Return to Learn with The Art of Education University
Art teachers around the world have gone back to school in a variety of new capacities. While some are teaching students in-person, many are teaching remotely or in a hybrid model of in-person as well as remote learning.
Perhaps more than ever, teachers are thinking outside the box and providing their students with new experiences. Many are sharing their ideas from these first few weeks of school through social media. Users are able to see examples, ask questions, and interact with fellow art teachers on apps like Instagram.
How 5 Amazing Art Teachers Are Making the Most of This School Year
1. Mrs. Moen, @artofteaching
Mrs. Moen is a public high school art teacher. Her Instagram, @artofteaching, is full of useful ideas, examples, and honest reflections. In short, she’s inspiring and keeps it real! Moen is also very generous in sharing resources online. Her Instagram bio line features a link to her Google Drive with public folders dedicated to distance learning, quarantine sketchbooks, student zines, and more.
Recently she shared her example of a media scavenger hunt, inspired by Phil Hansen’s TEDtalk. She created a number of marks using traditional media, like: pencil, highlighter, and Micron pen, at the top of her paper. At the bottom she has a variety of unconventional media examples like: lipstick, corn powder, and blueberry. Moen captions the work, “…cause we all need to ‘seize the limitation’ right now.”
Without a doubt, Moen will continue to seize the limitation and create wonderful experiences for her students. She is a great source of inspiration to add to your IG feed!
2. Miss St. Leger, @paintwithsaint
Miss St. Leger is a public elementary art teacher. Her Instagram page is a continuous scroll of colorful and practical ideas for the art room. She creates eye-catching graphics for her student handouts and classroom displays. St. Leger incorporates a lot of contemporary artists into her curriculum with fantastic results from students.
As remote learning became her new reality, St. Leger created and shared several examples from her Google site, Bitmoji classroom, and more. One of her recent posts shared a clever idea for starting class in Google Meets. She created a slide that welcomes students with classroom expectations, a list of supplies needed for that day’s class, and an automated five-minute timer to countdown to when class would start.
Miss St. Leger shares practical content art teachers need. She also has a knack for creating age-appropriate lessons that introduce elementary students to contemporary art. Give her a follow if you haven’t already!
3. Mrs. Fox, @mrs_tfox
Mrs. Fox is a high school visual art teacher. She teaches classes in drawing, painting, and AP Studio Art. She is an art curriculum designer. Her Instagram page showcases the phenomenal work of her students. She has been sharing examples from distance learning as well as resources and an art teacher survival guide.
One of her recent posts shares a student’s “I AM” board project. The mixed media work is from Mrs. Fox’s Drawing 1 class, where she encourages students to collage and experiment with pen and ink techniques. The project is a perfect way to begin the school year and get to know your students. Each project serves as a visual representation of the individual student. Mrs. Fox’s resources are thorough. She includes PowerPoint presentations, printable student directions, rubrics, and more.
High school art teachers are a rare find on Instagram compared to the larger communities of elementary and middle school teachers. If you teach high school, give Mrs. Fox a follow for inspiring new ideas!
4. Mrs. Latimer, @thebusybrushes
Mrs. Latimer is an elementary art teacher. You can’t help but be inspired by her Instagram page. She offers lots of great ideas for the art room. In addition to teaching elementary students, Latimer contributes to the Anti-Racist Art Teachers website. She is passionate about teaching her students diverse and inclusive lessons.
Latimer is currently teaching students in-person. If you need ideas for decorating your face shield, she has you covered! She also recently shared a preview of a fifth-grade lesson about the contemporary artist, Derrick Adams. She reminds her followers to search the artist tab on the Anti-Racist Art Teachers site to learn more about Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) artists.
In addition to project ideas and daily life in the art room, Latimer shares artist interviews with contemporary artists like Cbabi Bayoc and Ajay Rathod. She is actively working to help mold students to be loving, global citizens of the future. Follow Mrs. Latimer for inspiration and great resources!
5. Ms. Hunt, @heliasvisualarts
Ms. Hunt is a private high school art teacher. On her Instagram page, she shares resources on organization, art kits, Google Classroom, and more. She links access to her Google Drive, that includes information on projects for each of her classes. She also provides a link to recommended books for art teachers.
Ms. Hunt is teaching in-person and started the school year off with a project she titled, “The You Starter Kit.” She asks students to imagine that someone wanted to be them. Students need to think about what clothing the person would need, what movies and music the person would need to obsess over, etc. to truly become them. Students are to illustrate their starter kit by drawing objects, logos, and words that describe their interests and personality. The drawings are done in pencil first and can be completed with ink or color.
This is a great beginning of the year activity to get to know students. Ms. Hunt shares lots of great project ideas like this that focus on technique while encouraging individual expression. Follow her page for more inspiration!
Final Thoughts
Many art teachers find themselves lacking a peer community in their school district. Meetings and conversations at school rarely focus on an art-specific curriculum or teaching strategies. Social media can be a great place for art teachers to find that sense of community. Teachers can share ideas and communicate about issues only art teachers can understand.
This year has been challenging for everyone in education. Now more than ever, teachers need to lean on each other for ideas, resources, and support. Give these five teachers a follow for new inspiration!
Return to Learn with The Art of Education University
Who are some of your favorite art teachers to follow on Instagram?
Where are you turning for remote learning ideas?
What has been your most successful remote learning lesson?
Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.
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