Teaching Philosophy

My role as a teacher is that of a mentor. I believe it is critical to encourage students to experiment with their media and creativity. Design students do not always look past the present to see what they can accomplish in the future by going out on the proverbial limb. Without mentoring, the drive to experiment can fade as students feel the pressure to maintain the current mold/fad/design/technique of the present.

Mentoring requires availability. An open-door policy for discussion, review, critique, encouragement etc. allows students to feel accepted and valued within a program. It is just as important for a student to have the ability to create a rapport with an instructor as it is for teachers to hone that student’s talent and confidence.

My philosophy is that creative growth occurs when an individual feels the confidence to experiment. With that confidence will come success, but sometimes also failure. As a mentor I create space for equally honest and respectful dialogue about why a success or a failure happened. In my experience this kind of dialogue helps students move forward, taking the positives from both experiences and fostering a growth mindset. 

Mistakes happen. With mistakes, students often experience frustration. With good mentoring, mistakes lead to growth, and with growth comes improvement and innovation. When students see a positive experience come out of a mistake, they have grown as a designer. My job is to encourage innovative and critical design thinking from each student, helping them realize that design is a collaborative process. Working as if students are “on-site” at a design studio allows for experimentation, collaboration, creativity, dialogue, critique expression, innovation, success, and, above all, confidence.

Mentoring, built on the bedrock of teaching, fosters relationships that grow confidence and allow for innovation and experimentation, as well as the ability of students to self-critique and strive for the limits of what they can both imagine and create.

As I envision it, my job is to nurture the designers of the future, preparing them to use critical design thinking and to be ready for the ever-changing career of design and visual communication.