I believe that an art classroom should be an open and safe environment. Keeping structure and core ideas but also demonstrating to the students that they have creative freedom, within the core foundations. Step one to giving the students as much freedom as I can without creating havoc would be setting up the class with ergonomics to best fit my school and behavior plan. Having an efficient classroom set up can help with behavior and clean up times with the students (Susi, 1989). I will have the classroom set up so that the students are able to get the supplies they need without having to ask me to get them, this will allow for more experimenting with mediums and creating art freely. I will also create a clear step by step on how the projects can be created in multiple ways of teaching, for example video, physical demo, and written, this will help with learning differences in my classroom. If I want the students to see the freedom they have in the projects, I will be sure to be knowledgeable with the material I am teaching inside and out, to assist with any outside the box questions the students will have. Using the pre-assessment tools like a KWL chart, visual thinking map, and, Frayer Diagram (Fountain, 2014) will aid me in lesson planning and I can learn what the students are interested in, what they look forward to, and what they would like to learn/use in the classroom. When preparing my lessons, I can use different evaluations to help create more student forward projects. If the students have a choice on the projects they create they will be more motivated and excited to create.

I will communicate to the student that making “mistakes” and asking questions is accepted and encouraged when working on their projects. This will assist the students to achieve the goal of student creativity and freedom of expression within their projects. These characteristics are about being vulnerable, which are key components to any art class (Wilcox, 2017). I believe that if I am showing vulnerability in my art making in the classroom, the students will be motivated to show theirs as well. This would mean being comfortable showing my artwork and process in front of the classroom. Showing them my notes on steps it took to get to each thought and idea, that my trial and error in art making is natural and that these steps are beneficial to creating. The reason I teach is so I can share my love for art and share the feeling I get when I create art. The feeling of freedom and being proud of creating something all by myself, using different mediums and emotions is how I want the students to feel when they are creating their own art.

• SUSI, D. (1989). The Physical Environment of Art Classrooms: A Basis for Effective Discipline. In Art Education (Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 37-43). National Art Education Association.

• Willcox, L. (2017). Vulnerability in the Art Room. in Art Education (pp. 11-19). Retrieved from BlackBoard

• Fountain. H., (2014). Getting Started. In Differentiated Instruction in Art (pp. 84-114). Worcester, MA: Davis.