Pratt Institute

Education

2003 M.S. Art and Design Education. Pratt Institute, New York.
Recipient of The Certificate of Excellence Award for Outstanding Merit in Graduate Art Education and The Pratt Circle Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement.

1990-1998 International Center of Photography.
Studied with Edward Keating, Eva Rubinstein, Joseph Rodriguez and Joseph Astor, among others.

1977 B.A. French (Minor: Linguistics), New York University.
Summa Cum Laude.

Biography

Mary Elmer-DeWitt is a painter and educator with expertise in elementary school art education and mentoring novice and established art educators. Since 2003 she has been both a faculty member of Pratt Institute's Art and Design Education Department and a Teaching Artist with Studio in a School. Through her affiliation with the latter, she is currently a facilitator with the Arts Achieve i-3 innovation project. This 5-year, federally funded research project is investigating the impact of assessment on student achievement in the arts. Over the course of her 9 years with Studio, Ms Elmer-DeWitt has conducted workshops for other Studio artists, trained Department of Education teachers in the implementation of the NYC Blueprint, and collaborated with other Studio artists to bring children from diverse areas of the city together through art making. As part of her work with Studio and the Empire State Partnerships program she presented several pieces of research at the ESP 2007 and 2008 summer conferences—one, an investigation of how different materials and processes enable 2nd graders to make their learning visible, the other, a study of what occurs when Kindergarten students are directed away from story telling in the art studio. Since 2009, she has been studying painting with NYC artist, Molly Herman.

TEACHING
2011-present Arts Achieve (i-3 Innovation research project), NY. Facilitator/researcher
2003-2010  Studio in a School, NY, NY. Teaching Artist with residencies in NYC public schools, teaching grades K-6 at P.S. 213 in Bayside, Queens.
2003-2005  Daniel Webster School, New Rochelle, NY. Visiting Artist, grades 1 and 2.
2004-2005 Studio in a School, NY, NY. Teacher-Trainer, conducted workshops to introduce New York City art teachers to the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts
Spring 2002  Community Partners School, Brooklyn, NY. After-school Art teacher, grades K-2.
Spring 2001  JHS 113, Brooklyn, NY. Student Teacher, grades 7 and 8.
Fall 2000  Beginning With Children, Brooklyn, NY. After-school Art teacher, grades 4 and 5.

PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS
Summer 2008 NYSCA/Empire State Partnerships* Summer Seminar. Peer-to-Peer presentation and exhibition, “Evidence of Student and Teacher Learning,” two ETSL templates presented.
Summer 2007  NYSCA/Empire State Partnerships* Summer Seminar. Peer-to-Peer presentation and exhibition, “Helping Students Develop Meaningful Partnerships through the Arts”

CONFERENCES
Summer 2008 NYSCA/Empire State Partnerships Summer Seminar, “Habits of the Creative Mind.
Summer 2007 NYSCA/Empire State Partnerships* Summer Seminar, “Strategizing for Success.
Fall 2005 Empire State Partnerships Fall Seminar, “Developing Essential Questions

RELATED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Summer 2007  Visual Thinking Strategies*, workshop: a protocol for fostering thinking, communication skills, and visual liter achy
Summer 2007 Differentiated Instruction: Arts Instruction for All Students, workshop
Summer 2007 Developing Good Questions in Inquiry-based Education, workshop
Spring   2005  Pratt Institute, NY, Acting Director, Saturday Art School. 

RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE
2010-11 Pratt Institute, Director, Saturday Art School
1990-2000  Photographer, NY, Clients included The New York Times, Time Magazine, Time for Kids and Times Books. Work held in private collections.
1986-1990  Freelance Graphic Designer, NY.
1979-1985  Viking Press/Penguin Books, NY, Graphic Designer, Sales Promotion Manager. 

EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
2012  Small Matters of Great Importance, The Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY
1998-2007  Representation by Nönstock, photographs sold for editorial and commercial use
1998  Dance Theater Workshop Gallery, NY, NY, group exhibition. “Play”
1997  Spoke the Hub Re:Creation Center, Brooklyn, NY, solo exhibition.
1995  Colegno, NY, NY, group exhibition. 

* Empire State Partnerships (ESP) is a program of the New York State Council on the Arts. Its mission is to identify, develop and nurture promising practices in arts education through the support of long-term collaborations between cultural organizations and schools. *Visual Thinking Strategies is a visual arts program that uses looking at art to teach thinking, communication skills, and visual literacy. Children’s growth is stimulated by looking at art works of increasing complexity, responding to questions, and participating in group discussions that are facilitated by teachers trained in the protocol.