UF Art Education Students Featured in UF College of the Arts In the Loop Publication

Online MA student in art education Miranda Meeks was awarded Kentucky 2015 Middle School Art Educator of the Year by the KAEA. Read more . . .

Laurie Myers (MA Art Education ‘13) received the 2015 Carrie Nordlund Pre-K-12 Feminist Pedagogy Award on March 27, 2015. Read more . . .

Lara Fahlander is not a typical Art Education student.  She takes online graduate classes at UF through the School of Art + Art History’s Online Master of Arts in Art Education program, teaches in Hawaii and lives in Alaska. Read more . . .

2014 MA in Art Education Alumna Laura Keeney's capstone project, Where Are You From? Art Education for Third Culture Kids  was featured in the College of the Arts In the Loop (Jan 15, 2015).

"The experience in UFL’s masters of art education program has been one that I will never forget. I know that I have improved so much as an art educator and my students are reaping the benefits of what this program has done for me. I can only imagine where I’ll be when I am finished next August."

— Bryce Appleton

"Thankfully, due to the high quality of this program, every course that I have taken has broadened my views and practices as an art educator.  Whether I may be taking a graduate course or a workshop at a local art center, I realized how much continuing education impacts my motivation.  Furthermore, I can say without hesitation, the quality of my lessons have dramatically improved."

— Julie Lawrence

"My graduate studies in art education have made me feel more confident and intentional as an educator and an artist."

— Chelsea DeLeõn

"I certainly have grown and developed throughout my studies at University of Florida.  Thus far, I have been exposed to resources and concepts that have revolutionized the way I teach in the classroom.  My graduate studies have broadened my horizons and have benefitted me not only personally and professionally, but most importantly, this program has positively impacted my students."

— Brittany Gofney

"I have been challenged to think critically about important issues, and have grown as an artist and an educator, all while feeding my desire to learn."

— Priscilla Beck

"The professors in this program have role modeled methods, strategies, and different “ways of doing” as new (better) habits for me to develop, especially ways to make learning personal and meaningful."

— Grace Ho

"I was so pleased to have started the program with the studio sessions. It pushed me to believe in myself as an artist. We continue to demonstrate our art in our courses, which provides us with such powerful, visual and experiential resources for teaching and making."

— Samantha Melvin

"Before pursuing my master’s degree I felt complacent and in many aspects uninspired, with the exception of minimal sparks of inspiration, usually at the beginning of the school year, in my career as a middle school art educator. My perspectives have changed in so many ways and continue to evolve, in positive ways, with each course I complete."

— Hunter Rion

"I feel that I have the power to create real change within my classroom and local art education community"

— Alesha Beistline

"I have accepted my role as a progressive art educator, one that evolves with the times, while balancing the knowledge of the past, and one that promotes self-discovery, creative thinking, and meaningful participation in life."

— Nicole McCauley

"Surprisingly to me, I have found a new artistic voice after taking Digital Image, and I am currently in Digital Video. Sketchbook class this summer was just what I needed for my studio work, but I have a newfound love for Photoshop and feel I have been missing out for a long time on the digital side of making art."

— Trent Benesh

"Before this program I never thought about projects that would spill outside of the classroom walls and involve the entire community to work towards a common goal. This program has helped me to build the confidence I needed to think and follow through with projects on a more global scale. I have also developed a new sense of pride in my education and post and share my educational website with everyone. My summer studio experience was definitely another highlight of this past year. I was exposed to new mediums and styles of art and was able to discuss ideas with like-minded people. It was truthfully a long overdue art intervention and reminded me that as an art educator it is important for me to practice what I preach. This past year in the program I have also been given the opportunity to change in the way I approach planning lessons."

— Christine Prieto

"The Globalization in Art Education class shed light on the availability of personal learning networks for art educators, and how utilizing these in my professional development and in my classroom created endless new possibilities for art education in my classroom.

This program has mostly taught me that there is much more out there than simply what goes on in my classroom, and if I, as an art teacher, don’t embrace that or connect to it professionally and with my students, then I am not getting the most out of my career, and my students aren’t getting the most that art education has to offer."

— Laura Keeney

"This program has raised my awareness of the daily impact I have on my students. I am reminded I am educating the next generation and if I support progress and truly care about them, I must address contemporary culture and the issues we face each day."

— Laurie Myers

"For me this past year has been a year of forcing me to look at the way I teach and what I can do to improve my teaching methods.  My eyes have been opened to how I can incorporate technology into my teaching methods in order to enhance student learning. Using different approaches in designing art curriculum can help students become engaged in their world and issues affecting them."

— Kimberly Moran