Teaching philosophy

As a bilingual art educator and a woman of color, I strongly believe all students should feel empowered. I strive to provide a positive and inclusive learning environment that is catered to my students’ interests, experiences, and backgrounds. Through building relationships and practicing effective teaching strategies, I can reach all learners!

I believe inclusion is crucial to make sure students feel represented in all my lessons. Art leads itself, naturally, to provide an outlet for expression and representation of universal perspectives. It is important for inclusion that all students are represented and learn from different cultures. Most importantly, providing an inclusive environment works towards tearing down biases, stereotypes, and builds respect for others. Ultimately, this helps prepare all students to be life-long learners and feel empowered in their community.

As an art educator, I demonstrate a facilitator teaching style. This helps me promote my students’ self-learning and critical thinking skills through diverse art projects that will help students grow through self-actualization and self-efficacy. While empowering students through art education, I believe the constructivist theory is crucial to encourage students to be active participants in their own learning. Engaged in an active learning process, students can use their past experiences to create artworks that express their own unique reality. This provides a more engaging experience in the art classroom as students create art that is personal and individual to each student.

In creating a safe, productive learning environment, I strive to display a warm demeaner. I want to encourage my students step out of their comfort zone. It is my goal to build courage and confidence in my students so they feel safe to create and take risks in the art-making process. Helping them believe in not only themselves, but also their peers, is an invaluable life-long learning tool.

Being a reflective practitioner is crucial as an educator. Consistent reflection allows me to learn and cater my lessons to best meet my students’ needs. Whether it’s taking the time to reteach, provide extensions, or alter a procedure, being reflective will help me be a better art educator and allow my students to grow as much as possible.

I have learned how to incorporate a variety of strategies in the art room, including Kagan Cooperative Learning Strategies. I believe students can learn so many lifelong skills and working as a team is necessary to be productive members of society. My class management strategies are based on building relationships with students and setting high expectations for all. Holding students accountable and teaching them how to be honest and own their behavior aligns with my goal of instilling self-efficacy and respect. For students with diverse learning abilities, it is very important to recognize their positive behaviors and encourage them to keep trying and provide  adaptive materials to help them be successful.

I understand that students are a combination of their experiences, their environment, and their education. I believe being a mom, my life experiences, and my education have given me a unique set of skills and strengths that can help students become successful, life-long learners, and productive members of their communities.