Wayne State University
Effective
Urban Educator
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Innovative Practitioner
Effective urban educators are Innovative Practitioners who are able to demonstrate the ability to problem solve, develop ideas, and use creative methods.
​Being an effective art educator means that I use innovative practices in my classroom everyday. The art room is a great place to be innovative because we need to come up with different ways to reach all of our students- especially now in the online environment. Something I’ve had to do is adapt to teaching online by using different platforms to keep students engaged, and using technology to our advantage for projects and experimenting with different forms of digital artwork. I’ve also had to keep in mind that students don’t always have the materials we want them to use, So I’ve had to be innovative in creating interesting/fun online lessons that students can complete with a variety of materials. Beyond making adjustments to working online, I like to push my students to experiment and find what materials they like to use. One of my biggest things I like to incorporate into teaching is allowing choice for students. I like giving them themes, like “identity”, and letting them use whatever materials they want to explore. This helps them to think like an artist. I think that every student has the ability to find a medium they enjoy, but they can be held back by being limited with the lesson.
Committed to Equity for Diverse Learners
Effective urban educators are committed to meet the needs of a diverse population.
Classrooms are contexts in which we serve students who are diverse in many ways. Our students bring to the classroom a richness of diverse languages, cultures, sexual orientation, gender identities, religions, and abilities.I am committed to creating a classroom where diversity is celebrated and every student has an equal opportunity to succeed. The art room is a great place for students to explore diversity and express themselves freely, and it is meant to be a safe space for students to share. For many it is a therapeutic place to relax and let their feeling loose in their art. My job as the art teacher is to facilitate this expression, and make my classroom a safe environment for all students.
Some ways I am committed to equity in the classroom are in the lessons I teach and how I teach themI love to incorporate art history into my lessons, and I show a diverse group of artists from around the world who use a variety of styles and mediums. I want students to be able to relate to the art and artists. I also make sure to include a variety of ways to get the information to them. I know virtual learning is hard and there's many other factors that are affecting students' learning like poor internet connection and having people around them. I give them access to the powerpoints I made, and make demo videos so they can watch the lesson again if they need.
