TESTIMONIALS
As Manager of Teacher Initiatives, I teach educators strategies for integrating the arts into the curriculum, while reaching students with multiple learning styles.
Teacher Feedback
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"I just wanted to share that I have absolutely loved this collaborative lesson planning process. This whole course has been tremendously additive to my teaching practice. I have or will use elements from most of the projects, thought exercises, or group activities we learned about in this class. I feel like my teaching toolbox has been completely refreshed and restocked. Thank you for all the thought, effort, and time that went into creating this resource for teachers. Several of my colleagues have asked when the next session is so they can take the class too!"
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“The instructors were very knowledgeable and helpful. They truly made the course a remarkable experience for me.”
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“This course exceeded my expectations and gave me exactly what I needed to enter into this new position as the arts Integration Specialist.”
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“This course allowed me to step back and evaluate how I use art in my classroom and gave me different perspectives on WHY I should be using art that I had not considered before.”
As an instructor at The Ohio State University, I teach 20-30 students per semester for the course Visual Culture: Investigating Diversity and Social Justice. The course is a second-level writing course and consists of mostly non-art education majors. I received the following feedback from students.
Class Atmosphere
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“Allowing students to speak for themselves and be who they are without any pressure. The atmosphere in the room is very open and accepting.”
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“Interactive and engaging. Allowed everyone to participate. Also touched on a lot of important topics."
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"It was very inclusive of all types of people and focused on diversity in a positive light."
Course Instruction
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“Lots of communication in class. Great feedback from coursework.”
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“Encourage discussion and abstract thinking.”
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“The class interaction and multiple avenues of learning presented by Professor Katz; hands-on activities; comfortable class setting… Understanding much better diversity in the world through powerful visual artworks presented in class, which we wrote about.”
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"Great professor with well thought out materials everyday. Very passionate and nice."
Course Assignments
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“Assignments nicely mirrored course goals by making us consider new cultures and perspectives via art. I learned to be more critical of information I consume.”
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"Every assignment directly related to what we learned in class and gave us a chance to reflect on the material we have learned.”
Student Achievements
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“The course teaches one how to think critically about art and analyze it within a societal context, which is a helpful skill. The course also helps in improving one’s writing skills.”
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“Allowed me to explore and learn more about social justice issues, express my ideas effectively, and critically evaluate sources.”
Many teachers, parents, and schools posted on Twitter about their experience visiting The Columbus Crossing Borders Project at Dublin Arts Council, which included a guided component, artmaking, and self-directed tour using the interpretation tools I designed.
In response to the interpretation I designed for The Columbus Crossing Borders Project (see
Graduate Research to learn more about the interpretation tools), students had the following responses to the interpretation tools.
iPad Interactive
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“I feel like an artist. I see that artists really think about what they need to put on to give a story.”
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“It helped us learn the connections. It helped us [understand] how all the artworks stick together.”
Response to conversation starters
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“It is surprising that people sometimes don’t like refugees even though they help the economy.”
WEBS Activity
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“This activity helped me better understand the challenges and rewards of navigating an unknown space… I related it to my refugee friends.”