It’s hard for me to say what my views on engaging with learners are as I have never really thought of myself as an educator. I am first and foremost an artist. I want to move people with my work.  If I have communicated the feeling I desired to then I have succeeded. That being said, a great deal of my work has attempted to teach the viewers about lesser known figures from history. I wanted to teach them, but not simply hand it to them on a silver platter. I needed to provide the viewer with enough information that they would want to continue researching on their own.  So my approach will always tend to be very hands off. I prefer to let the viewer interpret. And if they don’t come to my conclusions I am satisfied knowing that they came to their own conclusions, that it might have triggered their own train of thought to something I may never thought of. I would consider this adding to my artwork rather than detracting from it. They are enhancing it. I would want my work to be able to stand without anyone having to say anything to the viewer. So I follow more hands off learning strategies. Personally I like to do extra research. I like when I’m given the bones of the story and have to find the rest on my own. It’s fulfilling to me that I am able to contribute to the story in a way.

I position myself as an educator through my work. My thoughts and feelings have been channeled into the work itself. Every decision about color, composition, and content wholly contributes to what I  am trying to teach the viewer or open up to them. Not a single item should seem out of place or not make sense according to the singular message. This is done so that I don’t need to be there trying to prompt the viewer to ask the right questions. The work should be able to stand alone so that I don’t have to physically be there and no one is needed to prompt questions. The whole point of my work is to prompt the viewer to ask questions about it. I don’t need them to know my explicit answers. If my project is about a lesser known historical figure and a viewer finds it interesting I want them to research the person on their own. I feel that the discoveries made in this manner are more fulfilling as they have found them on their own. For me as a viewer, researching information to supplement an artistic piece I’m looking at is like finding golden nuggets of information that I want to share with the world. I want to inspire that in others. To encourage it in an abstract way. It all hinges on my hands off approach.

I believe that museum educators play a very important role. Being able to teach the audience without spelling it out for them is a difficult thing to do. This may be a very naïve point of view but I feel as though designers should work more closely with the museum educators and curators. Juxtaposing the correct objects or arranging them in such a way as to create a cohesive meaning might make a museum educator’s job a bit easier and more efficient. I think that the museum educator is important in facilitating groups and making sure the correct information is given to the docents as well as training them in the proper learning strategies. But I believe that maybe some of the educators should focus on ways to educate without having to be there constantly. I think it would be extremely beneficial to all parties if educators were to think of creative ways to allow the viewer to glean the information without physically having to be there. For me that detracts from the experience sometimes. I would rather walk around by myself and be able to get just as much info as those on a tour group would. Technological enhancements like augmented reality and VR have helped a great deal with this. But I would argue that there might be other ways.

My goal is to be able to create a work of art that will for the most part be able to stand on its own. I will not need it to be explained. The artwork would be made with the goal in mind to encourage the viewer to research on their own.  I want to pique the interest of the viewer so much that they will not be able to go on without doing a bit of research of their own. Most people have very short attention spans because of technology. If I am able to snap their attention long enough to foster their interest then I might be able to encourage them to look it up on their own through that. I want them to appreciate the fascinating stories that I have found and use in my art. There are so many out there. So many people whose stories have fallen through the cracks and been forgotten. I want to bring these stories to light and encourage others to see the beauty that they could have so easily missed had I not done the research. That maybe through them doing their own research, through being curious, they could find something, someone’s story too.

The ways of teaching that I think would facilitate my philosophies are ones that are more hands off in nature. Object based learning could be one way of teaching that coincides well with my thoughts. Being able to focus in and perhaps use augmented reality applications on objects to trigger content would create an interactive object based experience for the viewer. Most importantly the viewer would be drawing conclusions from using their senses and their minds to really focus in closely on it. It would be more of a hands on learning and investigative experience.  This is something I try to encourage in my own artworks.

In the future I intend to finish a thesis that is based upon object oriented meaning making. I will be looking at how we construct meaning through objects. I want to visualize what that connection might look like in  a more abstract way. The challenges I face are in creating a work that is not didactic. I tend to want to show an event verbatim as it would have taken place in real life if I am referencing it. But that cuts any story making I would want to do or any liberties I would want to take out of it. Overall I struggle with abstraction and am very nervous about doing it as I have so rigidly stuck to realism thus far. It may be time to step out of my comfort zone, but it will be very challenging to do so. In the far future I hope to be able to work for an animation studio where I can use my artistic skills to help tell stories. Getting there in itself will be quite challenging.

Activities

-family center activities, printmaking

-free baby tours- encourage visual literacy in babies

Toddler Time Tours- multi sensory experience with works of art

-free monthly programs to provide meaningful museum visits for people experiencing the early stages of memory loss and their companions.

Guest presentations, Glass programs public demo

Wine tastings

TMA Masters Series -consists of public programs featuring world-renowned artists, scholars, musicians and others who are invited to share their knowledge and talents at the Museum. Held in the grand Peristyle Theater

Art classes and workshops

Family Flashlight tours

Veterans glassblowing event

Gallery Gear- Three new activity kits provide fun ways for parents to talk about artwork with children aged 2–8. Each Gallery Gear tote bag provides hands-on learning experiences inspired by one of three works of art:

• The Architect’s Dream by Thomas Cole (Main Museum)
• Egyptian burial case for Ta-Mit (Main Museum)
• Counterman-Dinerby Emily Brock (Glass Pavilion)

Families take the totes to the galleries where they read books related to the theme of the artwork and explore creatively using various multi-media materials. A parent guide provides suggestions on how to engage children to look at works of art in new ways.

Art Classes, glass art workshops

Scholarships

Reference library

Resources for educators

Teacher professional development

Museum Philosophy

The museum places an importance on visual literacy and community activity.  The museum’s aim is to teach people to learn by seeing.  They are doing this through tours and programs that encourage people to develop a visual understanding. They don’t favor digital learning, but they do seem to allow for some tactile education. They also provide visual language workshops, classes, tours, gallery experiences, hands-on activities, and lectures all focused on visual learning.

They seem to be aiming for families, children, and teachers who want to learn more to ways to encourage visual literacy. They place a great importance on teaching and learning how to look at and comprehend art.

“Our purpose is Art Education.  We teach people to learn to see by engaging with the collections of the Toledo Museum of Art.  Under the umbrella of art history, we engage people with visual culture and methods of seeing including the formal language of art, iconology, ideology, semiotics and hermeneutics.”

Teaching Staff

At the museum they have a director of education, manager of curriculum, docent program manager, family center manager, manager of studio programs, education and engagement coordinator. It seems as though they have a fair amount of people devoted to education. This is evidenced by their many programs focused on ways of encouraging visual literacy in different age groups.

Targeted Age Groups

The types of activities that the museum has hint at the fact that there are many families and children within the community. It’s reflected within the programs that are offered.  The programs expand from baby programs to that of programs catered to those with Alzheimer’s. All are meant to encourage visual learning and foster a sense of community. They are encouraging an atmosphere of learning through classes offered and programs that pay attention to what families find stimulating. Like the flashlight after dark tours. (Something that has largely been popularized due to Night at the Museum).