Teaching methodology is the overall plan or approach used to instruct students in a classroom, helping them to understand and remember what they have learned. My teaching methodology includes components of some teaching strategies that allow me as an educator to convey information in a clear and concise way, while also still ensuring students take away the best art education has to offer. I also find it extremely important as an educator to be willing to adopt new pedagogy when necessary, and look to improve my teaching methods over time.
My current fundamental learning goal for my students is for them to be able to do “something meaningful” with the course content. With meaningful learning, students will be able to work in those middle to upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.
The goal for my students is to walk away with skills and abilities that will support further learning, their personal lives, future careers, and college readiness. Through art education, students shall be impacted through practicing creativity, fine-tuning motor skills, building their confidence and esteem, learning visually, making decisions, persevering in their art, improving concentration skills, collaborating in groups, and learning to take accountability not only in their art-making, but also in their everyday decision-making.
I believe in shifting the focus from teacher to students, and fostering a student-centered classroom. Student-centered classrooms include students in planning, implementation, and assessments. By involving the learners in these decisions, we can place students to take more responsibility and ownership of their education. A commitment to fostering student ownership of their learning and growth encapsulates the core of my educational philosophy. This approach also coincides with contemporary educational ideas around student agency and empowerment.
I also aim to create an environment where my learners become comfortable with my leadership style changing throughout their learning, and switching from directive to consultative. Connected to fostering student agency, my students are continually assessed on activities such as small group projects, student portfolios and class participation.
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