Stephanie Baer is an Associate Professor of Art Education who began her career as a K-12 classroom teacher before earning her Ph.D. She received her BA in Fine Arts with an emphasis in photography, followed by an MA in Secondary Teaching, and Ph.D. in Educational Studies at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She has taught elementary, middle school, high school, and post-secondary (undergraduate and graduate). Subjects and courses Baer teaches includes art foundations, fine arts, teaching methods, and philosophy-based courses. Her research interests center on preservice teacher education, teacher confidence and identity, storytelling, and technology in teaching and learning.
For the last two years I, along with colleagues, have taken a small group of students to the National Arts Action Summit (NAAS) in Washington D.C. I have come to believe that the teaching of leadership and advocacy skills is as critical as art content and pedagogy for future teachers of visual art. How do we want to situate future K-12 teachers to be agents of change? How can dispositional traits like confidence and efficacy be taught as crucial skills in the classroom? This narrative focuses on the curricular preparation my colleagues and I thought necessary to prepare our students to effectively engage in NAAS. I highlight important paradigm shifts we experienced as a team of advocates. Finally, I offer a call to the reader to share their story, and engage in a growing discourse concerning the meaning and power behind advocacy.
