The Teaching Artist

Catalog description

An increasing number of arts institutions, community based organizations, schools and colleges are recognizing the important role of the arts as an essential part of the educational process. The course will introduce students to the basic issues implicit to the collaboration between artists and teachers in an educational setting. It will examine the different perspectives from which artists and teachers often view each other and their work; and will encourage students to identify the common ground that exists in respect to both aims and processes. It will introduce students to some of the fundamental pedagogical issues that confront teachers and artists alike (e.g. the role and relative merits of didacticism, self-discovery, creative expression, freedom, discipline, structure, and cultural relativity etc.) and equip them with some practical strategies and approaches to such tasks and challenges as defining objectives, planning lessons, leading discussions, general classroom management, and the maintenance of a productive learning environment.