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Teaching Philosophy

life long/Memories

“Learning is how you acquire new information about the world, and memory is how you store that information over time,”

says Eric R. Kandel, M.D., vice chairman of The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine for his work on the molecular basis of memory.

My teaching philosophy is based on instilling memories; memories that will enhance the acquisition of lifelong learning skills.

I strive to construct a teaching environment that is friendly to discussion and questions, where students are encouraged to develop problem-solving strategies and lifelong learning skills. The basis of my teaching style is to encourage students to take responsibility and learn at their optimal level. I believe students need to learn to teach themselves, so learning will continue outside of the classroom. To accomplish this, I strive to impart the best and most current scholarly research, develop specific objectives within each course, and utilize appropriate assessments to determine if learning has occurred. Throughout this process students are scaffolding new ideas onto prior knowledge, learning from each other, practicing designer’s work and actively participating in community design activities.

I feel the structure of the class needs to foster a personal approach to conceptual problem solving processes by using critical, analytical and perceptual skills. These processes will develop a vocabulary of fundamental design principles through experimentation and be used to balance classroom learning with practical design applications. This teaching style specifically encourages a desire to broaden students’ views and expand their abilities to conceptualize and formulate ideas. The analysis and reflection of lectures and critical thinking exercises strengthen the students with qualities that will prepare each of them to facilitate ideas confidently in formal or informal settings. My passion for design will help to communicate these learning concepts and promote a greater knowledge and appreciation for the arts.

In summary, the primary role of a teacher is to encourage the minds of the students to think critically and develop a framework that will enhance lifelong memories (learning).

ANDREW DENNIS BAKER

FUTUREPROCESS

The structure of my courses are designed around a classroom environment that is conducive to learning. This is done through a combination of methods, understanding students do not learn in the same way, providing students a variety of teaching styles, and/or providing appropriate accommodations for my students as necessary.

The approach I use is to seek out methods that would respond to the many levels of intelligences. The assignment actives are focused on clarifying initial lesson objectives, the evaluations from students and peers help guide this process. Additionally, I frame the process of information around the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concept. Each course focus on the following teaching strategies:

lecture, cooperative learning, direct instruction, discovery, and discussions.

CREATIVITY

CREATIVITY NOW IS AS IMPORTANT IN EDUCATION AS LITERACY AND WE SHOULD TREAT IT WITH THE SAME STATUS.

Sir. Ken Robinson

BUILDING MEMORIES

DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL SKILL SETS TO THRIVE IN THE NEW AGE.

INFORMATION

AGE OF KNOWLEDGEABLE LABORER

LAUNCH INTANGIBLE

CONCEPTUAL AND CREATIVE

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  • CONTRIBUTION

    TO DIVERSITY

    My teaching philosophy focuses on building a learning environment that fosters a personal approach to conceptual problem solving processes by using critical, analytical and perceptual skills. This teaching style specifically encourages a desire to broaden students’ views and expand their abilities to conceptualize and formulate ideas. This includes bringing awareness to diversity, and the impact diversity has on design.

    I have taught both at a public and private institution, and I have been fortunate to work with a mix of student backgrounds and varying levels of expertise and abilities. I highly value the blended learning environments and I teach to encourage individual expression within an atmosphere of mutual support and engagement among the learners. I continue to develop lessons that enrich the local community, promote awareness of cultural diversity, and critical think about multicultural issues. A few examples are as follows:

  • Design around the theme of tolerance: The goal was to weigh conflicting data and set personal professional priorities

  • Ecological concerns: The goal was to develop informed decision-makers, focus was given on the ecological concerns of designers

  • Social community: Students’ had to demonstrate their ability to recognize how visual images presented in mass-media can be selected and designed to present ideas in a way that promotes a certain point of view

  • Research papers: Included global and contemporary art/artists

  • Cultural event papers: Provided the opportunities to see regional contemporary and international artwork

    I am strongly committed to teaching to all levels of student diversity the techniques necessary to produce quality portfolios, to think critically and promote awareness of cultural diversity and multicultural issues.

The processes of both design practice, and design education are fascinating, and essentially coincide.

ANDREW DENNIS BAKER

I teach the way I practice, confronting my own individual work with applied methods such as semantic, syntactic and pragmatic to produce effective visual communication that contribute to the greater good of society.

ANDREW DENNIS BAKER