The ROle of Service Learning
During the Spring Semester of 2018 I had the opportunity to explore concepts specific to art education through ART325. Until now my education classes have been more broadly based as I have been in classes with students from many different disciplines. This was the first time I was able to be surrounded by other education students and receive instruction about education specific to the artistic experience. The focus of this class was to explore modes of visual expression that influence students of art; children, adults, as well as learners that require differentiated techniques. For five weeks of the class I taught a class of adult special needs learners with three other women from my class. We designed lesson plans each week that would encourage our students to participate in a genuine artistic experience and enable them to express their interests and identities through artistic creation. By collaborating with other education students as well as experiencing real-world teaching, I learned a lot about how to be a successful teacher and developed my own philosophies and pedagogues behind teaching. Specifically I saw a shift in my ideas about my role as a teacher from a deliverer of knowledge, to a facilitator of my student’s personal expression and problem solving. I also learned a lot about the importance of a student-centered classroom and an environment tailored to freedom of expression as well as catered to the many different learning modes and capabilities of students. One of my biggest take-aways from the service learning experience was the knowledge of how to adapt to the differing cognitive levels and physical abilities of my students and my hope is that this knowledge will transfer to my future classroom.