My personal goal is to develop the pedagogy that will inspire students to think critically and to facilitate creativity, change, narrative, and meaning through art and design. My approach is to access a blending of technical skills, design principles and constructive critiques and to engage them in critical thinking. They learn by example that having a strong work ethic, and understanding of professionalism will help enable their success. I strive to encourage and provide a higher level of creatively through research and hands on hard work that will allow my students to leave fully capable and with confidence as they hopefully move seamlessly into the real work world.
Professionalism, Foundation, Real World Experience I bring with me a learned professionalism and commitment that comes from years of dedicated hard work, technical exploration, continued art education, and real life work experience. I have a solid understanding of how to work with tight deadlines and a high caliber of client and expect my student to rise to the occasion with the same fervor that helped me become successful with my career. In order to teach successfully I feel it is important to be immersed in the practice of what you are teaching. And to this point I continue to work with clients creating informational graphics, web design, page layout, as well as spend time creating large digital and mixed media paintings. I continue to stay up to date with the changing technologies, continue to create pieces that can be showcased in how to books, and consult with other professionals to learn the new trends. Technology continues to change at exponential speed. Execution of creative works can be limited by one’s technical skills so it is important to get the students started right and teach them to adapt to the changing tools and give them a solid foundation of design principles. With that collection of skills, the student has the ability to express creatively and freely.
Communication and Delivery It is necessary to have thoughtful and clear communication. So for each exercise we work on, I communicate verbally what my expectations are and then give additional support by presenting examples, tutorials, relevant readings and other pertinent resources. I typically will produce a written outline to expand on the in class demonstration. If available I use an on-line delivery system as well. I strive to communicate in a way that allows students to feel comfortable with the tools and the setting. I routinely present past student work to inspire new students to challenge themselves to create work at a higher caliber then they thought possible. If a student's work is not up to the level of the others I will take time to work with that student. If a student has successful work I will try to critique in a way that other students learn from the piece and that the student can improve their own work.Critques and revisions are woven into the curricumlum. I have a strong belief that students learn better in a relaxed environment. So although I expect a tremendous amount of sophistication and excellence from the work my students give me, I remain flexible with the learning curve as well as try to instill a light atmosphere in the classroom. I personally have always instilled a strong work ethic from myself but also enjoy having some fun in the process. I have a strong propensity for the use of positive reinforcement as a tool in the classroom. With guided positive critiques, students find that with more time and effort the work can always be improved. My goal is for each student to leave with portfolio of professional quality work.
Commitment to Education and the Goals for the Students After each semester ends, new ideas emerge on how to improve the core curriculum and so courses are continually redeveloped and refined for better delivery to meet the needs of new technologies and challenge the students in a growing and competitive field. Being available for students is important so I routinely impress upon the students that they should take advantage of my time and contact me whenever they need to about whatever they need to. I also let them know that I am available for in person meetings for extra help if the need arises. Lastly, it’s always sad when students move on but I am fortunate that many ask to remain in contact. With the new social medias it is easy to do this and I am able to keep up with present and former students on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.