Statement of Teaching Philosophy

Art education could be seen as an umbrella field because it reaches out to so many important facets of human development and learning.  In my teaching, I endeavor to emphasize interdisciplinary exploration, craft and sensory experience, expression of culture and gender, and critical thinking and aesthetic inquiry. My work and processes as an artist, educator, and researcher are unified and informed by experimentation, visualization, and collaboration. I’ve always admired Maxine Greene, who once wrote that the arts should be “wild, accessible, and yet not too easy.”  This balance may be applied to teaching as well.

While teaching kindergarten through twelfth grades, I endeavored to study art history as well as a range of studio disciplines in order to best serve the inquiries and interests of child artists in urban areas. An additional major in English Literature as well as my certification in the teaching of English Literature and general classroom teaching have also given me an array of approaches to interdisciplinary instruction.  As a professor, I continue to work and volunteer as a teaching artist in New York public schools to remain authentic and relevant in the field of teacher education.

I also bring my verbal and literary flair to art/art education curriculum at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  Given the importance of both voice and written expression for artists and teachers, I feel very fortunate to have a strong literary background that enables me to guide students in writing about and discussing art and education. Art educators are not only faced with the general endeavors of education, such as student engagement, classroom management, and serving many diverse populations of students; but also face specific challenges of curriculum, advocacy, and justification of their roles- and of the very existence of their field - that are somewhat unique to the arts.  I hope to help my students understand the value of art education and begin to become advocates of art education.

My teaching approach at all levels is largely one of a facilitator and mentor, encouraging students to discuss critical issues of art and culture even while they express themselves artistically through two and three-dimensional media, writing, and hybrid formats of visual arts research.  As a mentor to my students, I closely investigate their work in order to make inquiries and suggestions concerning artistic technique, conceptual content, and arts-related research.  I attend carefully to their evolving goals, honoring and extending the pathways of students who are often quite reflective and resolved about their own paths as artists and educators.  Meanwhile, I encourage those students who are not as confident in their art, teaching, and writing by offering an array of suggestions as possible creative “doors.” I strongly believe in the value of education as a part of the artistic process and arts research practice.  I feel extraordinarily fortunate that I am able to explore all of my passions in a day’s work within the field of art education.

Teaching Experience

University:

  • Craft & Education (Adelphi University: Garden City, NY)

  • Waldorf and Reggio Emilia Education (Adelphi University)

  • Women, Literature and the Arts. (Adelphi University)

  • Writing Lives in a Networked Age (Adelphi University)

  • Creative Arts and Special Needs. (Adelphi University)

  • Teaching and Learning Aesthetics. (Adelphi University)

  • Artistic Development and Creative Growth - (Adelphi University)

  • Exploring the Role of Arts in Education (Adelphi University)

  • Arts Education Masters Capstone Seminar (Adelphi University)

  • MFA Seminar in Art Teaching (Radford University: Radford, VA)

  • Introduction to Ceramics, Ceramics Independent Study, and Advanced Ceramics: demonstrations and lectures given (as part of studio manager position at Columbia University, Teachers College: New York, NY)

  • Youth Cultures and Cultural Studies: teaching staff for weekend intensive course and conference (Columbia University, TC)

  • Conversations Across Cultures: teaching assistant for intensive course on Christo and Jeanne-Claude (Columbia University, TC)

  • First Year Seminar: Creative Arts and Digital Humanities (Adelphi University)

  • Art, Museums & Classroom Teachers (Adelphi University)

  • Bookmaking With Unique Materials (Adelphi University)

  • Ceramics I (Adelphi University)

  • Methods & Materials - Education, Art Appreciation (Radford University)

  • Art Appreciation, Multicultural Art History, Images of Women and Western Civilization, Independent Studies in Museum Education, Independent Studies in Museum Education (State University of New York)

 

K-12 Teaching Experience

  • Family Craft and Education programming - New York Public Library

  • Poetry & Visual Arts: NY Public Schools - Teachers & Writers Program

  • Ceramics: created, taught pilot program - ages 5-13 (Harlem, New York)

  • Visual Arts Programs: taught visual arts (drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, ceramics) elementary and middle school (Boston, MA)

  • Summer/After-school Studio Arts and Crafts Programs and Residencies: taught arts and crafts (ceramics, basketry, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, painting) to pre-K through high school aged children(MA, NH, NY)

 

Supervision/Administration

  • Art Student Teacher Supervision (Adelphi, Radford, Columbia)

  • Assessed art teacher portfolios for teacher certification (NY)

  • Supervised art instructors, teaching assistants (MA, NY)

  • NCATE materials preparation (Adelphi, Columbia)

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