Save the date for a two-day in-person event at the Denver Art Museum!

Emergent Creativity

2024 Conference Jan. 13&14

A Teaching for Artistic Behavior Conference

 All levels of TAB experiences are welcome!

This conference is organized and ran by a team of working Colorado art teachers that volunteer countless hours to provide the best experience possible.

UNC Credit Information

Keynote Speakers for the 2024 Conference

Dale Zalmstra (she/her) & Kelly Beach (he/him)

Dale and Kelly will be examining the physical and psychological conditions that are present to allow creativity to emerge in a student-directed classroom.

Dale Zalmstra

I am an art teacher. I have been all about TAB since 2004. Teaching is the most creative and important work that I have ever done (besides my family). Facilitating a classroom community where students can realize that they are artists and learn to know their own creative process is of the highest value to me. Through my work for ArtSource, for CAEA, NAEA, and CDE, and through all the presentations and roundtables – advocating and having conversations about ways to teach TAB is the purpose and the joy. I retired from Cherry Creek Schools after 19 years at the wild and wonderful world of Village East Elementary. I continue to work as an adjunct professor for MSU Denver and UNC teaching Creative Thinking and working with Art Ed students. I am proud of passing my National Boards
(more challenging than my masters!) I am proud of writing a chapter for the TAB book, ”The “Learner Directed Classroom” and having examples of my TAB assessments in “Studio Thinking from the Start.” And I am extremely proud of being a co-founder of Colorado TAB and creating the annual TAB conference.

Kelly Beach

I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and am one of two art teachers at Rodger Quist Middle School in Thornton, Colorado. Inside my classroom students are empowered to find their own artistic voice and are allowed to express themselves in a safe environment. Student learning in our art room branches across multiple disciplines through self-directed projects. Each learning experience incorporates gained knowledge from in-class demonstrations and his students’ own personal life experiences culminating in creating meaningful and purposeful art. The ability to self-direct their learning, manage time and behavior appropriately, and work individually and in teams are all essential skills that my students will need when they enter the workforce. My use of a Teaching for Artistic Behavior philosophy, allows my students to receive and grow these skills in a safe and engaging learning environment while meeting their own personal needs. I am a co-founder of Colorado TAB, Inc. and organizer of our annual Teaching for Artistic Behavior Conference. Recently, I was elected as the Co-President Elect for Teaching for Artistic Behavior, Inc.. Outside of the Colorado TAB, Inc.’s annual conference, I present and share my love for art education through podcasts, state conferences, and various social media outlets. My adventures in art education are supported by my wife and two daughters.

https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en

http://www.artsourceco.org/

Colorado TAB, Inc. would like to thank
The Denver Art Museum & UNC for their gracious support.