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.

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.

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.