My philosophy of teaching stems from my appreciation and

passion for making Art. I feel that teaching is about guiding and
encouraging students in order to facilitate their self-discovery,
talents, creativity and interests.
Through teaching and engagement with students my aim is to
instil and encourage an appreciation of art and design as well
as to stimulate an excitement for making art.
I also believe that it is important to have an authentic
knowledge of what you are teaching, which for an Art, Craft and
Design teacher means having an active artistic practice also.
In addition to creative abilities, I believe a good teacher is also
a good leader who encourages students, is helpful,
understanding and compassionate which helps to nurture
creativity.
Regarding my philosophy of learning, I feel deep learning
happens when students can relate curriculum content to their
previous and current knowledge and experience. Through
observation and reflection I feel authentic learning happens
through a process whereby students acquire factual knowledge
and then begin to question and synthesize these ideas and
apply concepts, which in turn stimulates the thought processes.
I reassure students that all learning includes making mistakes,
therefore risk-taking, experimentation and sometimes failure
are all a part of the broader process, particularly in creative
subjects where divergent thinking can nurture creativity and
fun.
Both my philosophies of teaching and learning inform my
beliefs, teaching style and approach which include and
incorporate practical demonstration and experiential learning. I
like to show practical examples in order to generate
enthusiasm and excitement when undertaking a task.
I also advise and encourage students to draw upon the
everyday, as I feel it engages the critical and imaginary thought

process in a practical and direct way. Through utilising

questioning
and
discussion
frequently,
I
encourage
engagement, thinking and ideas from students. I encourage
students to reflect and write upon their own work in progress.
I feel that forming good relationships and communication with
students are important. Can creativity be taught or can it only
be encouraged? How does it manifest itself? These questions
are core to my aim when I teach.
In achieving learning goals, I want students to gain good
practical skills, critical and creative thinking abilities, passion
for their subject, and an interest and enthusiasm about art.
These goals are met when students voluntarily do extra work
on their own initiative, show an interest by researching
themselves, engage during class, and develop their art work
and ideas beyond initial expectation. My aim is to help students
incorporate the artistic and creative process in their personality.
In planning for inclusion and diverse learning styles, I vary my
teaching methods and activities, I try to make a project
relevant to the individual for example; allow students to play to
their learning styles and strengths. I vary my teaching methods
and structure of class depending on what students I have.
My understanding of teaching has changed over time through
the experience of working with students, reflection on my own
teaching, observing how other teachers relate to students, as
well as questioning how learning takes place.
Initially I viewed teaching as transmitted knowledge and
factual, however through experience I have discovered that it
means a lot more than that. I have also begun to identify with
learning theories through relating them to my teaching.
The discovery of Piagets constructivist learning theories made
me realise the potential of how art and design can be taught as
well as what I was trying to achieve. Piaget theorises that
children attach meaning to experience, this then becomes
knowledge. Piaget stated that
True interest appears when the self identifies itself with ideas or
objects, when it finds in them a means of expression and they
become a necessary form of fuel for its activity

This approach suggests that discovery learning can fuel

creative development. In my teaching order to achieve this
instead of always lecturing, I like to pose and direct questioning
to
encourage
students
to
come
to
conclusions.
John Dewey is the second theorist who has begun to influence
my teaching philosophy. He emphasises that learning is socially
and interactively based.
Dewey suggests students possess four elements, the wish to
communicate with others, a constructive impulse in making to
things, an instinct for investigation, and an expressive impulse
to create. In school, these aspects are shaped through the
social processes of learning, by interaction with peers, making,
examining, and reflecting on art while also creating new ideas
or art products.
With these points in mind, collectively, my teaching philosophy
is informed by my beliefs, experience and knowledge, However
my development is ongoing and continually influenced by new
ideas and experiences.
As a curricular subject, other subjects as a whole do not offer
such a wide range of skills to be developed. Art as a subjects
offers students design skills, craft skills, as well as creative and
imaginative development. It allows personal, individual
development; students are required, able to express
themselves, invest personally
Ultimately, I feel that Art and Design is important in
contributing to the creativity, innovation and enhancement of
society. Examples include crafts, public art, the built
environment, and media and design.