The following collection of images and documents demonstrate my dedication to allowing creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and inquiry to flourish in the high school art classroom. Following the instructional end of my first year in the education program, I feel a heightened sense of desire to share; I want to help people pick apart and restructure information and assist in creating new in-depth understandings about the world in relation to the self (Groen & Kawalilak, in press; Pinar, 2004; Wheatley, 2002). I want students to sense what they are doing is important in a way that transcends traditional knowledge - I want to spark the motivation to produce, discover, modify, and 'be' (Palmer, 1997; Wheatley, 2002).
Art is to be interpreted and reinterpreted with no absolute, and education is the exact same way (Lucero, 2011).
To frame this within my teaching practice, I must concern myself with chance, experimentation, exploration, dynamism, community, participation, and activity; the creation of new relationships must occur for artistic and educational success. (Lucero, 2011). Rather than maintaining a focus on what is, art and education should allow one to consider what can be (Lucero, 2011; Pinar, 2004). By teaching in this way, I aim to help students establish “an intensified engagement with daily life” (Pinar, 2004, p. 37), and thus, the creation of a more open livable space where meaningful learning moments can occur frequently both inside and outside of the school setting (as we know engagement breeds good learning through participation) (Banks, et al., 2005; Palmer, 1997; Wenger, 2000; Wheatley, 2002).
Banks, J., Cochran-Smith, M., Moll, L., Richert, A., Zeichner, K., LePage, P., ... & McDonald,M. (2005). Teaching diverse learners. In L. Darling-Hammond and J. Bransford (Eds.), Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do (pp.232-274). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Groen, J., & Kawalilak, C. (in press). Pathways of adult learning: An introduction to adult learning in personal, professional, and educational contexts. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.
Lucero, J. R. (2011). Ways of being: Conceptual art modes-of-operation for pedagogy as contemporary art practice. (Doctoral dissertation)Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/35/00/3500957.html
Palmer, P. J. (1997). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity in teaching. Change, 29(6), 14- 21.
Pinar, W. F. (2004). What is curriculum theory?. (pp. 4, 15-37, 55, 125). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 226-244.
Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Turning to one another: Simple conversations to restore hope to the future. (1st ed., pp. 126, 132-135). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.