Teaching Artist Training Lab
What is the Teaching Artist Training Lab?
TAT is a professional development initiative developed
by education professionals and teaching artists from Seattle Rep, the Shakespeare Theatre
Company, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, as well as through contributions
from over 50 education professionals from theatres across the country.
TAT is designed to increase the capacity of teaching artists working in both schools and
community-based organizations by providing comprehensive training to both teaching artists
and education department staff. Now in its third year, the mission for the Cross-Discipline
TAT Lab is to include skills and exercises from all four artistic disciplines in order for
artists to better understand the similarities and differences in their work with students
around their art form.
We offer sessions and training opportunities throughout the year. Both individual teaching
artists and interested organizations can contact Scott Koh, school programs manager, at
scottk@seattlerep.org.
Program Overview & Essential Questions
The enduring understanding for this project continues to be: reflective practice and
thoughtful planning are essential to effective educational experiences. Our essential questions
are:
- How do we build capacity for teaching artists to provide quality educational experiences
for all students?
- How does shared reflection across artistic disciplines impact our individual teaching
practices?
Through this training, we will address the following key questions:
- What are the unique talents that a professional artist brings to the classroom?
- How can utilizing multiple art forms enhance student learning and on-going development of
teaching practice?
- What are “reflective practice” and “thoughtful planning” and why are they important?
The Teaching Artist Training Program has the following objectives:
- Examine techniques for planning and implementing curriculum and assessments;
- Explore techniques that facilitate learning by creating an inclusive learning
environment;
- Develop a working definition of the role of a Teaching Artist;
- Practice implementation of effective arts education techniques in developing and leading
high quality arts education workshops and residencies.
The Teaching Artist Training Program has the following intended outcomes:
- TA's will be able to develop, implement and articulate plans for workshops/residencies
that include thoughtful reflection and appropriate assessment measures;
- TA's will understand a variety of approaches to effectively facilitate learning;
- Teaching artists will be able to articulate various relationships between classroom
teachers and TA's, as well as strategies for collaborating with teachers and fellow
teaching artists to facilitate student learning.
