Teaching Statement
Consider the impact of print design, film, radio television, the internet on our U.S. society. Media can affect dress, language, mannerisms, gender and race roles, war and peace. Media designers affect and are affected by society. Often through our craft, we are required to interpret and reshape concepts within popular society.
Within this framework of social affect and responsibility, I feel that an understanding of social theory and a process of inquiry can affect how people make media and the message they create. I want there to be more informed and responsibly aware media makers and designers. I want them to have a critical eye, a language and an aesthetic, and also have a command of the practical tools to create their own high-quality media pieces.
I hope to be a significant contributor to the next wave of media makers through my teaching efforts. As a teacher, I try to encourage my students to be critical thinkers and innovative media artists. My teaching responsibility begins with a personal philosophy that informs pathways of inquiry, is student-centered and grounded in the idea of creativity, social constructs and humanity. I am most influenced by the writing of DeCerteau and Massumi and the nature of the rhizome. In teaching and making media, my focus is on the interconnectedness of beings and events, creating opportunities for sharing and learning in the classroom; focusing on unlocking students' levels of awareness and consciousness, encouraging critical thought and nurturing creative expression through media design forms.
Teaching is a live and bright experience, for me and for my students. The classroom should be a safe space for exploration, mutual learning and personal growth. Although I usually construct and present clear course objectives and a well-organized syllabus, I dedicate time into the course for student review and input. I invite students to be invested in their learning outcomes, and play an important role in the collective learning environment. Together, I hope that we create a structured learning environment that is a safe space, physically and mentally, for exploration, experimentation and growth. What is the key element is a dedication to relationship-building. In my classroom, I work hard at making sure students have a chance to develop relationships with each other. Especially when teaching software applications or design elements I encourage my students to bring in real-life projects. I found that students learn more about each other and become invested in each others' projects as well as their own. Typically I will use these real-life projects as case studies throughout the course. As a working designer, I also rely upon my professional experience to inform some aspects of my teaching. I have been able to solve many technical and production problems and questions and open up additional opportunities for student projects. One student wanted a particular effect with her newsletter project. It was a matter of a paper choice, which she happily went to a commercial printer and brought in her new sample swatches to class. I hope students will learn from some of my exploits and it will inform their own media making.
I have had challenges as a teacher where I have learned difficult lessons. I taught a one-day seminar on Photoshop. A female student who was a beginner was placed in an advanced class. She blamed me when in fact it was an administrative error. I tried to cater to her needs, but it was difficult to balance the class. I didn't want to compromise the learning of the other class members but I also wanted the struggling student to come away with at least some basic knowledge. My solution was during times when the other students were working on their personal projects and I as moving from desk to desk, I would backtrack and show the beginner student some of the Photoshop skills. I talked with the students after class. They were mostly satisfied with what they had learned. The female student was very belligerent and decided to complain to the administration about their error. The other students were annoyed with the beginner student, because she was belligerent with me. I was glad to hear that the other students did feel satisfied in their learning experience. Their expectations (and the course objectives) had been met.
My objective as a teacher is to help students be informed, more socially aware and responsible media makers and designers; proficient, innovative and successful in their craft. I try to instill in my students a passion and a responsibility in making media, and the knowledge of theory and practical tools in order to create and disseminate their messages. I want my teaching efforts to be one of the experiences my students carry over into their future lives as media designers.
ASSESSMENT AND GROWTH
I work hard at developing relationships with my students, colleagues and clients. Hopefully I inform them, but they also inform me. I rely upon this community to help me make good decisions, hone my craft as a media maker, a teacher and a learner. Clients that I have worked with, and developed ongoing relationships with have given me feedback and offered me opportunities for mentorship and growth. Through my producing work in theater and the performing arts, I have brought together a community that assists me in the creation of my own media work and development. Students and departmental colleagues are a part of this growing community that I rely upon for evaluating and assessing my effectiveness as a teacher and media artist.
Most of my evaluative methods have been face-to-face feedback interviews with colleagues, clients and students. In more formal classroom experiences, I see the value in mid-term student evaluations. It is important that the course is progressing in a manner where the students are achieving their goals and learning and implementing the material. Listening to student comments, relying upon the advice of colleagues and working professionals out in the field, and remembering my own learning experiences--all these are methods I use to assist me in becoming a better teacher. Although I have no written documents to include at this time, I hope in the future to employ more tangible written evaluations that I can use as documentation of a process I have been rigorously engaged in throughout my life as an artist and teacher.
