My Teaching Journey at BGSU 👨🏫
Just over a year ago, I dove headfirst into teaching ARTC 2210: Digital Imaging as a Graduate Teaching Instructor at Bowling Green State University. As a second-semester MFA student, I was a complete newbie to higher-ed teaching, but I jumped at the chance. Three semesters later, I’m so glad I did! This experience has been way more than just sharing my digital art knowledge; it ignited my passion for pedagogy and helped me realize that teaching is absolutely where I’m meant to be. 🚀
Issues I Faced
Stepping into the classroom with no prior higher-ed teaching experience presented some immediate challenges:
🤯 Translating Expertise: I was deeply familiar with digital imaging tools, but demonstrating them to absolute beginners in a way that made sense was tough. What seemed intuitive to me could be overwhelming for someone seeing Photoshop for the first time. Often, I’d show multiple ways to do something, only to realize it was more confusing than helpful for a novice.
generational_gap Relating to a New Generation: When explaining complex ideas like Artificial Intelligence, I quickly learned that my pop culture references (like “The Terminator” from 1984) didn’t land with Gen Z or Gen Alpha students. Their cultural touchstones were entirely different.
🤔 Connecting with Diverse Learners: It became clear that every student perceives information differently. In a lecture, you need to be able to improvise when a student is struggling, but understanding their unique way of thinking, interests, and future goals on the fly was a skill I had to develop.
😴 Combating Monotony: I personally dislike boring classes, and I certainly didn’t want to be “that guy” who talks for an hour straight, does a demo, and expects everyone to follow perfectly. Building a dynamic, engaging classroom atmosphere felt like a daily challenge.
How I Overcame Them
These challenges became opportunities for growth:
✅ Simplifying & Focusing: I consciously shifted from showing “all the ways” to finding the most straightforward and effective method for beginners. I learned to break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps, always asking myself: “If I’ve never used this tool, what’s the clearest path?”
🍿 Relevant Examples are Key: I started doing my homework on what resonates with current students. For AI, I’d bring up “The Wild Robot” (2024) or current popular culture references. This instantly hyped them up and made them more interested.
🤝 Empathetic & Personalized Approach: I made an effort to understand each student’s perspective. This involved actively listening, asking open-ended questions, and sometimes even researching their cultural backgrounds or linguistic nuances to bridge understanding gaps. I realized that to help them, I needed to understand their learning-language.
🎉 Building a Dynamic Classroom: I focused on creating an interactive, relatable, and trustworthy environment. This meant breaking the ice daily, making myself approachable, and using appropriate humor (authentic to my personality, of course!). The goal was for students to feel safe enough to ask questions, even “silly” ones.
What I Learned
This experience transformed my understanding of education:
💡 Getting it done is different from demonstrating it. My personal expertise had to be adapted for a beginner’s mind.
🎯 Appropriate and relatable examples are crucial for explaining complex ideas effectively.
🫂 Every student is unique in their perception and expression. Effective teaching requires improvisation and understanding their individual needs and goals.
🤸 Nobody likes a boring class. Engagement, humor, and relatability are vital for fostering a positive learning environment.
🌱 Teaching is about empowerment, not mastery. It’s about making students realize why they need to learn something and identifying what’s stopping them. Like Mr. Han (Jackie Chan) focusing on Xiao Dre’s attitude before the fighting in “Karate Kid (2010),” my job became assisting their self-discovery.
My Achievements
Beyond the invaluable lessons, I achieved concrete progress:
🎓 A much better understanding of student culture and interests in a higher-education setting.
📚 A deeper knowledge of pedagogy in Fine Art specifically for university-level instruction.
🎤 Significant improvement in my communication skills and the development of a more confident public speaking personality.
I’ll never forget the anonymous feedback from my very first teaching evaluation: “You should learn how to teach!” 😅 Ouch, but fair! I took it seriously and worked hard. Fast forward to my last evaluation, and I received feedback that truly resonated: a student shared that they made friends from different majors in my class, and that the class was fun because they could interact freely, share ideas, and learn from each other. 🥰
Conclusion
Creating that kind of safe, respectful, and collaborative environment for students from diverse majors and backgrounds is, to me, the biggest achievement of all. This journey at BGSU has been incredibly fulfilling, solidifying my passion for teaching and setting me on an exciting path for the future. What have been your most rewarding teaching moments? Share in the comments! 👇
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