PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT for ART teachers
My studio art program for Massachusetts art teachers features a series titled CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS OF NEW BEDFORD. The Whaling City serves as a community for many creative talents, working in myriad styles and materials to express deeply held beliefs and experiences. My goal for this series is to introduce teachers to these unique individuals so that they may inspire the teachers' own artwork and, by extension, the young students in their classrooms.
Each course in the series focuses on a different artist from Hatch Street Studios in New Bedford for inspiration. Participants earn 15 Professional Development Points per course, as approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Here is a typical schedule:
First class meeting - 3 hours - Visit the featured artist's studio (located in the same building as my school) to hear about their career and view their artwork.
Next 3 class meetings - 3 hours each - In my classroom, participants create their own artwork inspired by some aspects of the featured artist's work.
Final class meeting - 3 hours - Group critique with featured artist in attendance. Participants receive certificate of completion.
My professional development program is a wonderful opportunity for Massachusetts-based art teachers to:
• Discover an inspiring professional contemporary artist with an active creative career.
• Develop their own artistic practice with feedback from the instructor and their colleagues.
• Meet and get to know fellow art teachers through group discussions on their experiences in their classrooms.
• Gather ideas for new projects, methods, and materials for their art classrooms.
• Earn 15 PDPs.
Each time the course is offered, a different artist is highlighted, so participants may attend multiple courses for 15 PDPs each.
There is a limit of 5 participants.
Each participant is assigned their own work area in my classroom, which they may leave set up with their artwork and materials throughout the course. Each space includes a large table, an easel, and wall space.
Participants bring their own supplies. Please do not use oil paint, spray-paint, or any potentially toxic materials.
Each course in the series focuses on a different artist from Hatch Street Studios in New Bedford for inspiration. Participants earn 15 Professional Development Points per course, as approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Here is a typical schedule:
First class meeting - 3 hours - Visit the featured artist's studio (located in the same building as my school) to hear about their career and view their artwork.
Next 3 class meetings - 3 hours each - In my classroom, participants create their own artwork inspired by some aspects of the featured artist's work.
Final class meeting - 3 hours - Group critique with featured artist in attendance. Participants receive certificate of completion.
My professional development program is a wonderful opportunity for Massachusetts-based art teachers to:
• Discover an inspiring professional contemporary artist with an active creative career.
• Develop their own artistic practice with feedback from the instructor and their colleagues.
• Meet and get to know fellow art teachers through group discussions on their experiences in their classrooms.
• Gather ideas for new projects, methods, and materials for their art classrooms.
• Earn 15 PDPs.
Each time the course is offered, a different artist is highlighted, so participants may attend multiple courses for 15 PDPs each.
There is a limit of 5 participants.
Each participant is assigned their own work area in my classroom, which they may leave set up with their artwork and materials throughout the course. Each space includes a large table, an easel, and wall space.
Participants bring their own supplies. Please do not use oil paint, spray-paint, or any potentially toxic materials.
MAY 2026 UPDATE: UPCOMING SCHEDULE TBD. Feel free to email me if you would like to be notified of my next offering: [email protected]
We are listed on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website at: www.doe.mass.edu/pd/search/details.aspx?id=4303
SCENES FROM OUR SUMMER 2024 PD COURSE, featuring guest artist Heather Stivison:
