Philosophy of Teaching Statement

My name is Jeniffer Sams and I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida.  I have had the

advantage of living in several cities, affording me the opportunity to experience various

cultures, explore numerous museums, as well as appreciating the uniqueness of each

locality.  Additionally, the fortunate circumstance of being able to travel to other countries

has further broadened my perspective on culture, art, history, environmental concerns,

museums, and life.

I have completed all my coursework in Curriculum and Instruction, Art Education at

Indiana University for my EdD. I completed my Master’s degree in Art Education at the

University of Florida on August 10, 2012.  I graduated from East Tennessee State University

in May 2010 with an Interdisciplinary Bachelor's degree in Art History and a minor in

Education from East Tennessee State University.  

My passion for art and education began late in my life and in a quite ironic way. I

was on a path to a Business degree while working as a manager for a Fortune 500 company

when my coursework required me to take Art Survey as an elective. I was dreading this

course because I wanted to complete my business coursework and be done with school. Up

until that point, school was a means to an end, not a journey. I fell in love with art during

the first week of the Art Survey and continued with more art history and education courses.

This began my love of learning, love of education, and love of sharing what I had learned.

Over my years of studying art, education and art education, I had the privilege of

several amazing professors who showed me, through modeling teaching practices, what it

means to be an amazing educator. They inspired in me the desire to continue improving my

teaching style. My goal and hope is to foster the same love for life-long learning in my

students that my professors sparked in me.

Teaching future educators, future art educators, and FYE students in a highly visual

and complex society and world is important to students and future employers. Visual

literacy and education make connections between art and other core curriculum courses

such as history, culture, and technology. The arts, and as such, visual literacy provides a

vehicle to an informed understanding of visual culture and the ever-expanding global

community’s visual culture. Educating for visually literate students and future teachers

who are able to decode and read the vast amount of daily visual language and art which are

present in our visual world is one of the passions in my teaching. Another reason I am

passionate about teaching the arts is because I want to share this amazing and beautiful

world of art. The intricacies, beauty, history, politics, science, and creativity of art are

amazing and I love to share that information with students and the community.

My primary goal as an educator includes helping students develop increasingly

complex and sophisticated cognitive structures for comprehending the course content. My

intention in visual literacy and the arts is to increase students’ knowledge about the

capabilities of art to bridge verbal, cultural, gender, racial, and socio-economic divides. I

utilize teaching strategies designed to challenge my students as well as to help them

connect theory and practice to increase meaningful learning experiences. Students in my

classes learn to apply their content knowledge through increasingly complex scaffolding of

activities including readings, lectures, reflections, lesson planning, studio work, and

discussions that all lead to a culminating project at the end of the semester. I also believe

strongly in providing a nurturing environment for students to explore the knowledge they
are gaining and develop their insights, perspectives, and understandings of the content in a

manner, which is helping them develop their self-efficacy and fosters confidence in their

work.

Continual learning and research are imperative in accurately and successfully

teaching course material to my future students. I participate in state and national

professional art education organizations including the National Art Education Association

(NAEA), IU Education Honors Society, and the Arts Education Association of Indiana

(AEAI). Continually updating professional skills and participation in and attendance of

conference presentations assists in developing my current understanding of new research,

best practices, and teaching developments. Part of continuing to learn is being part of the

larger community outside the University.

I participate in community events and here in Georgia, I created and developed Eco-

Art Exhibitions in conjunction with the Sustainability Council at Georgia College, Shades of

Green Symposium at Georgia College, and Earth Day Events in Milledgeville, Georgia. By

involving students, professors, peers from other Universities, and artists from all over the

country, I have formed and strengthened connections between education, practice, and

community.

The excitement I have for the arts, my students’ education, community, service, and

art translates into projects and education which results in reciprocal learning opportunities

for the students, community, and me. As I continue forward, I will continue to be reflective

in my teaching, bridge theory and practice; continue developing bonds with the community

and students; and work toward research with the hopes it will further the education and

art education field.