Overview in Art Ed - Blog response #1/Teaching Philosophy

BLOG response #1 - Overview in Art Education 7730

Art education is in the process of adapting to the needs of the 21^st century student.  Through the development of technology, the digital visual culture has progressed and changed, therefore art education must adapt to meet the needs of the current and future world.  The 21^st century student has a learning style different than current teachers.  If an educator’s natural tendency is to teach how they were taught, then educators must make a conscious effort in understanding the characteristics that define today’s learners in today’s classrooms.   

To me, there is no longer the idea that a student’s life is separated into two parts: inside the classroom and outside the classroom.  Through the development of technology and social media these two once disparate entities have become inseparable.  Due to this change it is highly important art educators help students make meaningful connections that translate both inside and outside the classroom.

Art education has the resources to aid students in acquiring the skills and conceptual thinking necessary to succeed in the future not only in art, but in other disciplines as well.  As Olivia Gude said, “If it is indeed true that our notions of the real and the possible are shaped in cultural discourses, art teachers have the power to change the world.”

With this attitude, in order to successfully teach the 21^st century art student, I must be an educator who is constantly in flux, as art and society is constantly in flux.  I must seek to learn, along with the students, the current language of the world (i.e. technology) in order to prepare students for the world’s needs in the future. 

Teaching Philosophy – Rough Draft

Constructivism in the Classroom

Constructivism is defined as a teaching philosophy that focuses on the personalized way a learner internalizes, shapes, or transforms information.  Thus, learning occurs through the construction of new, personalized understanding that results from the emergence of new cognitive structures.  My personal beliefs and philosophy of education follow closely to this approach.  From my short time in education courses, I have adopted the notion of student centered, student driven learning.  This educational philosophy stretches from physical setting of a classroom, to lesson planning, to the forms of assessment, and motivation that takes place in the classroom.  Student centered teaching focuses on the development of big ideas wherein students draw their own conclusion.  This environment should foster internal motivation and divergent thinking among students.  Furthermore, in art education it is the educator’s job to make clear the underlying elements of what is beautiful and to help students explore, locate, and manifest their ability to create beauty themselves.  In this way, students should be encouraged to integrate these ideas throughout all subject areas in order to inform and enrich every aspect of their life.   

Investigation of Individual and Social Identity

I believe it is important to provide students with an education in which they feel successful and valuable as well as prepared for life and employment after school.  Students seem more apt to learn in environments where they feel a sense of belonging and believe they are contributing members of a group or community.  It is the educator’s job to equip students with the skills and knowledge that will allow them to be contributors.  Ultimately, education should aim to foster growth of the individual while harmonizing the individual with his or her social group.  Through art, students should be given the opportunity to investigate how their identity as an individual has a role in the larger whole of society—creating personal and shared meaning.  Artmaking is an important step towards expanding self-awareness and emotional and intellectual development of an individual’s identity and potential identity.  Students should be encouraged to not only think introspectively, but outwardly as well, seeking to understand their impact on society.   


Journal Page: BIG IDEAS