Pedagogy

    My philosophy as a multi-age Art Education teacher is student and foundation focused. Students will utilize critical thinking and problem solving skills during the process of creating their art assignments. I lean toward the pedagogy of John Dewey, or a constructivist approach both in the classroom and in the community. I believe in process over product and that students should have the opportunity to participate in the artistic process as they create their work. 

 

    Art should be meaningful and applicable to the real world. Creating a learning environment where students experience a broad range of general knowledge that reflects an understanding of the communities and world in which we live in is important to me. Lessons I developed focus on the importance of being involved with the community and understanding what is happening in the world around us. A goal in my teaching is to introduce students to as much art as possible in a variety of different ways. I believe that teaching art is a way to broaden the scope of student thinking. It is important to teach students about the history of art, including analyzing and critiquing works of art and their own art.

 

            All students are different in the way they learn. It is important to know your students and their abilities, and set consistent expectations for all of them. Teaching involves explaining or demonstrating the same process in a variety of ways. Differentiated instruction is used to meet the needs of various learning groups. Modifying teaching strategies and assessments are based on the individual students needs and abilities. Assessments are varied to include formative and summative strategies and used with individual students or in groups helps students talk about their work, and that of their peers. Assessments provide valuable feedback for future and extensions use of the lessons along with checking for understanding. Setting consistent expectations for students to refer to can be done with classroom management plans and rubrics for grading. Students also fill out self-evaluation worksheets that ask open-ended questions about the lesson, which will give valuable feedback for future planning. 

     

            As a life long learner, I will continue taking classes and attending workshop and conferences that will help me grow as an art educator. I actively seek advice from my collaborating teachers, peers, and students to help me grow as an educator, and regularly reflect on my teaching by keeping a journal/sketchbook/personal work. Part of my professional development is to travel to various States and to different parts of the world to visit museums and historical architectural landmarks. The knowledge that I have obtained and will continue to acquire, combined with the determination to succeed will be the key elements in inspiring my life journey.