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As an artist, teacher, and researcher, I see teaching as an embodied, artistic act of courage in which I work to enable students’ lives to be enriched with a variety of experiences. Teaching is not a mere transfer of knowledge, learned behavior, or a set of tasks to memorize; it is a open dialogue infused with passionate interest in subject matter, in interaction, and in the creative process of learning. As a teacher, I see myself as a guide, rather than overseer; looking for opportunities for students to discover the richness of everyday experience. Being that type of teacher brings with it much responsibility and influence that requires close attention to students and context – both of which are necessary to continually respond to the necessities of a growing and changing classroom. Hansen (2005) states:
…creativity in teaching often emerges in the unexpected, the unanticipated, and the unscripted…it takes form through attentiveness, a capacity to wait patiently and listen in the very midst of teaching, and then to move accordingly (p. 59). Teaching creatively is about being open to new and unknown possibilities – and then being prepared to work with ideas as they arise. Dewey (1934) also suggests it is within everyday experiences that we may find true educative moments. He discusses the movement necessary within experience, highlighting attentive discovery leading to growth. One course I taught, Arts in the Elementary Curriculum, provided an opportunity for pre-service elementary teachers to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to teach with and through the arts. I told my students that if they could leave my class with only one thing, it would be the idea that art is not a product; it is a way of thinking. The arts offer experiences that are not possible in other disciplinary areas and help make learning a meaningful, lived experience that students take with them for a lifetime. The class was structured to enable students’ experiences with studio art as well as curriculum study within the arts. With this and all other courses, I attempt to create a open, inviting space where meaning can be made, or as Dewey (1916) puts it, practice “intellectual hospitality,” understanding that learning is a process in need of individual inquiry and discovery. We spend a lot of time discussing why we do what we do, and how the arts help us communicate the potential that exists not only in our students, but ourselves as well. |
Imagining learning as a process and not a product allows students to enter into the educative experience able to take risks and excited for new possibilities. Phrases like “I can’t,” or “I’m not creative,” begin to transform when you work to create a safe environment where the goal is not creating a beautiful piece of artwork, but rather experiencing the creative process and the potential it brings forth. The creative process that the arts encourage, and that I work to foster in my classroom, allow students to discover so much more than content; they learn about themselves as artists, as individuals, and as future teachers. They make connections between the practice of art and the work of teaching and learning.
I am committed to encouraging a creative atmosphere where possibilities are endless and right answers are determined by our situations as well as who we are as teachers. I ask my students to take risks and question what they believe they are capable of, introducing new mediums and ideas that stretch the imagination. Just as I ask my students to be open to new experiences, I let each new group of students guide my teaching and I work to tailor the class to the interests and passions of each student. Every time I’ve taught a new course, it has changed, as have I. I learn new ways to engage with the content as well as my students and the space we are in. I work every semester to let those new paths shape our course. It would be easier to turn out the same discussion prompts and the same projects every semester, but that wouldn’t be authentic or meaningful to my students or myself. It is the difficult and complex work of teaching that is the most artful. I also believe genuine teaching and learning to be an ongoing conversation; a dialogue. This interchange takes place between teacher and student, student and content, student and space, etc. These important relationships abound in the social experience of education. Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York: The Macmillan Company. Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. New York: Perigree/Putnam. Hansen, D. (2005). Creativity in teaching and building a meaningful life as a teacher. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 39(2), 57‐68. |
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2004-2005 (grades 9-12)
2005-2007 (grades 6-12)
2008-2012 (undergraduate)
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2012-2014 (undergraduate & graduate)
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2014-current (undergraduate)
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