My Teaching and Learning Philosophy
As an art student, my philosophy of teaching evolves around my goal to help others develop an excellent and independent learning attitude that they can bring to both the classroom and personal lives. I believe that if teachers are completely looked up upon as a guide for too long, students may grow dependent and unable to trust themselves. One needs to recognize and value his/her uniqueness before anything else, the importance of other’s aid and advice should be beneficial but not primary. While every student is unique and may need different sources to guide them, all students should all develop their learning strategies and be able to continue learning on their own independently.
Possessing a basic foundation of independence is crucial to reach out, trust, and engage in a community or teacher. To nurture this quality of learning within a student, the basic rules in my pedagogy would include sketchbook/journaling, learning humbly, and working freely. After all, my philosophies of learning and teaching value the development of independence and self-discipline significantly.
Unit Statement
Independence in Art-Making: Self-Trust and Confidence
My proposed unit plan, Independence in Art Making Self-Trust & Confidence, is centered around the goal of developing self-driven and positive attitudes towards art practices that can also be applied to everyday life. The 1st and 3rd lessons will guide students to problem solve, generate ideas without outside sources/technology, and practice planning drafts before their final project. The Social and Emotional Learning focus goal in my unit plan will also encourage students to reflect inwards and valuing themselves before seeking external validations from others. This objective is incorporated in the 2nd lesson--where students will recognize the complexity and uniqueness of their emotions--and 4th lesson--where students will practice gratitude and maintain and revisit this reflection at the end of their final projects.
The unit plan will begin with the training of problem solving. Students will first be introduced to the technique of gesture line drawings, then they will practice recognizing shapes from scribbles and move on to create artwork from gesture lines. Next, the second lesson will focus on SEL, guiding students to craft butterflies that visualize complex emotions that cannot be easily described with words. Third lesson, students will be introduced to what narrative art is, and begin generating and planning out their final art project in their sketchbook/paper. Finally, the last lesson focuses on SEL again by practicing gratitude, and applying this practice into the making of their final art project.
Student Work
Lesson #1: Problem Solving with Gesture Lines
Fragments of Self: Creating a Self Portrait through Collage
Lesson goal: to guide each student to reflect on the qualities and characteristics of themselves and create a self portrait that narrates their inner identity. Also introduce them to the usefulness of having sketchbooks and papers to practice planning out an artwork.