Methods & Philosophy | leslie-makes

Teaching Philosophy

Learning should be interactive, playful, and multidisciplinary.

21st century students need teachers who can empower them to make tough choices in a fast paced, diverse, information driven world. My multi-disciplinary approach to art education in inspired by P21's "Framework for 21st Century Learning" as well as STEAM and Choice Based/TAB pedagogical models.

My objective is simple: to teach children of diverse ability and background how to become innovators and globally aware citizens. My approach to teaching emphasizes collaboration, critical thinking, cultural literacy, communication skills, and visual culture. As an art teacher, I teach traditional and new media art-making skills, and utilize technology and STEM content in my studio classes. As an educator in regular classrooms, I emphasize arts integration, place, project, and student lead learning, and the intentional, mindful use of educational technology.

I believe in blending playfulness with discipline; my lessons should spark curiosity, build skill, inspire confidence, and develop self-discipline and growth mindsets. My lesson planning employs universal design and differentiation to target multiple intelligences and make learning accessible to students with diverse needs. My motivation for teaching is my passion for inspiring and empowering others to become lifelong learners capable of tackling complex challenges and creating the future of their dreams.

Gamification

I "gameify" my classroom by creating incentives, superimposing settings, and creating charts, counters, and tokens to track goals and mark activities. Learning is incentivized and made relevant when students can see their progression and intangible accomplishments are made visible.

Learning becomes an adventure, and students begin to personally invest and take responsibility for what happens. It engages many modes of learning, requires the use of multiple intelligences, and inspires collaboration and communication. Gamification not only makes learning more fun, but it also makes it more personally meaningful. It helps with classroom management, too!

Brain Based Education

My lesson planning, teaching methods, and objective selection are rooted in research supported facts about the way student's brains learn best.

Contemporary neuroscience teaches us that lecturing is the least effective method of teaching. My art classroom incorporates experiential learning, hands-on experimentation, problem solving tasks, student choice, and allows students to encounter learning in a variety of contexts.

I use techniques and principles from Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Teaching for Artistic Behavior, Mindfulness, Place Based Learning, Ability Based education and many more, letting my student's needs and talents guide my instructional method.

Art Education

Artistic expression, understanding visual culture, and creative problem solving are critical skills for the 21st century. This is why I have chosen to focus the bulk of my teaching career on art education and arts integration. No matter the subject, I empower my students to become keen observers, powerful communicators, mindful members of their community, creative thinkers, and sophisticated makers.

My education, experience teaching, and personal practice as an artist allow me to teach more than the principles and elements of design. I teach students to use their learning to create contextually connected artwork and to use art making as a form of research and inquery. I use art to help students understand and communicate big ideas and personal stories.

Whether I am in the studio teaching painting, or in a regular classroom teaching science, artistic discliplines, ways of seeing, visual culture, and developing creativity factor heavily into the way I teach.

Technology

I use technology intentionally. Either as the best tool for a specific purpose or to allow for a more connected, deepened, or individualized learning experience for my students. I'm proud to call myself a geek. Perhaps that's why I am so passionate about teaching others how to use technology effectively.

I can build a computer by hand, solder LEDs to a circuit board, troubleshoot software issues, and create websites and apps using JavaScript, HTML, CSS, scratch, and snap! I'm the "app queen" ("There's an app for that" - ask me, I bet I know the best one to use). I'm an iOS, Mac, PC & Google Apps 'power user' and I love sharing this knowledge with others.

The biggest challenge facing technology in the classroom is the teacher's skill level with the devices and software they're using. My knowledge allows me to make the most out of advanced features, while passing this knowledge on to my students and colleagues! I want my students to be empowered, responsible digital citizens well equipped for life in the 21st century.