PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

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Four overarching goals guide my pedagogical approach:

1. to motivate students or participants to take ownership of their learning process;

2. to foster a peer-learning environment that allows students to best integrate their learning experiences, by seeing each other and themselves as valuable learning resources;

3. to model an atmosphere of respect and inclusiveness, allowing space for all participants to contribute to the collective learning experience, and;

4. to provide students with a well-articulated and relevant set of challenges that will inspire them to meet learning goals and seek further challenges with confidence.

 

These fundamental goals have been developed over twenty years of teaching experience in a number of arts-based, post-secondary contexts, as well as through formal academic certification in Adult Education. Teaching is a professional practice that I am deeply invested in. Fostering scholarship is integral to my practice as an artist, prompting and vitalizing my own research impetus.

 

PAST TEACHING EXPERIENCE  

My excellent teaching record has been gained through extensive experiential learning and multiple modes of professional development. I have built a significant teaching dossier alongside a lively professional art practice, while completing academic qualifications and spearheading community-based initiatives. I have worked across numerous disciplines, and developed a variety of curricula using diverse methodologies, including: art, design, craft, communications, technology, science, art history, architecture, arts administration and more.

 

I understand that instructing learning material is just one part of the educational experience; equally important is demonstrating engagement with educational material in ways that make it relevant and meaningful. It is important to me that topics and media are examined with equal attention to methods of technical execution, as well as to conceptual implications and relevant critical questions. Inter- and trans-disciplinary research and creation is something I model as a vital mode of new knowledge production.

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COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

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I have worked in partnership with a wide variety of marginal communities over the past twenty years, as an artist, educator, writer, arts administrator, advocate, ally and volunteer. Through these experiences, I understand that a commitment to diversity is rooted in practices of care and that student well-being and learning are related interests.

For example, keeping circumstantial learning obstacles in mind provides additional insight and allows for making small adjustments in order to ensure that all students are able to gain the most from their learning experiences. Therefore, I make it a priority to be knowledgeable about resources available to students outside of the classroom, in order to highlight support for learning and prioritize well-being.

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My teaching approach typically leans towards non-hierarchical or horizontal modes of knowledge exchange, in order to foster individual and community-level access and ownership in determining and meeting objectives.

My experiences have also shown me that practice-led education can contribute towards development of both autonomy and collaborative skills, as well as deeper awareness of impactful sociocultural matters.