Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token save it from that ruin which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and young, would be inevitable. And education, too, is where we decide whether we love our children enough not to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices, nor to strike from their hands their chance of understanding something new.

Hannah Arendt, Between Past and Future.

Integrative Teaching ThinkTank (ITT) promotes 21st century visual thinking. Through ThinkTank and other sponsored programs, ITT seeks to foster intellectual skills necessary for exemplary instruction in art and design by master teachers, administrators and emerging educators.

ITT is not a top-down policy initiative. Master and emerging educators collaborate through hands-on workshops, presentations, and discussions. We work in small groups to openly exchange—and sometimes challenge—ideas. We seek to showcase best practices, heighten understanding of curriculum design, and explore innovative assessment strategies. A goal of ThinkTank is shared knowledge and supportive mentoring for emerging educators at the beginning of their teaching career. Teacher by teacher, we form a national network that seeks to change ossified conceptual frameworks for the training of visual artists and designers in first and second year Foundations courses.

Furthermore, we recognize that the intellectual skills addressed in Foundations are not proprietary to the visual arts. Study in the visual arts requires habits of mind and forms of analysis that are general skills for the 21st century workplace. From this point of view, teaching art is more than the teaching of art. Addressing this problem requires attention to literature from across multiple disciplines. We welcome the expansion of our dialogue across the academy as well as connecting to K-12 education.

If moving toward a new understanding of learning in the visual arts is of interest to you, then become involved with IIT. In 2008-2009, our members presented at major conferences throughout the United States including College Art Association, Foundations for Art: Theory in Education, Southeastern College Art Conference, National Art Education Association, and the American Educational Research Association, to name a few. Come to our sessions. Join the conversation.

Richard Siegesmund, Ph.D.

President,Integrative Teaching ThinkTank (ITT)

Associate Professor and Co-Chair, Art Education

University of Georgia