Teaching Statement

I visualize my teaching philosophy as representing a house or structure. The foundation is laid on my commitment to provide exceptional contemporary arts education. The brick and mortar represents the care I give my students. At the center are my students. 

I believe an exceptional contemporary arts education involves a multi-prong approach that develops technical proficiency, encourages independence as well as group collaboration, and fosters important critical-thinking skills. 

The specificity of the word “contemporary” is an important concept in my teaching philosophy, as I believe it grounds all of these prongs. Who is represented, seen or exhibited? What is valued as good or bad art? What is produced and reproduced: these are valuable questions I encourage students to consider.

As an arts educator, I am continually tasked with attending to the story of art, in both its past and present narratives. I include historically underrepresented artists, such as women and people of color. We discuss diversity and inclusion and how art functions to reflect the present culture and power. And how art means.

We may, for example, examine the word “aesthetic” when it is attributed to an artwork or artist. If possible and appropriate to the class level, I might prompt reflection on how art is situated within cultural value systems, and then ask who, exactly, has access to these systems or literacies. 

I adapt as needed according to the age and context of the class. I use readings, podcasts, and video interviews with contemporary artists to build a scaffold throughout the year that helps students develop their critical thinking skills.

My goal is to incorporate art education as a method of understanding a contemporary moment. The use of current events and contemporary visual culture help students make more meaningful connections.

In addition to teaching time-based media and sculpture, I have experience designing classes with interdisciplinary approaches. I developed Temporary Fictions: Intersections of Art, Design, and Technology, and taught the class for six semesters at the University of California, Berkeley, in partnership with the Jacobs Center for Design and Innovation. I also taught it remotely for the California College of the Arts in San Francisco in spring 2021.

This class was hugely popular at both institutions because it combined graphic design, installation, performance, and visual culture studies. It considered the intersection of Art, Design, and Technology as media fields that not only reflected the opinions and conventions of taste, but also its encounters with human subjects. 

The class was structured around three core components: Reader Maps, Maker Labs and a Group Project. Reader Maps were a digital assignment that linked multimodal texts to keyword concepts explored in the class. Students visually represented their thinking through the principles of graphic design.

Maker Labs explored these keyword concepts with digital and digital/material-making techniques (such as laser cutting.) For example, with “visuality,” students considered the selfie and explored ways of representing themselves using Adobe PS and/or Illustrator softwares. These assignments built critical thinking skills in ways that were fun, engaging, self-reflective, and relevant to their lives. Plus, they learned valuable artistic and technical skills.

he Group Project explored the contemporary phenomenon of marketing pop-ups. Even art museums have joined the trend of creating “Instagrammable” locations on site to promote themselves. Students worked in “art collectives” to design, fabricate and promote a live “pop-up” that functioned as a parafiction, a genre of art that uses fiction as a critique toward a greater truth.

Students LOVED this project. This serves as an example of the kind of student-oriented learning that develops critical thinking skills while fostering collaboration, belonging, and inclusion. 

In all my classes, I set clear learning goals, identify individual learning styles, and encourage an environment that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. I make myself available before and after class and make sure I have mental health support resources on hand when needed.

From their very first impression of me, I want each student to feel they are known, seen and valued. When possible, I’ll send out introductory questionnaires and follow school protocols to match each student’s name with a picture. That way, I can recognize them by name on the very first day of school.

I spend a lot of time getting to know them, and I remember the details. I truly believe in demonstrating care for my students by fostering an authentic interest in them.

I also feel it’s important to challenge my students to take creative risks, reframe mistakes and develop growth mindsets. I want all my students to feel relaxed and free to express themselves. That’s why humor and positivity are such vital ingredients to my teaching style.

During my 15 years teaching art, I’ve worked with kids across all spectrums of learning. I know full well there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching. If a student is having difficulty, I approach the situation as a behavioral scientist rather than a behavior judge. I prefer to evolve my methods and pedagogy. My classrooms promote social-emotional learning, of which I am the role model.

One of the most salient takeaways from this unprecedented time is that caring matters. It is not such a soft skill, however. It takes work, it’s an effort and it’s not always easy. But the reward is that it has brought clarity to the value of interdependence on a global, national, and local level.

I demonstrate care as an educator by being prepared for class and bringing a warm, calm and organized demeanor that promotes creativity. 

Care also means actively learning from and collaborating with my peer faculty, not only within my department, but across the campus. It’s understanding a school’s support structure and developing strong relationships with parents ( before college.)

After all, a school is a dynamic structure wherein the activity and practice of caring is effusive to developing a students lifelong love of learning.