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Many of us know the feeling of reflecting on our work whether it is in the classroom, boardroom, building a program or building relationships. The self-critique is an essential piece to growing as a professional. James Campbell describes the ups and downs of growing into a new role as a STEAM Interdisciplinary Specialist and determines that building relationships and community is way more important than building spaces and projects.

We chat with Russ Horvath - Art District Chair for a large Illinois public school district. Russ describes some incredible interdisciplinary courses he is championing and we collectively brainstorm how to do more of that work despite the many hurdles in both public an private schools. In this episode, we really lean into the idea that it could be the Arts that really lead interdisciplinary efforts....especially through the process of critique. Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org

You know that feeling when you learn something new and you just can't wait to share it with your friends? TJ, Matt Neylon and Marie Graham sit down to discuss favorite moments from NAEA18 - National Arts Education Association. We each left with new ideas of how we might incorporate things into our own classes, people to network with and some exciting Ah-Ha moments.Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Marie Graham on Twitter - @mariegrahamFollow Matthew Neylon of Twitter - @MattNeylon

A big part of exploring the intersections of different disciplines is finding a diverse network of people who live that "anti-disciplinary" life everyday. I don't know anyone who can tap into a network of people better than Marie Graham. I ask her how she pulled off middle schoolers skyping with refugees and how she turned a few LinkedIN clicks into the first world class high school Virtual Reality lab of its kind. Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Marie Graham on Twitter - @mariegraham

The conversation with Erin Riley has been so rich, that we decided to extend it into a Part II. This go around, Jim Tiffin, Director of Media and Maker at Mount Vernon, joins us to get in the weeds with what language is important to foster in an arts or maker studio, how constraints lead to creativity and some tough lessons learned from leading a maker design program. Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Erin Riley on Twitter - @eeriley99

Erin Riley is a rockstar artist, educator and maker. We talk about how she manages to foster such incredible craftsmanship in her students' work and how the artist's practice of critique is critical component of that. Be on the look out for Erin's new book which is out soon! Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Erin Riley on Twitter - @eeriley99

What if we signed students to a record label? Commission students for public art? Intern students in the movie industry? Matt Neylon describes his vision for Arts Innovation and how studio culture's life blood is FABRICATION. Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Matt Neylon on twitter - @mattneylon

T.J. picks the brain of another Cannon School maker, Mush Hughes, who is knee deep in teaching while designing the next iteration program and spaces at his school. Mush taps into inspiration from chefs and youtube stars among other as he "builds it as he is flying it." Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Mush Hughes on twitter - @lmushl

Let's talk about leadership in #MakerEd and how to build culture in a maker community. Leigh Northrup of Cannon School says to "give them what they want, but slip them what they need"....and have a sweet vinyl collection on hand. Connect with MVIFI at mvifi.org Follow Leigh Northrup on twitter - @LeighNorthrup

Build in Progress is part of Mount Vernon Institute for Innovation’s mission to share. In season 1 we are exploring intersections of Science, Engineering, Art, and Design. You can always find show notes, video content, and other cool stuff on our host site - MVIFI.org/shares