“Effective urban educators are Innovative Practitioners who are able to demonstrate the ability to problem solve, develop ideas, and use creative methods.”

What does ‘Innovative’ mean?

Merriam-Webster’s Learners Dictionary defines the word “innovative” as: having new ideas about how something can be done. In my own art, as well as in my role as an educator, I am constantly searching for new ways to do things— it is a necessity in our always-evolving world.

One success I’ve had with regard to innovation is illustrated by the below ‘Tutorial Videos.’ Prior to beginning a Color Theory Unit with my high school Art Foundations students, I recorded myself completing the color chart assignment. The first video runs through the steps of setting up the color chart, and focuses a lot on measuring and layout. The second video illustrates the paint mixing and application. My plan in the classroom was to play these videos, rather than demonstrating live, giving me the opportunity to re-play any part of the video as many times as needed. In addition to this, I was able to provide my students with links to the videos, so that if they needed more time on a section, or wanted to move ahead, or missed a day of class, etc, they had all of the instruction at their fingertips (or accessible via a classroom computer). One final bonus to this method was that my hands were freed up to help students all throughout the class period - the video made it almost feel like there were two teachers in the classroom during this lesson.