Jul252018

Setting up the TAB classroom

Teacher Resources

To prepare for our TAB Institute training we were provided with some required reading. The articles below were for the first module about setting up the TAB classroom. After reading two or more we were to formulate a response. My response was titled “After 14 years and starting over again.”

Q2. how has the way you organize and introduce tools, materials, techniques, references and resources changed over time.

I have been in the same room for 14 years honing my centers down to perfection.. or at least workable, satisfying levels of organization and student access. It has changed over the years, mostly what storage tubs and labels I use and where in the classroom they are located.

But I have packed almost everything (we still have 6 days of school.. and only got my password figured out today… so I am behind on all of this reading and discussion stuff.) And all my stuff will get moved by contracted movers sometime in august. hopefully not too close to the beginning of the year I will get to start setting up and figuring out how my centers will look in a gen ed classroom, with no storage and one little hand washing sink. But thankful I will have a sink. I really have no clue how my centers will be set up. I have had them all out on my counters, with the big table closest to that area as the work table for that center. But I won’t have any counters. And my big tables may or may not fit.
I started introducing my centers with around the room games 4-5 years ago. And I continue to use this method to quickly introduce kids to what materials I have in the studio.

Here are a few great TAB resources curated by Kathy Douglas and Diane Jaquith.

Barnett, J. (2016). “TAB and the single media art class”
https://artbybarnett.wordpress.com/?s=TAB+and+the+single+media+class

TAB, Inc. “Getting Started”
http://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/tab-practice/teaching-and-learning

TAB, Inc. “Opening Centers”
http://teachingforartisticbehavior.org/tab-practice/opening-centers