It’s that NAEA time of the year

With Spring comes the annual convention of the National Art Education Association (NAEA).  Every year we meet in a different city, and soon I’ll be off to Seattle to join my fellow educators. It is always a joyful occasion, a time for seeing friends and meeting peers, and an opportunity to hear and learn from different people in the field

This year I will be busy with several presentations:
- at the Research Pre-Conference I will be presenting with my friends Andrea Kantrowitz and Sean Justice. I am especially excited about this collaboration in the intersection of research in art education and neuroscience;
- I will be part of a panel of authors presenting a book we contributed to, edited by Chris Schulte and Tina Thompson. My chapter, Fighting the Mad King: Play, Art, and Adventure in an Early Childhood Art Studio, focuses on playful adventures and ownership of learning in artistic practices with young children;
- My first individual session will be a museum education-based game in which participants are called to outline ways in which museum education can foster creative empathy and responsible citizenship in specific contexts;
- I will also be presenting on a multi-year study of young children’s artistic explorations in the art studio.

I look forward to hearing from my colleagues and learn about new research and practices. See you in Seattle!