Teaching Philosophy
Creating an environment where vulnerability is safe is vital to allowing students to make work that is personal and transformative. I want students to feel they have agency in their educational environment, so they feel more invested in contributing and participating in it. Part of that process is introducing all class documents, critique guidelines, student responsibilities, and class communication guidelines as agreements with an option for students to collectively amend them. I present the process as a fun creative experiment with the ultimate goal of discovering and meeting our needs as a group. While often initially overwhelming, introducing students to examples of past requests and addendums makes them feel more confident in asking for what they need.
Learning and responding to the individual needs of students is crucial when the work they are making is personal and they each have unique expectations for the outcome of their education. Students are used to academic standards privileging one type of student, and one type of learning. I practice trauma-informed instruction that seeks to uplift students from avoidant tendencies and shame that keeps them from excelling. At the outset of the term, after discussing the parameters of the course, I ask students to set personal goals. Twice per term, I have students compare the work they make to the goals they set and write an analysis of their progress. If students have goals or interests outside of what I have planned, but within the context of the course, I offer additional tutorials on the topics of their interest where possible. This exercise brings students’ individual goals into focus and gives them a greater sense of the potential for achievement beyond meeting the class criteria.
When I give students the agency to set their own metrics for success, they succeed beyond any metric I could prescribe. Using the Grading for Equity guidelines pioneered by Joe Feldman, instead of scoring students on highly subjective criteria like participation, I score them on the work they objectively accomplish. To further support this, My students’ original grades may be replaced by re-taking tests or resubmitting improved assignments. Learning is not a race, it is a life-long practice.
I want my students’ goals for themselves to be ambitious, and to facilitate that I show them contemporary examples of people from all walks of life excelling in the arts. When I introduce artists for discussion, I emphasize the work of contemporary artists from marginalized communities. I steer the conversation away from the notion of the artist savant so we can dissect success as an artist on a person-by-person basis. Students need to see themselves in the material, and in the professional world awaiting them to have the drive to succeed and encounter strategies for doing so.