Teaching Philosophy
In Releasing the Imagination, Maxine Greene writes, “When teaching, responding to the grasping consciousness of a young student in his or her distinctiveness, we can only continually combat life’s anaesthetics, moving individuals to reach out toward that horizon line” (30). As an art educator, I strive to create a climate that helps to “combat life’s anaesthetics” by fostering critical thinking skills and an independence of vision in my students. Through the process of art-making, we are able to interpret the world around us as well as examine our own interiorities, and I view myself as facilitator in those processes of exploration and interpretation within the classroom. By learning how to decode our shared visual language, my students gain the skills they will need to be critically engaged citizens in an increasingly visual world. Through self-directed art production activities, they develop creative problem-solving skills, ingenuity, and non-linear thinking.
In order to facilitate each student’s understanding of his or her world, I first recognize each as an individual, “in his or her distinctiveness.” Every student can learn how to both make and understand art, but the unique needs of each student demand different circumstances for success, so I flexibly adapt my lesson plans to account for these individual learning differences. In order to effectively teach to every level, I provide enrichment activities for advanced students while offering more direct guidance for those who are struggling. I assume responsibility for my students’ learning; if I realize they are not engaged, I take that as a signal to step back and re-assess my lesson for its efficacy. This is not merely an issue of classroom management, although I agree with the popular view that student engagement is the best means of preventing classroom management issues. Rather, I believe that the visual arts classroom in particular has the unique potential to provide students with intrinsically motivating work, as the act of art-making itself is so richly rewarding for even a novice when properly directed.
To provide my students with a rich and rewarding art experience, I must combat what Albert Bandura termed “low self-efficacy,” or the belief that one cannot succeed in a particular subject. This often stems from students having received non-constructive criticism for their work in earlier grades, and results in their avoidance of art altogether. I foster high self-efficacy in my students by offering them constructive feedback. For instance, if a student makes an error in proportion while drawing the human figure, I will not tell the student, “this is wrong, fix it.” Instead, I will find a commendable feature of the drawing to praise before transitioning to a practical demonstration regarding the proportions of the human figure. While I believe in speaking honestly with students and would never issue false praise, I am keenly aware of the vulnerability of art students to perceived rejection of their efforts, and thus am careful to phrase my feedback in terms of positive suggestions for growth. I also foster self-efficacy by employing scaffolding strategies that enable their success and allow them to find satisfaction in their work no matter what their current level of ability. No student has a fixed limit on his or her ability, and it is my goal as an educator to help each student cultivate a distinct artistic voice.
In order to facilitate each student’s understanding of his or her world, I first recognize each as an individual, “in his or her distinctiveness.” Every student can learn how to both make and understand art, but the unique needs of each student demand different circumstances for success, so I flexibly adapt my lesson plans to account for these individual learning differences. In order to effectively teach to every level, I provide enrichment activities for advanced students while offering more direct guidance for those who are struggling. I assume responsibility for my students’ learning; if I realize they are not engaged, I take that as a signal to step back and re-assess my lesson for its efficacy. This is not merely an issue of classroom management, although I agree with the popular view that student engagement is the best means of preventing classroom management issues. Rather, I believe that the visual arts classroom in particular has the unique potential to provide students with intrinsically motivating work, as the act of art-making itself is so richly rewarding for even a novice when properly directed.
To provide my students with a rich and rewarding art experience, I must combat what Albert Bandura termed “low self-efficacy,” or the belief that one cannot succeed in a particular subject. This often stems from students having received non-constructive criticism for their work in earlier grades, and results in their avoidance of art altogether. I foster high self-efficacy in my students by offering them constructive feedback. For instance, if a student makes an error in proportion while drawing the human figure, I will not tell the student, “this is wrong, fix it.” Instead, I will find a commendable feature of the drawing to praise before transitioning to a practical demonstration regarding the proportions of the human figure. While I believe in speaking honestly with students and would never issue false praise, I am keenly aware of the vulnerability of art students to perceived rejection of their efforts, and thus am careful to phrase my feedback in terms of positive suggestions for growth. I also foster self-efficacy by employing scaffolding strategies that enable their success and allow them to find satisfaction in their work no matter what their current level of ability. No student has a fixed limit on his or her ability, and it is my goal as an educator to help each student cultivate a distinct artistic voice.