Teaching Experience

I served as a teacher in a program where Miami University Art Education students collaborate with Miami Tribe of Oklahoma citizens from the Myaamia Center to develop a curriculum which I then taught in area public elementary schools. This project allows the Art Education program to address gaps in Ohio state arts, science, and history learning standards, which rank especially low nationwide for inclusion of Indigenous culture, particularly contemporary Indigenous culture. Under the mentorship of Myaamia scholars and as part of a teaching team, I developed a two-lesson unit focusing on Myaamia history, language, and contemporary arts and culture, and taught them to students in an Oxford, OH fourth-grade classroom. The following year, I co-developed another two-lesson unit focusing on natural sciences and taught it to fifth-graders in a Cincinnati, OH public school.

Because the lesson plans contain sensitive cultural information, I am not sharing them directly in this portfolio; however, I have included approved image/s of this work. This experience allowed me the privilege of reflecting on ways in which I approach developing culturally relevant lessons, and forging my own meaningful partnerships. Due to our ongoing dialogue with the Myaamia Center when forming our lessons, I am increasingly conscious of my positionality in relation to the cultures I have taught (and will teach) about, and how any implicit biases may affect my pedagogical practices. I am a more conscious, thoughtful, and intentional teacher because of these experiences.

More information on this collaboration can be found on the Miami Tribe’s community blog.