I start with the students and the prior knowledge and beliefs that they bring to class regarding art. I help students to build bridges linking new content and skills to their prior knowledge and to draw out any misconceptions they may have about the topic that may distort their learning. I expect students to be curious, to act upon their own intellectual initiative, and to reflect on their own learning with the skills and knowledge that they have at their current level of development. Thus, I view my role as one of exposing, stimulating and nurturing my students’ own mental elaborations of knowledge by helping them grow in their capacity to monitor and guide their own thinking and learning. In short, I help my students to learn how to learn.
As a teacher of art and design I have three goals. The first is to provide my students with the necessary technical skills and knowledge of materials. This aspect of my teaching addresses the concept of “craftsmanship”.
My second goal as a teacher is to introduce my students to the idea of visual analysis, both with regards to their own work and that of others. Students are taught a number of aesthetic systems of analysis with which to judge their work in visual terms, for instance: the analysis of visual components; the analysis of composition; the analysis of colour theory; the elements and principles of design.
Thirdly they become more independent by learning to think carefully about all decisions they make, with regard to materials and technique and to relate these decisions to a historical and theoretical context. Most importantly they learn to formulate conceptual objectives for their artwork; as far as the class is concerned their work will be judged according to these goals that they have set for themselves. While the class assignments provide a general starting point, I emphasize that their work should above all else be personal, and that the process of actually creating the work can teach them something that they didn’t know when they started. The piece that they planned to make will inevitably have been changed by events during the course of it’s physical realization, when this happens their work is talking back to them, so one piece will lead to the next. My goal here is initiate an on going body of work that is both an expression and a means for development of their ideas and interests. This is how art can become a part of their lives, and this is the first step towards becoming an artist.
As an art teacher educator, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. I set an example by continuing to be a student of Art, of teaching, and of learning. I always endeavor to do the very best I can in the classroom, never forgetting the influence I have on my students who will become future teachers themselves. I instill in them an enthusiasm for Art, for teaching, and for learning by the enthusiasm I bring to each lesson.
Victoria Mc Elhill 