Occurring in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, the WAEA State Conference enabled eight UW-Stout preservice students to gain competence and confidence regarding their teaching capabilities in addition to enhancing their overall well being. With a theme centering on ‘Art & Soul,’ many of the sessions discussed reconnecting to ourselves, our students, or environment, and one another.
Attendees Included:
Nicole Burt
Reese Millam
Gwen Stein
Alissa Ruppel
Haley Parsneau
Rachel Gatti
Olivia Bonlander
Lauren Dillinger
Nicole Burt’s Conference Experience
Describe the overall impact that attending the WAEA State Conference had on:
Your art teaching knowledge and/or abilities?
Teachers sharing their knowledge and resources at WAEA have broadened my perspective on what is possible in the classroom. We were given so many resources - especially lesson plans! Now I have more tools to implement lesson plans about graphic design, biomimicry, sewing, and game design.
Your confidence in and/or passion for teaching?
Networking with art teachers boosted my confidence and passion for teaching. This last year has been difficult for everyone, but despite that many teachers I talked to maintain their passion for art education and recommended the profession to me. I ran into my middle school art teacher who retired last year and she spoke very highly of the profession and she opened my mind to teaching middle school.
Your desire and commitment to be an art teacher?
Being a part of WAEA strengthened my desire and commitment to be an art teacher. I felt inspired by all of the possibilities when it comes to lesson plans- elementary students are even using Microsoft Paint 3D to animate! It feels right to be on this track to be an art teacher.
Your overall mood, happiness, or well-being?
I feel very happy to have been a part of the WAEA conference this year. It was such a positive experience to meet other teachers who highly recommend the career, despite some of the challenges we all have been up against.
Your relationships with other art ed students or networking with other art ed professionals?
Everyone was so willing to help and chat! WAEA was a great example of how we are better together. I met the keynote speakers, few WAEA board members, other teachers, and reconnected with people. I felt more connected with my peers in the Art Education major as well.
Reese Millam’s Conference Experience
Attending the WAEA conference this fall in Wisconsin Falls has helped me gain an idea of what it will be like to be an art educator in the future. I feel that this conference has provided me with many lesson plans and assignments to teach my future students. I also am beginning to understand the mindset of a teacher, and how to manage a classroom and manage the overall environment.
I feel that I have a greater passion for teaching after attending this conference. I have a greater confidence that I can bring great art lessons to my future students. The teachers at the conference were all very optimistic and enthusiastic about new teachers entering the schools. They often asked my peers what grade they were teaching and offered us many opportunities to teach at opening schools.
I also have a greater desire to be an art teacher. So many of these teachers went above and beyond for their students, especially during the pandemic where they had to meet virtually. I heard so many of the teachers talking about how badly they wanted to attend the conference, and I realized how important it was for them to be around other art teachers just like them. I felt that they were a tight community and were very welcoming and supportive of pre-service art teachers.
I had a really great time at the conference, and I felt excited when heading to my next session. All the sessions had me interested, and even the crafting sessions had a lesson that I took away from them. An older art teacher taught the clay session I attended, and she was so excited to be showing other teachers how to create horses, cats, and other animals form a tube of cardboard and some clay. She taught me to trust the process and be patient with the results. I had a good mood the entire trip, and I loved being able to feel the excitement off the other teachers.
During the conference, I got to know my art education peers well. They all attended many different sessions and were able to tell me what they had gathered from them. I didn’t see many of them in the same sessions as me, so we all went to a wide variety of events. I got to understand the reason that many of them wanted to teach, and I appreciate them much more as I got to know them better. I trust that they will help and support me in the future, and I can rely on them for guidance through my art education courses.
Gwen Stein’s Conference Experience
The overall impact of attending the WAEA conference has given me a lot of new knowledge. Some of the most valuable advice was given to me from teachers who are currently working. I was told to put myself first when I start to teach in the classroom.
The conference has given me more knowledge about different things to teach, I learned that if you put newspaper around a toilet paper roll you can slide the toilet paper roll out then you can reuse them so that you can use them again for armatures. I also learned about lots of fun things to do with students like learning about biomimicry and holding art fairs. I feel like through the WAEA conference I learned that I could teach.
I feel like through the conference my confidence in my ability to look like a teacher has increased because so many people genuinely asked me what and where I taught. This was a big shock because I was intimidated by these people because they are already teaching whereas I am a first-year college student with very minimal teaching experience. My passion has defiantly grown since the conference because I got to hear about all the injustice at these schools. Some teachers are not even able to show support for their LGBTQ+ students with a simple rainbow sticker on their computer. This makes me want to get into the classroom even more because I want to be able to create a fun and safe learning environment for my future students.
I had a few working teachers come up to me to tell me that I should continue becoming a teachers even though there are a lot of downsides to the job. This makes me want to be an art teacher even more because people believe in me and want me to succeed. All the teachers I talked to were very excited that we were at the conference representing UW-Stouts Art Ed program. They want us all to succeed, so it means that we have someone other than ourselves to work hard for. If I didn’t come to the conference, I would never have heard such inspiring words form these amazing individuals.
