teaching
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Teaching provides students with tools to empower themselves. The classroom/studio
is a place where students acquire technical and conceptual skills within a historical and contemporary framework, equipping them to articulately represent their ideas. In my classes, students receive focused instruction in a dynamic, interactive environment, which includes learning from practice, critique, discussion, readings and individual and collaborative inquiry.
I construct my classes on the following premise: art making requires the understanding, implementation, and development of a visual language, made up of formal and conceptual elements similar to an alphabet, words, and syntax. It is very important that students become familiar with a range of materials, methods, and reference so they may develop a functional vocabulary. Regardless of the course title, I emphasize the view that the medium is a “tool for expression.” One must understand its strengths and embrace its weaknesses. The diversity of one’s skills only contributes to an individual’s vocabulary. It is most important to me that the studio is a place to continually learn about oneself. My role is to provide students with a model for continuous self-development and divergent thinking. I plan a single activity in which I define many learning areas so that the students are able to come up with many possible outcomes. I am constantly aware of my interactions with students. I allow each student to make his/her own choices as well as encourage student interaction. During this research, I support and assess the development of strategies and focus my energy on observation and interaction.
Ultimately, I strive for student self-initiative throughout the course by making assignments engaging, challenging and rewarding. The worst mistake I could make would be to surrender students to compliance. I maintain emphasis on formal and conceptual principles while introducing students to new ways of working and thinking. My basic courses introduce students to themselves as the center of the class. Courses include demonstrations, tutorials, creative assignments, and critiques. Through acquiring basic skills, students are provided with confidence and vocabulary with which to enter territory that is more complicated. In more advanced classes, I introduce possibilities for expanding the visual and conceptual discussion. In-progress critiques are conducted regularly so that students are able to practice their critical thinking skills. When students successful resolve formal and conceptual problems, critiques become especially engaging. While reviewing the work of peers, students are asked to identify associative meanings of form and material and recognize conceptual structures. As classes advance, assignments become less structured by me and more by students. I work closely with students to initiate, encourage, and articulate their ideas visually during this time. It is my hope that students in my courses will expand their creativity; build critical thinking skills, a sense of responsibility for their work and to see themselves as active, powerful participants affecting the world around them. This romantic notion is based on the fact that I truly participate in their education in a meaningful and direct way.
Teaching provides students with tools to empower themselves. The classroom/studio
is a place where students acquire technical and conceptual skills within a historical and contemporary framework, equipping them to articulately represent their ideas. In my classes, students receive focused instruction in a dynamic, interactive environment, which includes learning from practice, critique, discussion, readings and individual and collaborative inquiry.
I construct my classes on the following premise: art making requires the understanding, implementation, and development of a visual language, made up of formal and conceptual elements similar to an alphabet, words, and syntax. It is very important that students become familiar with a range of materials, methods, and reference so they may develop a functional vocabulary. Regardless of the course title, I emphasize the view that the medium is a “tool for expression.” One must understand its strengths and embrace its weaknesses. The diversity of one’s skills only contributes to an individual’s vocabulary. It is most important to me that the studio is a place to continually learn about oneself. My role is to provide students with a model for continuous self-development and divergent thinking. I plan a single activity in which I define many learning areas so that the students are able to come up with many possible outcomes. I am constantly aware of my interactions with students. I allow each student to make his/her own choices as well as encourage student interaction. During this research, I support and assess the development of strategies and focus my energy on observation and interaction.
Ultimately, I strive for student self-initiative throughout the course by making assignments engaging, challenging and rewarding. The worst mistake I could make would be to surrender students to compliance. I maintain emphasis on formal and conceptual principles while introducing students to new ways of working and thinking. My basic courses introduce students to themselves as the center of the class. Courses include demonstrations, tutorials, creative assignments, and critiques. Through acquiring basic skills, students are provided with confidence and vocabulary with which to enter territory that is more complicated. In more advanced classes, I introduce possibilities for expanding the visual and conceptual discussion. In-progress critiques are conducted regularly so that students are able to practice their critical thinking skills. When students successful resolve formal and conceptual problems, critiques become especially engaging. While reviewing the work of peers, students are asked to identify associative meanings of form and material and recognize conceptual structures. As classes advance, assignments become less structured by me and more by students. I work closely with students to initiate, encourage, and articulate their ideas visually during this time. It is my hope that students in my courses will expand their creativity; build critical thinking skills, a sense of responsibility for their work and to see themselves as active, powerful participants affecting the world around them. This romantic notion is based on the fact that I truly participate in their education in a meaningful and direct way.
