Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Methods
Jason Foreman
Associate Professor of Theatre
Oklahoma City University
12/15/2013
Growth as a Teacher
It has been four years since I last wrote a formal statement on my teaching philosophy. Writing this updated version for my promotion portfolio gives me pause to reflect on the changes I have made to my teaching over that time. I feel that I have grown tremendously as a teacher and mentor. I am more aware of how different students process material at different speeds. I am better at giving them the room to experiment and providing a sounding board as well as a safety net for when they fail. I am more prepared for each teaching opportunity.
I have grown to focus on the progression of material that I am teaching in my classes. I have realized that I’m preparing a foundation of knowledge at the beginning of the semester, then progressing through projects and work that is more and more complex and demanding. The projects are carefully thought out and have multiple steps to fulfill in order to complete the work. After the student finishes the work and it is reviewed, the next project is ramped up in complexity and expectations. This progression is happening within each of my classes, as well as in the foundational courses I teach into my advanced courses. I realize that I am putting a great deal of emphasis on the process of creating theatrical designs; I am trying to teach students to put more emphasis on learning process rather than just on the finished product.
Statement of Teaching Philosophy
I teach students to focus on the process over the outcome.
It is challenging to get students to make the process the priority over the outcome. This is something that I teach in all of my courses as well as on the teaching that I do through the realized theatrical productions. Students are too focused on just finishing the work and with their grade. They often seem to be wired for dissatisfaction with the present and what is in front of them. I believe it is better for them to focus more of their attention and effort on the processes and techniques they are practicing instead of on the results (i.e. the grade) they are hoping for. This will enable students to learn faster, become more successful, and be happier with the outcome.
Focusing on process over outcome is a much better strategy for learning:
- It encourages experimentation – I have found that students are much more willing to take risks and try new things when given the time to try new things. I find that they are more willing to experiment when they are working on the intermediate steps than they would be without them. They can get too focused on trying to make the final outcome perfect.
- It allows them to engage more deeply with their work – Students can experience their creative process more fully when they focus carefully on each step of their work. Having a step by step progression allows them to dig deeper into developing creative work.
- Allows for the ‘Eureka effect’ – I believe the artistic process has to have periods of activity and periods of rest to be most successful. Our subconscious can continue to work on a problem while we’re not focused on said problem. Having a process gives a student the time to work thorough a problem or concept and have an ‘aha!’ moment.
- I can judge their performance over steps rather than on one major outcome – No one is perfect, and some students are more naturally creative than others. I would rather evaluate students over a number of steps rather than putting a high value on one aspect of a creative project.
- Helps them to learn faster – Focusing on the steps in the process allows them to focus on the present, not the future. It will let them experience the things in front of them and experience life more fully. Focusing too much on the end results is often distracting and causes students to expend energy in the wrong places and often procrastinate on the preparative work.
- Gives them more control of their growth – Concentrating on the steps in a process gives someone much more power over their work. It makes things more manageable; students often put too much emphasis on the end result or deadline and allow that to overwhelm them. Emphasizing work on the stages of the process can provide multiple successes along the path to completion.
I continue to have a “hands-on” approach to teaching in my classes. In my design and drafting classes, most of the course work involves projects which require the students to create, draw, collage, and build things with their hands. Projects are worked on both in-class and outside of class so that I can observe and give feedback on their progress. These creative projects range from watercolor and colored pencil renderings to abstract photographic collages representing an assigned emotion to storyboard sketching to hand and computer-aided-drafting to building scale models. These hands-on projects are much more engaging and revealing of a student’s creative potential than written papers and exams would be for teaching creative processes.
Some of my classes have tests and papers which are useful in assessing a student’s analytical skills and retention of the theories of design. In all of my classes, I feel it is important to get the students actively involved and engaged. I try to make all of my classes ‘participatory,’ I value the student’s thoughts and ideas about a play. In many instances I can learn from them just as easily as they learn from me. This is more effective with the hands-on projects. I’ve also assigned projects that require them to get outside the classroom, to draw or take photographs, to do research in the library (instead of just the internet) and to come up with abstract representations of their ideas in collaged and model formats.
