Episodes

  • S4E11: Meet Tom Burkle & Liam Schneider

    S4E11: Meet Tom Burkle & Liam Schneider
    Jun 1 2026
    In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Jen and Abi sit down with longtime TAB educator Tom Burkle and preservice art educator Liam Schneider for a beautiful full-circle conversation about teaching, mentorship, student agency, and what it means to grow into TAB over time. Liam was once Tom’s elementary art student, later became Abi’s student at the University of Northern Colorado, and recently returned to Tom’s classroom as a student teacher. Together, they reflect on Tom’s early move toward choice, the small classroom moments that can shift an educator’s whole philosophy, and the power of seeing students, and future teachers, as capable artists and thinkers.The conversation moves through TAB history in Colorado, curriculum design, artist statements, classroom management, confidence-building, and the real planning and organization behind a choice-based studio. Tom and Liam also talk honestly about behavior, routines, individualized consequences, and the importance of reflective mentorship in helping new teachers stay grounded, curious, and willing to try again.Bonus update: Since this conversation was recorded in March (yes Abi was busy and yes she got behind and is playing catch up), Liam graduated and has found a job! He will be teaching high school pottery next year in the same town near Tom, and they are both excited for this next chapter. Here is a pic of Abi and Liam from the right before Liam graduated.ResourcesTeaching for Artistic Behavior / TAB: Official TAB website and starting place for learning more about TAB pedagogy, practice, professional development, and community. https://teachingforartisticbehavior.orgTAB Community on Mighty Networks: Online community for TAB educators to connect, ask questions, and share resources. https://teaching-for-artistic-behavior-inc.mn.co/Fred Tjardes School of Innovation, Greeley, Colorado: Mentioned by Liam and Abi as a powerful example of inquiry, student agency, theme-based learning, and choice-centered practice beyond the art room. https://ftsoi.greeleyschools.org/Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe: Tom mentions this book as part of his early thinking around curriculum, assessment, and how students demonstrate higher-level thinking. https://www.ascd.org/books/understanding-by-design-expanded-2nd-editionUnderstanding by Design Framework White Paper: A helpful overview of the UbD framework for curriculum planning and assessment. https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdfOlivia Gude’s “Postmodern Principles: In Search of a 21st Century Art Education”: Liam references Connie Stewart introducing him to postmodern principles, which became a game changer in his understanding of choice, meaning-making, and contemporary art education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00043125.2004.11653528University of Northern Colorado: Referenced as part of Liam’s preservice teacher education journey and Abi’s teaching context. https://www.unco.edu/pva/art-design/areas/art-education/TAB Colorado: Mentioned in the conversation as part of the broader Colorado TAB story and community. https://coloradotabinc.orgMassArt TAB Institute: Referenced in the conversation as part of the broader timeline of TAB professional learning and community-building. https://pce.massart.edu/programs/tabTeaching for Artistic Behavior: A Definition and Historiography by Abi Paytoe Gbayee: Abi mentions her dissertation and Tom’s connection to her research on continuums of choice. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/teaching-artistic-behavior-definition/docview/2817860186/se-2 Here is a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehaviors.org⁠.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • S4E10: Meet the TAB Institute Directors & Attendees

    S4E10: Meet the TAB Institute Directors & Attendees
    May 24 2026

    Join us in this episode as we talk with TAB Institute Directors Melissa Purtee, Jen Rankey-Zona, and past TAB Institute attendees Ellie Bejar-Benz, Darren Farris, and Margaret Fetzko about the TAB Institute. This year’s focus is on building sustainable studios, and the power of being in community with other art educators. The conversation centers on how TAB helps students and teachers build creative confidence, use materials with intention, embrace authentic problem-solving, and reconnect with the joy and humanity of artmaking.


    Resources:

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior / TAB — official TAB website.

    TAB Professional Development — TAB workshops and professional development opportunities.

    TAB Mighty Networks Community — online TAB educator community.

    MassArt TAB Institute — MassArt’s Teaching for Artistic Behavior Summer Institute page.

    Massachusetts College of Art and Design / MassArt — official MassArt website.

    Boston Modern Quilt Guild: Current Quilt Shows & Events — includes the no-new-materials/upcycled denim quilt challenge mentioned in the episode.

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — mentioned as being near MassArt.

    Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum — mentioned as another nearby Boston museum.

    Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plates — linked for the “Gelli blocks” reference.

