June 03, 2015

Thanks to our Spring 2015 UBC Practicum Students!

Every year, ArtStarts engages with UBC students from the Faculty of Education for a Community Field Experience practicum. The experience is always a great learning opportunity for both parties. In May, Dani and Hari, two students in the Secondary educator stream, joined us at ArtStarts to work on two distinct projects.

As a graduate from the design department of the Emily Carr University, Dani is continuing her pursuit of education at UBC. During her three-week practicum at ArtStarts, Dani worked with ArtStarts Program Manger Elfred Matining to research the culture of professional development for educators in our province.

Through reviewing resources and conducting interviews with educators and administrators around the province, Dani gathered many insights about Pro-D. She produced a thorough survey of the world of professional development, providing a wealth of information about the system and educators' needs for their professional growth.

Thanks to Dani, ArtStarts will be addressing contemporary issues that educators are faced with in their everyday teaching practice. We will be analyzing this amazing resource for a long time!

Our other student, Hari, also attended Emily Carr University, acquiring a Bachelor of Fine Arts before entering the UBC Bachelor of Education program. While at ArtStarts, Hari designed lesson plans that will be the framework of our our upcoming Art Connection family program, a series of four Saturday workshops designed for elementary students from Lord Roberts Elementary and Lord Roberts Annex and their families. Kindergarten to Grade 3 students and their families will have the opportunity to explore different artistic techniques concepts, as well as make long-lasting connections in both the arts and in their community.

Hari will be joining us to co-facilitate the launch the Art Connection program next Saturday, June 13. Hari collaborated with ArtStarts Gallery Manager Juliana Bedoya to design and prototype this series of hands-on workshops revolving around the theme of the new exhibition, At the Intersection: Where Art and Education Meet. This exhibition explores arts integration and how learning in different subject areas can be activated through the arts.

Hari also joined our May Art Fundamentals professional development workshop for teachers and artists and experienced firsthand an activity that will be part of one of the lesson plans she designed. This was a great experience that provided more insights directly from the facilitating artist about some of the projects in the exhibition and offered her a chance to meet other practicing teachers and artists who are interested in learning through the arts. We look forward to implementing all the activities that Hari actively prototyped and documented. Thanks so much for all your hard work Hari, we're sure your efforts will have a positive impact!

We wish Dani and Hari the best of luck in their future teaching careers!

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