Re-inventing Research

What matters evolves. How do we recognize and respond to that?

How do teaching artists’ insights re-define what matters in arts learning?

Kristina Berdan, Deputy Chief of Education, Arts4Learning, shares how her organization, Arts4Learning in Baltimore, MD. Shares how staff, teaching artists and classroom teachers have worked together to evolve the way they think about doing strong work with young people. She narrates several major “revolutions” in the language and rubric they use, demonstrating how the understanding of strong practices changes over time.

Classroom Practice Feedback Tool

Informal Post-its 2023

How could observations strengthen your program?
Hear what arts organizations have to say:

Koresh Kids Dance

Lantern Theater

Opera Philadelphia

Steven J. Holochwost and Jess Zweig, now Executive Director of Play on Philly,
share Play on Philly’s framework for social-emotional learning which allows all teaching artists to work as peers, sharing the same approach.

Steven J. Holochwost and Stefanie Wakeman:
Why Participatory Evaluation?

In this conversation, Stefanie Wakeman, Director of Community Partnerships, Astral Artists, 2018 - 2025, and Steven Holochwost of WolfBrown, discuss the power of participatory observations where teaching artists, alongside of outside observers, take an active role in re-examining what matters in arts learning, using the examining the work that Stef’s organization, Astral Artists, is doing to change what classical musicians can bring to the classroom.

Why is it important to utilize research as an ongoing practice?
Hear what arts organizations have to say:

Rock Reach

Play on Philly

Looking to dive deeper? Check out these supporting materials:

Evaluation Rubric