an Early Learning TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment), who partners with teachers to develop a practice of student-centered inquiry. Lauren teaches Humanities and Social Studies at Meadow Park Middle School.
In the coming weeks, Angela and Lauren will talk with a number of educators whose efforts lead to strong connections between schools and the communities that they serve. Listeners will learn ways to serve our students both in and outside the classroom.
Educators interested in learning more about community schools are encouraged to consult the resources below. They may contact Dave Greenberg at dgreenberg@new.org and Angelia Ebner at aebner@nea.org for more information.
Resources:
Angela Vargas, OEA Member Spotlight
What are Community Schools?
5 Steps to Kickstarting Community Schools in Your District
Institute for Educational Leadership Community Schools Coalition
NEA Community School work
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Season 14 Recap
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
Wednesday Jul 03, 2024
How exactly does art fit into the classroom, and how can educators make this happen? Host Colleen Arriola wraps up this season’s podcast with ideas and suggestions for expanding the classroom curriculum through art. Summing up Season 14 guests’ observations, Colleen reminds us that art provides students ways to communicate thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences that might otherwise be difficult to articulate. Art can complement the standard curriculum by allowing students alternate ways to show what they know. Colleen notes that we don’t experience life in separate subjects, and our learning can also be a mixture of forms of understanding and communicating.
Educators who don’t consider themselves artists should not be discouraged. Colleen describes several simple ways to engage students through art - maybe commenting on a painting related to a subject, sketch notes instead of written notes, collages to pull together aspects of a topic. Educators can access a number of resources for support in these efforts. As Colleen and her guests this season remind us, art massages the brain, helping students learn how to think, not merely what to think.
Resources -
Oregon Arts Education Standards
“Goodbye ‘Core Subjects,’ Hello ‘Well-Rounded Education’”
What Does a Global Arts Classroom Look Like?
Local art museums are usually great resources for educators. The Portland Art Museum offers a number of educator resources for schools across the state.
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Arts Integration in the Classroom
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Art education can create a space for excitement and joy in learning according to Colleen’s guest, Shannon Johnson, Arts Education Specialist at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). Colleen, a visual artist herself, explains the crucial role that art plays in Transformational Social-Emotional Learning (TSEL) by playing to individual strengths, building confidence, and encouraging students to express themselves in their own unique ways.
Among the many resources discussed in this episode, Shannon highlights the Arts, Care & Connection Project for elementary grades in which teaching artists provide videos integrating the Core Art Standards in dance, music, theater, and visual arts with Oregon’s TSEL standards. Educators, regardless of their own artistic experience, become co-learners with their students as they incorporate various ways of self-expression in their explorations.
Integrating art into the curriculum involves finding connections between various art forms and subject content. Shannon points out multiple sources where educators will find ideas and support for adding an artistic aspect to their classroom.
Resources -
Arts for Learning Northwest - connecting teaching artists with schools for educational arts programming, workshops, performances, and artist residencies
Arts, Care & Connection Program - arts integration lessons and professional learning for educators
Young Audiences Arts for Learning - the nation’s oldest and largest arts-in-education learning network
Oregon Department of Education resources -
Arts Education Resources
Oregon Open Learning Hub
Chronicles of Oregon Open Learning - a monthly newsetter
Arts Access Toolkit
Arts Education Newsletter
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Makerspace: An Educator Resource
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Makerspaces offer support and encouragement for educators who want to incorporate art into the curriculum. Colleen’s guest is Dr. Erin Beard, the Programs Director for Talent Maker City, who describes a makerspace as a community learning lab that furnishes materials and equipment in arts and technology to make learning a hands-on experience. Imagine a place with a 3D printer, a wood-working shop, a ceramics studio, and people to help you use them all.
With twenty previous years of experience as a middle and high school teacher, Dr. Beard emphasizes the importance of STEAM-based adventures (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) to guide student inquiry and critical thinking. She offers several suggestions for using all forms of art to revive the inherent love of learning that may have been shut down through traditional methods.
Educators are encouraged to find a nearby makerspace for learning opportunities, use of equipment, and advice for adding a tactile dimension to their teaching. In a makerspace they will find camaraderie and shared knowledge to turn their ideas for the classroom into reality.
Resources -
Talent Maker City
What is a Makerspace and where is one near me?
