Dean’s Insider: Creativity and resilience in our students during COVID

In a terrific essay in Art Education Journal, Associate Professor of Practice Megan Hildebrandt writes about teaching Studio Art courses online during the pandemic and how her students have stepped up:

“Across the board, I saw significant growth in creative problem solving, innovation, empathy, and introspection from the 50 or so students I worked with.

During the shelter-in-place, my students SHOWED UP. I do not mean just physically—I mean mentally, creatively, spiritually. They showed up in a way that, to be honest, they did not always when we were in person earlier in the semester. I think the pandemic made all of us feel more vulnerable, and that translated to a very rich last half of the semester, when many of them made significant breakthroughs in their creative work.”

She goes on to give several examples of how her students used art to process the current moment and to create structure for themselves during shelter-in-place conditions. I think you’ll be inspired at what they’ve achieved and how they’ve used their creativity to turn the constraints of the pandemic into rich learning opportunities.

While we all look forward to the day when we can welcome our students back into our studio and performance spaces at full capacity, I’m heartened to know that our faculty and students have been successful in creating positive teaching and learning outcomes this year.

Excelsior!

Dean Doug Dempster