I believe that students will be more successful working in an environment where they feel safe to experiment. I create an environment in my classes where students can feel comfortable to try new things, where they can be creative without the fear of being criticized in a negative manner. My design classes typically have a relaxed atmosphere that I think is effective in promoting collaboration and creative thinking. While I still stress and enforce the importance of deadlines, I want the students to feel free to talk about their creative ideas without being nervous, to feel free to express thoughts on a play without worrying if it will be ‘wrong.’ For the most part I find that students excel when given the opportunity to explore ideas and create successful work when they have some freedom.
I impress upon my students that there is a specific time for ‘experimentation’ and then there are deadlines that must be met. I teach my students that to continue to get work in the professional world, they have to be prepared and meet deadlines or else they won’t be working much longer in this industry. They need to know that they cannot expect to get work solely based off of their artistic skills. Their capacity to be reliable and to meet given deadlines is just as important as their creative talents. I reinforce this in each of my class projects by spelling out benchmarks, preliminary due dates and a final deadline for each project. I also have a policy in my syllabi regarding the importance of deadlines and the consequences of late work.
I believe that students must be prepared for the professional theatre environment and standard practices. Given the unique circumstances involved in theatre training, I can reinforce what I teach in the classroom with the production work that we do on stage. Our realized Theatre and Opera/Music Theater productions provide the laboratory to teach students on physical, produced work. Students should have a clear understanding of what will be expected of them in the ‘professional world’ when they graduate from our BFA program. We run the production program as much like a professional theatre company as we can within an academic environment. TheatreOCU is the ‘company’ housed within the School of Theatre. We have numerous professional policies and procedures, modeled upon theatrical unions and regional theatres, contained in our handbook. These protocols are taught in our courses and reinforced on productions.
We expose our students to as many professional opportunities as we can. I can put students into supervised roles on external productions with our professional partners, City Rep, Lyric Theatre, Oklahoma Children’s Theatre, and OKC Ballet in addition to the on-campus productions. This provides another educational experience where students learn how other professional companies produce theatre. Students are carefully assigned positions with our partners, and I still mentor them through the process on those shows.
Teaching Responsibilities
My teaching responsibilities in the School of Theatre at Oklahoma City University involve the training and mentoring of students in the BFA Theatre Design and Production program. I am the principal mentor for the students who are specializing in scenic design. I have three primary teaching responsibilities: 1) instruction of students in my courses; 2) teaching and supervising students in the process of designing scenery for main stage School of Theatre and School of Music productions; and 3) mentoring student designers and artists in their work on a variety of other practical, realized productions. I also have additional teaching responsibilities such as academic advising, recruiting and designing.
I teach foundational and advanced courses in the Theatre Design and Production core. The classes that I typically teach include (the most recent syllabi and course schedules can be found in the appendices):
- THRE 1303 Introduction to Theatrical Design is a core foundation Design/Production course that introduces students to the principles and elements of design as well as introducing them to scenic, costume and lighting design. The course content is comprised of project work, both inside and outside of the classroom, drawing exercises and research and analysis assignments.
- THRE 1603 Technical Drawing for Theatre is a required Design/Production course that teaches students the tools and procedures for hand drafting, primarily technical drawings for theatrical scenery and lighting. The course is structured around producing drafting projects of increasing complexity. The average class size is 10 and is taken by BFA Design/Production majors and minors.
- THRE 2303 Digital Drafting and Rendering is a required course for Design/Production majors giving them an introduction to computer aided drafting and rendering. Students take this class in the fall of their sophomore year. They are introduced to Vectorworks for computer aided drafting, and Adobe Photoshop for photo manipulation and digital rendering techniques.
- THRE 2501 Sophomore Portfolio Seminar is a required course for sophomores to create a traditional and a digital portfolio. Students take this course in the spring of their sophomore year. They learn portfolio development methods, photography techniques, and resume development skills.