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jun 12, 2024
Middle School Art
Wednesday Jun 12, 2024
Wednesday Jun 12, 2024
Art can complement any academic subject. That’s the message from Collen’s guest, Jeanne Lauck, a Visual Arts teacher at Alice Ott Middle School in the David Douglas School District. Speaking from twenty-seven years of experience as an educator, Jeanne discusses how art can appeal to several of the different learning styles, with, for instance, students making posters or flip books to illustrate their learning. Jeanne tells of a math instructor who cuts up pictures for his students to reassemble using grids and measurements.
Art by itself encompasses many subjects: the mathematical use of compasses, exploring symmetry, and learning about different countries and cultures through their art and music. Jeanne views art classes as an arena where students can discover their own creativity and learn along with their teachers. The experience can strengthen their performance in core classes.
Resources -
Visual Thinking Strategies - the nonprofit discussed in this episode that encourages the thoughtful, facilitated discussion of art, leading to transformational learning accessible to all.
What Does a Global Arts Classroom Look Like? - integrating cultural competencies through art
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Arts Integration School
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Wednesday Jun 05, 2024
Not an artist yourself? No budget for art supplies? Students who aren’t aspiring artists of any kind? This week’s episode explains how and why to integrate art into the classroom under any circumstance. Colleen’s guest is Abigail Steichen of the Corbett Program with Spanish (CAPS), housed in the historic Springdale School in Corbett. CAPS is not an art academy, but the school encourages the infusion of art into the regular curriculum. Students may dance their understanding of cells or perform a skit about punctuation marks. The goal is not a finished performance or artwork to be displayed, but rather a joyful means for students to communicate their understanding of a subject in their own unique ways. The emphasis is on the process rather than the product.
Abigail urges educators in all school settings to incorporate art into their curriculum. She does not consider herself an artist, but she is convinced that students value learning more when it ceases to be merely passive and when they are encouraged to create. Tune into this episode for a treasure trove of suggestions that require neither expertise nor funding to keep the joy in learning.
Resources
Corbett Arts Program with Spanish
Arts Education Newsletter from the Oregon Department of Education
Encouraging a Growth Mindset Through Art
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Why Is Art Important In Schools?
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Art in the classroom helps to keep learning active - that’s the subject of this week’s conversation between Colleen and her guest, Ben Minnis, Arts Education Program Coordinator with the Lane Arts Council in Eugene. With fifteen years as an early childhood educator, a BFA in Theatre Performance, and ongoing work in ceramic sculpture, acting, and playwriting, Ben speaks from experience when he explains that art in all forms allows students to approach school work as participatory rather than passive memorization. Drawing on his experience with the inquiry-based Reggio-Emilia approach to learning, he advises educators to explore the different ways that students can communicate knowledge and understanding. Students are able to construct their own unique ways of learning by using art as well as the usual oral and written formats.
Ben explains how the Lane Arts Council supports Lane County educators in these efforts to integrate art in their curriculum. Artists are paired with educators not only to teach specific art forms, but also to augment classroom learning with hands-on creative work. Educators are urged to contact the Arts Council for more information about the Creative Link, the Artist Residence, and the Design Arts Apprenticeship programs.
Resources
Encouraging a Growth Mindset Through Art
Lane Arts Council
The Reggio-Emilia Approach - an educational philosophy discussed in the episode
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network
Wednesday May 22, 2024
Season 14 Art for Learning Host Introduction- Colleen Arriola
Wednesday May 22, 2024
Wednesday May 22, 2024
How important is Art in a school curriculum? Colleen Arriola, host for OEA Grow’s fourteenth season, feels that art plays an essential role in education at all levels. A fifth-grade teacher at Guy Lee Elementary in Springfield, Colleen brings her experience as both an artist and an educator to discuss how art can enhance the traditional courses of study, provide alternative ways of learning, and celebrate the individuality and uniqueness of each student. Her guests this season are Oregon educators from a variety of disciplines and grade levels who will share the ways in which they integrate art in their classrooms and school environments.
Tune in to this season as we reevaluate the role of art in the educational experience and discuss how it can be used to engage students in any subject area.
Resources -
A Snapshot of K-12 Arts Education in Oregon
More Than Drawing and Coloring: Art (and Art Teachers) Has Power
OEA Grow is a proud member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network