There were also lots of wellness things at the conference that diffidently made me think hard about my wellbeing. They made me want to reflect on how my mental state is doing and think about what I could be doing to help it. It being midterm season, I am a bit stressed out but because of all the speakers I feel like I am a bit calmer than I would be regularly, so that is nice. I also learned some new mindfulness exercises for when I am stressed. One of them being to spell your name out by moving your foot, taking deep breaths helps to Zen you out and calms the mind.
Finally, I really enjoyed meeting more people in the program, I am a very shy individual, so I didn’t really know anyone going on the trip before the trip, but I can say I defiantly made a few new friends. We all got to bond over fun things like when we struggled to understand one of the keynote speakers when they were talking because it was so echoey. It was also fun to go out to dinner and have a nice meal with all the people on the trip. At the end of day, it was also fun to see what everyone had made. Everyone’s projects were always cool. As far as networking with the teachers at the conference, I did get to meet a lot of cool new people. I heard about how their schools have reacted to covid and how they have been handling everything. I found it invaluable to hear what other teachers have been going through because it helps to paint a picture of what I will need to do in the future when I am placed in a school.
Overall, I would highly recommend every Art Ed student try to come to this conference because there is so much to learn and so many people to meet. You also get to become closer with your classmate and future colleges while building up your resume.
Alissa Ruppel’s Conference Experience
Describe the overall impact that attending the WAEA State Conference had on:
Your art teaching knowledge and/or abilities?
This conference positively impacted my knowledge and abilities as an art educator. I was given access to new lesson plans and after attending I find that I am much more creative when it comes to designing lesson plans. I have gained a lot of knowledge by attending this conference. For instance, I learned how to teach students how to make personalized study journals. I also learned how to better cut costs in the classroom; should the situation of budget costs arise.
Your confidence in and/or passion for teaching?
This experience not only boosted my confidence as an art teacher, but it also enhanced my passion for teaching. After attending this conference, I know for sure I will be an educator in just a few short years. I have always been confident speaking in front of large groups of people, and it is nice to know that so many people are as passionate about teaching art as I am.
Your desire and commitment to be an art teacher?
Attending the WAEA conference in Wisconsin Rapids further inspired my wanting to become an art educator, (which I didn’t know was possible.) This conference was the final push I needed to know for sure that this is the kind of person I want to be. I want to live my life informing others about the beauty of our world, and help students grow as individuals.
Your overall mood, happiness, or well-being?
The key speakers at the conference, (especially Daniel Bryant,) gave me time to self-reflect. This positivity impacted my overall mood and well-being. I now know that every day I must choose joy for myself and to project positivity on others. Not only does choosing joy affect me in an overwhelmingly positive way, but it also gives students the opportunity to be happier as well.
Your relationships with other art ed students or networking with other art ed professionals?
I met so many art teachers at this conference. I was even reunited with my high school art teacher who had left a very positive impact on my life during my teen years. She was one of the reasons I had decided to become an art teacher. Seeing her boosted my confidence. Meeting other art educators was very beneficial as well. There were moments I would find myself in deep conversation with other teachers without even trying. It was so easy to communicate with others about experience, relatable issues, and their students. I was given so much advice and was encouraged by so many to keep pursuing this amazing and rewarding career.
Haley Parsneau’s Conference Experience
Describe the overall impact that attending the WAEA State Conference had on:
Your art teaching knowledge and/or abilities?
The impact of my knowledge and abilities of art teaching was advanced immensely. This is because of the number of tools and conversations that were gained during the conference. The knowledge I had before the conference was limited to mostly art ed peers in the Menomonie area, so it was great to talk to teachers working in various parts around Wisconsin.
Your confidence in and/or passion for teaching?
My confidence was boosted from the conference because of the number of resources that were available. Along with the number of networking opportunities I took advantage of showed me that I am going into the right profession. Confidence is a key part of being a teacher because you are leading a classroom of studnets. But also, passion is an important part of being a great teacher. If you do not have passion for what you are doing with your students, they can sense that and be less passionate about their learning. Although I have a tremendous amount of passion for teaching this was enhanced because of the amazing tools I earned. This made me even more excited to get out into a classroom and give students the opportunities that I learned.
Your desire and commitment to be an art teacher?
The conference influenced my desire to be an art teacher by making me extremely excited to get out into the field and start working with students. My desire for my profession did not change a lot but mostly just the anticipation of graduating and working in my own classroom increased. My commitment to being an art teacher also did not change that much but learning about the diverse ways I can commit to my students and my future school was beneficial. Commitment to my major started when I first enrolled into the program. However, I feel like it grows the closer I get to graduation.
Your overall mood, happiness, or well-being?
The conference gave me helpful tips for mood, happiness, and well-being while being a teacher. It was also focused that you are not alone and there is a whole community of art educators that want to support each other. This was very comforting to be able to hear as a preservice educator and I know I will benefit from it in my first few years of teaching. Teaching is not an easy job and has become more challenging due to COVID-19 so being able to talk about it with others put me at ease.
Your relationships with other art ed students or networking with other art ed professionals?
