It is the goal of my Art program to introduce art to the students in a fresh and interesting way. I help students acquire knowledge, skills and creative techniques, that they can apply to all other classes as well as their future careers. Many of our projects are made from recycled materials or are upcycled. Students learn about contemporary artist like, Tim Burton, Andy Goldsworthy, and Maximo Riera. I believe that we learn by doing. My approach to teaching art is based on hands on project based learning. The projects are all three stage, first the students research a chosen Artist and related techniques, then they conceptualize and design their ideas on paper and discussion, they then create their art based on their design, finally they share their creations with the class and reflect both verbally and in written form. All the students get to grade themselves based on the project criteria; however I get the final say in the grading. I feel that this hands on approach works well for sparking creativity while maintaining interest and focus in a student centered classroom. One goal of my class is to have students realize their hands are magic and are very capable of helping them develop a career. The skills and techniques we implement in my classroom with help my students build their personal toolbox which will benefit them in their future endeavors.