    NAEA Learning: Going Deeper with Teaching for Artistic Behavior — includes Katherine Douglas and Diane Jaquith discussing TAB.Here is a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at ⁠storytellers@teachingforartisticbehaviors.org⁠.
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    1 hr
  • S4E9: Meet Jess Baker

    S4E9: Meet Jess Baker
    May 1 2026
    In this episode Abi and Jen welcome elementary TAB educator Jess Baker to explore the powerful connections between Teaching for Artistic Behavior, special education, differentiated instruction, and student independence. Jess shares how her graduate work helped her recognize the ways TAB already supports students with exceptionalities by centering choice, access, collaboration, and authentic artmaking. Together, we talk about honoring the whole child, advocating for students in the art room, and why play, freedom, and independence matter so deeply in a TAB studio. Resources:Teaching for Artistic Behavior / TAB — official TAB website. TAB Community on Mighty Networks — online TAB educator community. Parents Encouraging Parents / PEP Conference — Colorado Department of Education — conference Jess references for families of children with disabilities. CAST Universal Design for Learning Guidelines — UDL resource connected to the conversation about access and differentiated instruction. Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports / MTSS — MTSS resource connected to the discussion of student support systems. Response to Intervention within Colorado MTSS — RTI resource connected to the MTSS/RTI language in the episode. TAB Storytellers: Meet George Szekely & Ilona Szekely — episode referenced during the conversation about play, collections, and agency. Play and Art Podcast with Dr. Ilona and Dr. George Szekely — podcast focused on play-based art teaching. Discovery Museum — da Vinci Workshop — maker/exploration space Jen mentions. Boston Children’s Museum — Art Lab — hands-on art space mentioned in relation to children’s open-ended artmaking. The Art Barn / Cultural Center of Cape Cod — children’s art space on the Cape mentioned by Jen. Margie’s Java Joint — Greeley coffee shop mentioned in Abi and Jess’s story. Here is a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehaviors.org. Also we are using our imagination to pretend Abi got this episode published in March. Life was life-ing.
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    57 mins
  • S4E8: Meet Dale Zalmstra

    S4E8: Meet Dale Zalmstra
    Feb 1 2026

    In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Jen and Abi sit down with the incredible Dale Zalmstra, whose work and mentorship have profoundly shaped TAB practice in Colorado and beyond. Dale shares her nontraditional path into art education, how she found TAB early on, and why community, reflection, and teacher involvement are essential to sustaining student-centered, choice-based learning. This conversation is a powerful reminder that TAB is a philosophy—rooted in trust, creativity, and authenticity—that continues to grow through relationships and shared leadership.


    Resources:

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB)

    Website: https://teachingforartisticbehavior.org

    Core ideas: The child is the artist. The classroom is the studio. What do artists do?


    Mighty Networks – TAB Community

    Online community of TAB educators (linked through

    TeachingforArtisticBehavior.org → “Join Our Community”)


    TAB Art Educators Facebook Group:

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/178282718971259/


    National Art Education Association (NAEA)

    https://www.arteducators.org


    Colorado Art Education Association (CAEA)

    coloradoarted.org


    ArtSource (Colorado)

    www.artsourceco.org


    TAB Colorado and TAB CO Conference

    TAB Colorado: coloradotabinc.org


    TABStock

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/248738239772624/


    Colorado Visual Arts Standards

    Colorado Visual Art Standards


    What Artists Do

    Subtitle: TAB Pedagogy and Practice for K–12 Choice-Based Art Classes

    By Jen Ferrari and Jill Hogan

    Publication date: June 26, 2026 (preorders available at time of recording)


    Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • S4E7: Meet Yichien Cooper

    S4E7: Meet Yichien Cooper
    Jan 1 2026

    In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Jen and Abi sit down with Dr. Yichien Cooper to explore how curriculum can be a living, justice-centered practice shaped by listening, trust, and creative risk-taking. Yichien shares how she brings the principles of TAB into higher education spaces, even without a formal art education program, and how honoring students' lived experiences can transform both teaching and learning. It’s a conversation full of reflection, encouragement, and powerful reminders that what we do in the classroom plants real seeds.

    Resources:

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior: teachingforartisticbehavior.org

    TAB community (Mighty Networks): teaching-for-artistic-behavior-inc.mn.co.

    National Art Education Association (NAEA): arteducators.org.