I made so many strong connections on this trip not only with other art ed professionals but also with art ed students. We bonded so much during the convention, and it is helpful to know that we always have a friend in the major. School can be difficult sometimes and to know that we can all understand and be able to help one another is beneficial. I did bound with a few art educators from the Appleton and Milwaukee area, these connections help me learn about even more tools to bring into my classroom.
Rachel Gatti’s Conference Experience
I had a great time at the WAEA State Conference, and I believe it has really impacted me overall as a future art educator. I learned a lot about curriculum content in various contexts both elementary and secondary, and how to include adaptive art to meet the needs of students with disabilities. This really helped me to increase my overall knowledge in ideas for lesson plans and my abilities to meet the needs of my students.
After attending the conference, I feel more confident in my abilities and ideas for lessons. I also feel good about experiencing the sense of community that NAEA has even at just the state level. There were so many art educators willing to share their ideas, their contact information and their experience which was nice to see and hear. This experience gave me an overwhelming sense of community in ways I wasn’t familiar with. There were so many art teachers in various parts of their careers, and it was overall a great way to get together and collaborate.
I definitely feel more excited to be an art teacher and planning my curriculum and it doesn’t feel like a daunting task any longer. I think this experience helped me envision what my future is like in the upcoming years and to truly get into the teacher mindset.
Through growing more in my confidence and competence as a future art educator I feel more grounded and happier with the career I have chosen. I feel as though I am well on my way to graduating with my degree and now, I have a lot of knowledge and resources to use in any school or classroom I end up in. The future feels brighter, and I feel less intimidated at the thought of starting my teaching career.
I found the conference to be a great opportunity to connect with my peers and get to know them more outside of class, and to collaborate on what we were making, learning and experiencing. Lastly, I found the conference to be great for networking. So many teachers were willing to make small talk in passing or offer ideas in sessions and add insightful advice. A lot of the presenters were happy to share their teaching social media pages or emails to be resources to reach out to. I was also able to reconnect with a past friend from home who is a preservice art teacher as well and that was super nice and unexpected.
Overall, I had an amazing time at the conference, and I am very thankful for both the UW-Stout NAEA Chapter, and A.I.M. for the opportunity to attend and increase my knowledge as a preservice art educator!
Olivia Bonlander’s Conference Experience
Attending these conference always makes me feel more connected to both my major and my content. I am able to work with many different educators on developing what I want my future program to look like while also enjoying a stress relieving opportunity.
When it comes to content, these sessions are always filled with new and interesting things that I could possibly incorporate into my future classroom. The vendors are also amazing with this because they offer resources, materials, and sometimes event lesson plans.
My confidence, commitment, and wellbeing as an educator are all tied together with the connections that I am able to make at the WAEA conferences. The more educators I am able to meet the more I am able to feel as if I am apart of a greater whole. I need to feel supported as an educator and within WAEA, I am able to feel that way. Being able to see some of my peers also connecting to educators at their first conference also made me feel so much joy about the profession. Living and breathing art education can sometimes be frustrating but within a positive and fun loving group, like WAEA, it is stress free and made fun!
I hope to continue attending these sorts of professional development opportunities in the future so that I can continue to share my knowledge with others on campus. As a mentor I feel as if I am seen as an expert on art education content when in reality I am still learning and growing and always will be.
Lauren Dillinger’s Conference Experience
Describe the overall impact that attending the WAEA State Conference had on:
Your art teaching knowledge and/or abilities?
In relation to how the conference has impacted my teaching knowledge and abilities, I had the opportunity to be introduced to a plethora of lesson plans, strategies, teaching techniques, and valuable resources. That said, I plan to utilize the resources that I have gained from the conference and place them in my teaching ‘tool belt.’
Your confidence in and/or passion for teaching?
Relating to my confidence in teaching, the WAEA State Conference had impacted me by reinforcing that I am on a path that I desire. While at the conference, I felt as if I fit in there and ‘belonged.’ Because of this feeling, it made me more confident in the career path that I had chosen for myself not too long ago.
Your desire and commitment to be an art teacher?
In terms of how the conference had impacted my desire and commitment to teaching, it simply made me eager to get into the classroom and apply the knowledge that I recently learned. As a fourth year student at UW-Stout in the ArtEd program, I am ready to move on preservice teacher to first-year teacher. That said, this conference simply made me desire this transition even more. I am excited to be a teacher, and I remain committed now more than ever to make that happen.
Your overall mood, happiness, or well-being?
The conference had impacted my overall mood/well-being in a positive way. Over the past nearly two years, it has been difficult to find joy due to everything that has been happening within the world. Therefore, by attending this conference in-person, I felt my mood shift to a more positive emotion by connecting with individuals in a way that we haven’t been able to in a long time. In turn, this affected by overall well-being as well in a similar manner.
Your relationships with other art ed students or networking with other art ed professionals?
While attending the WAEA State Conference, it impacted by relationships with my colleagues as well as with other ArtEd professionals. For instance, I had gotten to know my younger ArtEd peers a lot better and value the connections made. Additionally, I had the opportunity to network with many ArtEd professionals. For instance, I now have an Instagram Live discussion set up through @theartofed Instagram page! These connections never would have happened without the conference; therefore, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity.