Teaching Philosophy

My philosophical approach to art education is that I am an artist first, and a teacher second. This does not mean that I place less value on teaching, but that my teaching can only come from my own creative practice. I strive to constantly be creative, in both my practice and in my teaching. Everything that I aim to teach students stems from my own artistic practice and my personal experience of having a rich community of practice.

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The ecofeminist ideologies present in my work prevail in my teaching. I aim to open students’ eyes to societal issues that have an impact on them, such as feminism and environmentalism. I implicitly, yet almost exclusively, provide students with female artist references, trying to combat the fact that women have been excluded from art history books, included as a footnote, if at all. In art history, women have always been seen as secondary, if not ignored, seen only as a muse. Fostering empathy for the environment is also a key aspect of my teaching, striving to bring students into their local natural areas, making work in response. An example of this can be seen in my body extension sculpture unit of learning where students started by going into the natural environment around their school to gather source material. This project concluded with a performance element where students brought their pieces back into the environment to create a further connection.

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I believe in a constructivist approach to learning, where students are introduced to innovative learning experiences. Arends (1998) states that the constructivist approach lies in the personal construction of meaning by the learner through experience, influenced by the interaction of prior knowledge and new events.

 

My philosophical approach to Art Education is that learning should be student centred. I believe that students should be at the centre of everything that I do, building on their previous knowledge for life-long learning. I see myself not as a dictator, but as a facilitator, aiming to generate curiosity within my students, igniting their thirst to learn more. I want my students to be able to use the information and problem-solving skills learned from my class, to help them in other classes and in everyday life.

 

The four pillars of student-centred learning that I believe in are active learning, collaborative learning, experiential learning and problem-based learning. Active learning relies on the exercising of critical, high order thinking through creating, discussing, analysing (Ott et al. 2018). Collaborative learning focuses on peer-group and whole group activities, teaching not only content but also communication and team skills (Zheng et al. 2014). Experiential learning emphasises reflection and criticality, used for more abstract concepts (Clark et al. 2014). Lastly, problem-based learning is achieved through introducing students to broad issues and allowing them to formulate solutions and ideas (Gijbels et al. 2005). This is done by utilising a broad range of learning and teaching techniques such as self-directed creating, group analyses, peer-collaboration, and problem solving. These four modes come together in my classroom to create an engaging and highly student-centred environment. The student is at the centre of all practice.

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My student-centred approach to teaching aims to move away from the norm that places all emphasis on achieving high test scores. I am of the opinion that it is more important for students to be able to think for themselves and display criticality and creativity. A teacher-centred approach focuses on the teacher transmitting their knowledge to students; however my preferred approach focuses on the students and their ‘doing’. This is achieved through making, reflecting, and collaborative goal-setting. These activities allow for self-expression and communication between me and the students, with emphasis on self-assessment and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

 

Students are encouraged to generate their own ideas, not me, seeing me as an advisor, not a leader. Students share their ideas with me, and I offer suggestions, working as a team. This approach allows students to take ownership of their learning, learning for themselves rather than to achieve a good grade. This approach fosters intrinsic motivation within students, ultimately leading to students achieving their own personal best, because they want to learn and improve. I see the importance of giving students freedom, as this is believed to increase engagement and enthusiasm. A democratic classroom would allow students to take control of their learning, giving them autonomy to decide how their projects could look.

One study found that students’ wants were simple, looking for an input in programme design (Coulter et al., 2020). I tried this approach with fifth year students previously, where I gave them a concept, but left the outcome open-ended. This meant students could pursue a process that they felt best portrayed their concept.

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A key aspect of my teaching is having a reflective practice. I really see the importance in reflecting on each class to see how teaching went, and to assess what changes can be made to improve student learning. Without reflective practice, teachers are prone to replicate ‘ineffective teaching strategies’ (Braun & Crumpler, 2004, p. 61). I think without reflecting, teaching becomes stagnant, and students will lose interest. As a teacher I aim to be adaptable, constantly changing my approach to teaching when faced with obstacles. I think it is important to constantly be adapting my teaching practice to suit a specific group of students. I teach students to reflect on their work after class, so I also see the need to reflect on my own work, in order to improve. 

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I strive to create a positive and fun learning environment where students can excel. The values that I foster in my classroom are respect, kindness, creativity. I want my art room to be a safe space for students where they can be themselves and express themselves in whatever way they can. This requires mutual respect, students must respect each other and me, and vice versa. I think this comes down to fostering a good relationship with students. I think this is important as students shouldn’t just respect me because I am a figure of authority, but because I also respect them, and have built a good rapport with them. Having such a rich community of practice in my own life, coming from a vibrant studio in college, I see the importance of fostering this within my students. Because of this I emphasis a collaborative environment where students share ideas and converse freely when appropriate.

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In line with my constructivist approach to education, I see the importance of bringing students outside of the classroom, in order to broaden their understanding of visual culture and of social and community issues. I think there is great scope for learning outside the four walls of the classroom. This is in line with the constructivist approach, which highlights the impact that environment can have on learning.

 

I see the importance of introducing students to gallery spaces in their area, and immersing them in creative spaces, introducing them to local artists.

Gallery education is a valuable learning method that’s importance cannot be underestimated. Not only will this inspire students but also help develop their critical thinking skills and help them appreciate art. It is imperative that students develop critical thinking skills at a young age which will help them with self and peer-review. My units of learning, where possible, tend to include gallery visits, or walks when relevant. An example of this can be seen in my '100 Women of Limerick' unit of learning, where I brought students around Limerick City, using the 100 Women of Limerick app, which was an engaging start to the project. This was followed by a talk from author of '100 Women of Limerick', creating a well-rounded unit of learning that both got students out of the classroom and brought a person of interest into the classroom. 

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It is important to view the arts as a ‘vehicle for learning’, instead of seeing it as a means to an end, a way of learning new skills without backing them up with meaning (Addison & Burgess, 2015).

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All of these ideologies come together in my classroom to create a safe space for students to express themselves. Learning is student-centred and aims to constantly build on previous knowledge, and set students up for future learning. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning, lending to intrinsic motivation and achieving personal bests. As a teacher I strive to constantly reflect, adapt and improve my teaching practice to guarantee rich learning for my students.

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Reference List

Addison, B., and Burgess, L., 2015, Learning to Teach Art and Design in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience (3rd Ed.). London: Routledge

Arends, R. I.(1998). Learning to teach. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw Hil

Braun, J. A., & Crumpler, T. P. (2004). The social memoir: An analysis of developing reflective ability in a pre-service methods course. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 59–75.10.1016/j.tate.2003.09.006  [Crossref] [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]

Coulter, M., Scanlon, D., MacPhail, A., O’Brien, W., Belton, S., and Woods, C. (2020) ‘The (mis)alignment between young people’s collective physical activity experience and physical education curriculum development in Ireland’, Curriculum studies in health and physical education, 11(3), 204–221, available: https://doi.org/10.1080/25742981.2020.1808493

Gijbels, D., F. Dochy, P.V. Den Bossche, and M. Segers. 2005. “Effects of Problem-Based Learning: A Meta-Analysis from the Angle of Assessment.” Review of Educational Research 75 (1): 27–61. doi:10.3102/00346543075001027

Konak, A., T.K. Clark, and M. Nasereddin. 2014. “Using Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle to Improve Student Learning in Virtual Computer Laboratories.” Computers & Education 72: 11–22. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.013

Ott, L.E., T.S. Carpenter, D.S. Hamilton, and W.R. LaCourse. 2018. “Discovery Learning: Development of a Unique Active Learning Environment for Introductory Chemistry.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 18 (4): 161–180. doi:10.14434/josotl.v18i4.23112

Zheng, L., J. Yang, W. Cheng, and R. Huang. 2014. “Emerging Approaches for Supporting Easy, Engaged and Effective Collaborative Learning.” Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences 26 (1): 11–16. doi:10.1016/j.jksuci.2013.10.002