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Samantha Marroquin - Teaching Philosophy
As an artist and educator, I deeply value higher education in the arts and other disciplines. Broadening the scope of student learning, I am committed to engaging with students in multiple ways that help them reach their goals. While teaching art techniques, materials, and art history, I encourage them to communicate their vision in art. Focusing on this foundational exploration, I urge students to explore their values and critical thinking skills. It is my goal to implement a welcoming and supportive learning environment for all students, of diverse multicultural, socioeconomic, and academic backgrounds.
Providing students with a strong foundation of basic techniques and knowledge of materials is an important part of the learning process. While teaching basic skills and art techniques, I provide a comfortable platform for all students to understand the visual language. Training learners in perceptual awareness, and personal artistic vision, I lead them to deepening their relationship to art. Giving them the visual tools to express themselves, I am a mentor and guide to help them become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
Using hands-on techniques in the classroom such as brainstorming, conceptual prompts, use of sketchbooks, group drawing exercises, word play, use of collage, and much more, I intend to help them think outside the box. I instruct formally, exploring line, shape, form, space, value, color, and texture, and then teach how to effectively break all the rules. Ultimately, taking risks in their approach, they will begin to develop their own language and style in their creative development and critical thinking.
All students are different in the ways they learn and what motivates them. Meeting each student where they are in terms of learning styles, abilities, and needs is a priority. Through instruction, demonstrations, guidance, and one-on-one teaching, I provide every student with the opportunity and support to meet their own aesthetic goals. Developing individual connections with students is just as important as building a bond with the class as a whole. Through different approaches to lessons, my goal is to enable and help students discover their own artistic voice.
It is also important to recognize the cultural and financial challenges students face. As an educator I focus on creating a welcoming and supportive environment for all students. I encourage them to explore the diversity of influences they have in their lives and bring that into their classroom practice.
Facilitating group discussions I give students the opportunity to develop their critical skills. When completed thoughtfully and positively, these conversations help them provide concrete feedback to one another. Learning the language regularly used in the art sphere through discussions and constructive dialogue allows students to visually analyze their own work. Building self-awareness, this process improves cognitive development and creative reasoning. My goal is to empower students to eventually reflect on their processes and evaluate the visual elements they employ.
Preparing students for the challenges presented in everyday life involves education that reflects an understanding of the communities and world in which we live. In an interdisciplinary society, students will use the skills and problem-solving approaches from my teaching in other areas of study and in their future careers. I encourage my students to build their own life in art, get involved with the community, and be aware of what is happening in the world around them.
The importance of studying and acknowledging art history as we move forward is a critical element. We cannot teach students to hold a piece of charcoal without looking at the ancient cave paintings of our ancestors. In the same manner, it is impossible to discuss contemporary abstract painting without acknowledging the contributions of post World War II expressionists and how their life and times influenced their art. Training students to look at the past and the present provides the tools to become lifelong learners.
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