- THRE 3503 Scene Design is an advanced course in the study and practice of theatrical stage design. The course is structured around projects of advancing complexity leading to a final project that will prepare the student to design scenery for a main stage TheatreOCU production. Projects include sketching/pre-visualization work, script analysis, paper work, drafting, rendering, model techniques and the creative design process.
Design and Mentoring for OCU Productions
As the Resident Scenic Designer, I design and/or supervise student designers for School of Theatre and School of Music productions (ranging from classic plays to comedies to musicals and operas). I typically design scenery for 1-2 productions each semester. The production work that I do is another type of “teaching environment.” The production team will consist of both faculty and students, who will meet for production and/or design meetings each week leading up to opening. It is often necessary for me to be present in the scene shop and in the theatres during construction and installation of scenery for shows when I am the designer. Many times, students are present as workers helping to build, paint and load-in the sets. There are also numerous evening rehearsals, leading up to opening night, when I will be present with students in the cast, backstage and working as assistants.
I typically spend 4-10 hours per week working on designs. I also spend another 2-6 hours per week interacting with students in the execution and implementation of a design (this can go as high as 28 hours a week, including evenings, during the tech production week). All of these contact times with students are teaching opportunities. I always strive to demonstrate the proper practices, and model the high standards and quality of work that will be expected of the students if they are to succeed when they enter the professional world. Photo and drafting samples from some of my recent design work can be found in the appendices.
I am the primary mentor for the student scenic designers. As the program has grown, we have had more and more students prepared to design main stage Theatre and Opera/Music Theater productions. In those assignments, students are expected to attend design and production meetings with other students and faculty; and they are expected to produce a creative design that meets the needs of the script and the needs of the director. In addition, students must produce renderings and/or models representing their design work, as well as technical drawings that will enable the shops to produce their designs. This is a process that can range from 4-12 weeks. I typically spend 2-4 hours per week (up to 20 hours during technical production week) working with the students in the development and implementation of their designs.
Throughout that period, I serve as the mentor and advisor for the student scenic designer. I teach them what they need to do to be prepared for meetings, how to communicate their ideas to the rest of the production team, the meaning and repercussions of deadlines, and how to come up with creative solutions to design challenges. This process is one of the most rewarding experiences that I have in teaching. Observing a student from beginning discussions to opening night for a show in which their creative product has been realized, and seeing the excitement on their face (and in many cases, the faces of their family members) is one of the many reasons that I enjoy teaching. Sample of some of my student’s design work for the main stage can be found in the appendices.
Additional Teaching Opportunities
I am also the primary academic advisor for the Design/Production BFA majors. I advise the students for their courses each semester and on other items ranging from balancing their course work with their theatre production assignments to counseling them on getting professional theatre jobs for their summer employment. We push our students to go out and get summer theatre jobs, it allows them to learn other processes and procedures and its great professional development.
I am the faculty advisor for USITT-OCU. The United States Institute for Theatre Technology is the national professional organization for design, production, and technology professionals and educators in the performing arts and entertainment industry. We have one of 29 student chapters in the country at OCU. I advise the student officers in management of their organization. I have encouraged and supported OCU students to attend the national conference where there are valuable professional development workshops and career networking opportunities.
Reflections on My Teaching
My teaching evolves and improves with each passing year. Most recently I have become aware of my increased focus and attention to teaching ‘process.’ I believe the steps and the progression through those steps provide the best opportunities for students to learn theatre design. I have worked to shift their focus and energy toward the process over the end product. I believe they will find more success in an environment where they can feel comfortable to experiment and ‘be creative’ while still working within a clearly defined schedule. I teach students to perform at their highest level within a professional theatre model. They have to learn the balance of working in a creative, artistic field while still adhering to professional standards and meeting deadlines. I am confident that I am teaching them these skills at a high level, and I am aware that as each year passes, I will continue to improve my teaching skills.
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