In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Jen and Abi sit down with the incredible Dale Zalmstra, whose work and mentorship have profoundly shaped TAB practice in Colorado and beyond. Dale shares her nontraditional path into art education, how she found TAB early on, and why community, reflection, and teacher involvement are essential to sustaining student-centered, choice-based learning. This conversation is a powerful reminder that TAB is a philosophy—rooted in trust, creativity, and authenticity—that continues to grow through relationships and shared leadership.

Resources:

Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB)

Website: https://teachingforartisticbehavior.org

Core ideas: The child is the artist. The classroom is the studio. What do artists do?

Mighty Networks – TAB Community

Online community of TAB educators (linked through

TeachingforArtisticBehavior.org → “Join Our Community”)

TAB Art Educators Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/178282718971259/

National Art Education Association (NAEA)

https://www.arteducators.org

Colorado Art Education Association (CAEA)

coloradoarted.org

ArtSource (Colorado)

www.artsourceco.org

TAB Colorado and TAB CO Conference

TAB Colorado: coloradotabinc.org

TABStock

https://www.facebook.com/groups/248738239772624/

Colorado Visual Arts Standards

Colorado Visual Art Standards

What Artists Do

Subtitle: TAB Pedagogy and Practice for K–12 Choice-Based Art Classes

By Jen Ferrari and Jill Hogan

Publication date: June 26, 2026 (preorders available at time of recording)

Here is a link to a lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at storytellers@teachingforartisticbehavior.org.