    TAB Art Educators Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178282718971259/


    Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • S4E6: Meet Colleen Eckles

    S4E6: Meet Colleen Eckles
    Dec 1 2025

    In this episode, join Jen and Abi as they sit down with retired Arizona art teacher Colleen Eckles to learn how she moved from traditional, product-driven projects into a full TAB practice over the course of her 29-year career. Colleen shares the messy middle, “Free Art Fridays,” center set-ups, admin conversations, and high-stakes testing, along with the joy of trusting kids as artists and finding community through TAB books, conferences, and online spaces. Colleen brings a heartfelt encouragement for teachers, both new and folks on the edge of burn out, to start small, find their people, and keep honoring students’ creative agency.


    Resources:

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior: teachingforartisticbehavior.org

    TAB community (Mighty Networks): teaching-for-artistic-behavior-inc.mn.co.

    TAB Art Educators Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/178282718971259/

    Blocks Paper Scissors Podcast - Clark Fralick and Clyde Gaw https://blockspaperscissors.podbean.com/

    Make Artists Podcast - Ian Sands https://open.spotify.com/show/4dLxBE4pANtQ5Iw44gCWMk

    Abi’s Dissertation - Teaching for Artistic Behavior: A Definition and Historiography: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/teaching-artistic-behavior-definition/docview/2817860186/se-2

    National Art Education Association (NAEA): ⁠arteducators.org⁠. Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org.
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    59 mins
  • S4E5: Meet Anna Gibson and Steve Heil

    S4E5: Meet Anna Gibson and Steve Heil
    Nov 1 2025

    Join Jen and Abi as they chat with Anna Gibson, TAB art educator in Santa Fe, and Steve Heil, New Mexico Lead Department Analyst at New Mexico Public Education Department, about nurturing advanced artists within a TAB (Teaching for Artistic Behavior) framework. They trace their TAB journeys, explain an inclusive advanced-art model (screening, teacher nomination, or self-selection), and show how authentic showcases and contests build agency, visibility, and healthy “eustress,” especially for students from marginalized backgrounds. The conversation blends creativity research, gifted-education practices, and culturally responsive teaching to keep young artists in the pipeline from elementary through high school and beyond.


    Resources:

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior: teachingforartisticbehavior.org

    TAB community (Mighty Networks): teaching-for-artistic-behavior-inc.mn.co.

    National Art Education Association (NAEA): arteducators.org.

    New Mexico Art Education Association (NMAEA): newmexicoarteducators.org.

    Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival: recyclesantafe.org.

    Inside Out Project (JR Artist): insideoutproject.net.

    Zaretta Hammond — Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain: crtandthebrain.com

    New Mexico Association for the Gifted (NMAG): nmgifted.org

    New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED): web.ped.nm.gov

    NAEP 2016 Arts Assessment (The Nation’s Report Card / NCES): nationsreportcard.gov/arts_2016/ and NCES overview.

    nationsreportcard.gov

    George Szekely: georgeszekely.com; book Play and Creativity in Art Teaching.

    Szekely website

    Clyde Gaw (TAB/choice-based art): clydegaw.blogspot.com

    Navajo Nation: navajo-nsn.gov

    Pueblo of Zuni: ashiwi.org


    Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org.
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • S4E4: Meet Kitty Conde

    S4E4: Meet Kitty Conde
    Oct 1 2025

    Join Abi and Jen in this inspiring episode as we dive deep with Chicago-based art educator Kitty Conde. Kitty shares her rich journey from building an art program from the ground up to championing TAB pedagogy in her public school. From organizing community-integrated Shark Tank-style student projects to mentoring over 40 student teachers, Kitty shares actionable insights and honest reflections on scaffolding choice, advocating for student voice, navigating standards, and embracing intergenerational learning. Her passion and systems-thinking approach remind us what it really means to teach artists, not just art.

    Resources & Links

    • Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) – https://teachingforartisticbehavior.org

    • Mighty Networks (TAB Community) – Accessible via the TAB website > "Join Our Community"

    • Engaging Learners Through Artmaking by Katherine M. Douglas & Diane B. Jaquith

    • Studio Thinking / Studio Habits of Mind – Project Zero, Harvard

    • Knowledge Loom – Archived resource, formerly at knowledgeloom.org

    • DonorsChoose – https://www.donorschoose.org

    • National Art Education Association (NAEA) – https://www.arteducators.org

    • National Board for Professional Teaching Standards – https://www.nbpts.org

    • Illinois Arts Learning Standards – Based on National Core Arts Standards (https://www.nationalartsstandards.org)

    • Thinking Through Art: Studio Thinking from the Start – Lois Hetland et al.


    Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org
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    1 hr and 5 mins