Personal Pedagogy

My teaching philosophy revolves around self-actualization and personal growth. In the art classroom, I achieve this through Social and Emotional Learning, Studio Habits of Mind, and Teaching Artistic Behavior (TAB). These education theories allow for growth of the whole child, offers them tools and processes to feel empowered in their expression, and empowers them by granting them autonomy in creation.

My teaching utilizes these learning strategies combined with my beliefs and goals for students. I believe that every student has the capacity for learning and the potential for positive change; I believe it is my job to create an environment and experiences that encourage that. I create an inclusive environment by creating and upholding classroom social contracts, showing genuine interest in their creations with plenty of opportunities for sharing, and offering boundless encouragement for genuine effort and praise for improvement, in art or in character.

My role as a teacher is to help guide students on their quest to be the best version of themselves. My goal is to prepare them to be successful and kind members of society. To do this, I believe it is important for students to investigate who they are. I want to make each student feel empowered in their uniqueness, and comforted by their similarities and relations to others. Through my lessons, I help them develop healthy identities, be aware of their social connections and relationships, and build empathy for one another. I believe the art classroom should provide a therapeutic outlet for students of all abilities and interests. I believe in the philosophy of TAB and choice-based art projects. Providing ample freedom for exploration and personal expression gives students an opportunity during the day to simply create, which is something seldom experienced in other classes. I want to give them technical skills and introduce them to every available material and medium so they can bring their ideas to life in the way they envision. Granting student autonomy over their artwork is so crucial for success.

I teach this way because I believe that when students are self-directed, it promotes divergent thinking, strengthens problem-solving and critical thinking skills, and generates truly authentic artwork. If students are able to participate in the art making process and reflect honestly about their process and product, this shows me evidence of their learning. I am constantly seeking feedback to improve. I have gained so much insight from the incredible teachers I've worked with thus far, and am enthusiastic about learning from their expertise and experience.

I believe assessment in art education should look like thoughtful reflection. Asking students to sincerely reflect on their artwork, their process, their feelings, are the most valuable tools for understanding their learning. Each student will have a different metric for what progress looks like for them, so their own evaluations help me evaluate them more accurately. Opinions about artwork can be subjective, so I create objective rubrics that ask students to self-evaluate based on the Studio Habits of Mind. This way, it does not measure the aesthetics of the artwork, but rather focuses on what they learned throughout the process of art making. If the goal of art education is to teach artistic behavior as a way of helping students become thoughtful and creative human beings, then I want them to carefully consider how their art process is engaged with those habits. Did they engage and persist through a problem, mistake, or challenge? Did they stretch and explore by trying something new or taking risks?

In addition to having students fill out the rubric themselves, I also use three open-ended reflective questions at the end of a project. What was successful about your artwork/art process? What could you improve for next time? What did you learn during this project? These questions can be answered simply by stating what the project was about, or more in depth, such as what students learned about themselves along the way. I also consider assessment to be part of the lived experience, and I try to incorporate it as such. Thinking of process as assessment, and how the physical practice of making art can be considered assessment. I think most people learn best through living, and therefore I want to assess the lived experience, both from my perspective and feedback from my students.

I have used and truly believe in the 0-4 point scale that Poudre School District employs. It makes sense for me to grade based on effort and engagement, and is easy for students to understand where they are and what they need to do to boost their grade. It also provides yet another opportunity for reflection, to check in with themselves about if they're using their time wisely, using materials appropriately, and making good choices. I always allow for students to re-do any assignment for a grade improvement if they continue working and adding to it. This is important to me because I understand needing to spend a lot of time to fully solve an artwork and complete it to its highest potential. I never grade for lateness or give zeros. I feel that is defeating, unhelpful, and untrue. Even if a student never completes or turns anything in, if they're participating in my class, that is evidence that they are learning something. I do my best to grade with transparency and equity.

Firstly, it is of the utmost importance to me that students are safe. By doing safety demonstrations with materials and setting boundaries about unsafe behaviors, I am able to prevent injury. Additionally, a safe classroom also includes psychological safety. I have a zero tolerance policy for exclusion and bullying. I make this extremely clear to students that if I ever see or catch wind of that behavior, there will be serious consequences. I provide support for students who alert me to a problem by rearranging seats, mediating a conversation, or escalating the situation to a counselor or admin.

Safety aside, I believe the art classroom should largely be a space to roam, to explore, to talk, to laugh, to move, to engage with materials, to create, to breathe. In a choice-based or Teaching for Artistic Behavior classroom, the students are seen as artists and the classroom is treated as their studio, where they can use the space and materials as they see fit.

As poor choices or behaviors inevitably come up, it is most important to me to see the human. It is in the child or adolescent nature to act out, test boundaries, try on different hats. I seek first to be curious about the behavior. What happened? How did your behavior affect other people? After curiosity, I want to encourage the student to think critically about their behavior. It is important to me that students do this themselves. By analyzing their behaviors, wondering how it affected other people, understanding how it made them feel, will help students build self-awareness for their actions. Self-awareness can foster more conscientious and considerate actions. Would you act differently in the future? Is there something you can do to make it better? And most importantly, How can I support you in positive change? I remember that I was occasionally an unpleasant student and always appreciated being called out, kindly. I appreciated understanding and patience, and therefore, as a teacher, must provide that to students. I think this comes very naturally to me, it is in my nature to be empathetic, forgiving, and incredibly patient. I also think it is important to leverage the wisdom of other teachers and parents to better understand and manage each child’s behavior in a way that works for them. I want any redirection for behavior to ultimately encourage students to improve their character and build habits such as respect, cooperation, patience, understanding, and empathy.

I do my best to point out positive behavior as I see it happening. I want to divide this praise as equally as possible among the class. Complimenting positive traits are a way to ensure those behaviors continue, and to build positive relationships. If there ever is a negative or unpleasant interaction with a student, there is always room to repair. I acknowledge my role and admit to students that I am by no means perfect, I am still making mistakes and learning too. Being humble is what I want to model for my students. An honest reflection, genuine apology, and changed behavior will help students navigate conflict in their lives. I strive to teach that through example.