Teaching Philosophy
I teach by listening;
I teach by talking;
I teach by supporting ideas;
I teach by challenging assumptions;
I teach by imagining new possibilities;
I teach by grounding concepts in specific contexts.
As a teacher in a dynamic creative discipline, the content of my teaching is constantly evolving. Yet there are a few constants that define my professional practice. A constant: creating an environment where all students are empowered to be themselves, to contribute to the conversation, and to express themselves creatively. This means that support is always at the front of my mind. Simple interactions like greeting students by name outside of the classroom building, or genuinely asking about a student’s involvement in a club, often make the difference in their willingness to seek out help and advice. Although I am nominally an instructor, I am also always part mentor, part guide, part sounding board. When I listen closely to a student’s health problem affecting their attendance, or give advice on the best approach to a complicated lighting design, I know that I am building trust and mutual respect. My teaching is built upon my relationships of trust with my students.
Another constant is my standard for academic rigor and professionalism. As a working artist myself, one of my goals is to ultimately prepare students to work professionally. While my specific technical and creative goals for my students vary from class to class, I know that every student leaves my classroom understanding key components of professional behavior: to show up on time, to work in a team, to voice opinions. This emphasis on professionalism guides my class policies; students know that class time is crucial, and absences or tardiness affect their final grades.
Students in my classroom attest to a third constant: my attention toward fostering creativity. As an instructor, my job is to shape and guide students’ vision, not to color their creativity with my own ideas. Feedback and critique are therefore invaluable in my classroom. I make this a priority during class time, though it can take different shapes. In my Introduction to Studio TV class, we spend an entire class period pitching, workshopping, and conceptually revising final projects, letting students experience the ‘group think’. In my advanced Partnered Studio Production class, on the other hand, groups do this externally before pitching to their commercial partner. This brings the concept of critique and improvement from the academic sphere into a professional environment. The frequency of these experiences in my classroom familiarizes students with giving and receiving critique.
Finally, every one of my classes works to balance cinematic storytelling with technological mastery. It is easy for students - or teachers - to get caught up in technology for technology’s sake. But I believe that it is important to understand the underlying processes that make up “cameraness,” and to give students time to learn the details of different technologies. Over the past 5 years of teaching, I have come to find a balance. In my cinematography classes, for example, I specifically teach 16mm film cameras to illustrate the consist nature of optical apparatus. While the particulars of any technology will change, the foundations will remain; light, optics, shape, color, and exposure have always been foundational to cinematic craft. My students learn these tools to make meaning through creative storytelling.
These four constants - an empowering environment, a standard for professionalism, a focus on creativity, and a balance between technology and voice - define my work both inside and outside the classroom.
I teach by talking;
I teach by supporting ideas;
I teach by challenging assumptions;
I teach by imagining new possibilities;
I teach by grounding concepts in specific contexts.
As a teacher in a dynamic creative discipline, the content of my teaching is constantly evolving. Yet there are a few constants that define my professional practice. A constant: creating an environment where all students are empowered to be themselves, to contribute to the conversation, and to express themselves creatively. This means that support is always at the front of my mind. Simple interactions like greeting students by name outside of the classroom building, or genuinely asking about a student’s involvement in a club, often make the difference in their willingness to seek out help and advice. Although I am nominally an instructor, I am also always part mentor, part guide, part sounding board. When I listen closely to a student’s health problem affecting their attendance, or give advice on the best approach to a complicated lighting design, I know that I am building trust and mutual respect. My teaching is built upon my relationships of trust with my students.
Another constant is my standard for academic rigor and professionalism. As a working artist myself, one of my goals is to ultimately prepare students to work professionally. While my specific technical and creative goals for my students vary from class to class, I know that every student leaves my classroom understanding key components of professional behavior: to show up on time, to work in a team, to voice opinions. This emphasis on professionalism guides my class policies; students know that class time is crucial, and absences or tardiness affect their final grades.
Students in my classroom attest to a third constant: my attention toward fostering creativity. As an instructor, my job is to shape and guide students’ vision, not to color their creativity with my own ideas. Feedback and critique are therefore invaluable in my classroom. I make this a priority during class time, though it can take different shapes. In my Introduction to Studio TV class, we spend an entire class period pitching, workshopping, and conceptually revising final projects, letting students experience the ‘group think’. In my advanced Partnered Studio Production class, on the other hand, groups do this externally before pitching to their commercial partner. This brings the concept of critique and improvement from the academic sphere into a professional environment. The frequency of these experiences in my classroom familiarizes students with giving and receiving critique.
Finally, every one of my classes works to balance cinematic storytelling with technological mastery. It is easy for students - or teachers - to get caught up in technology for technology’s sake. But I believe that it is important to understand the underlying processes that make up “cameraness,” and to give students time to learn the details of different technologies. Over the past 5 years of teaching, I have come to find a balance. In my cinematography classes, for example, I specifically teach 16mm film cameras to illustrate the consist nature of optical apparatus. While the particulars of any technology will change, the foundations will remain; light, optics, shape, color, and exposure have always been foundational to cinematic craft. My students learn these tools to make meaning through creative storytelling.
These four constants - an empowering environment, a standard for professionalism, a focus on creativity, and a balance between technology and voice - define my work both inside and outside the classroom.
