One of the rewarding things about working in the college community is the diversity of the students. I’ve had to tackle motivating young people who have lots of different starting points when it comes to my course.
Central to this has been recognising how important it is to give students experiences of success, so that they find their study of photography intrinsically motivating. There really is no feeling quite like seeing the penny drop and a face light up with comprehension.
I have been running my own photography business since 2008, working with families and small businesses. Over the years I’ve done a variety of teaching, with workshops for small businesses and workshops in schools, and I always found it rewarding.
Making the leap from creating and running my own photography business to teaching has been a stimulating journey.
One of the great attractions of running your own photography business is the opportunity to develop and use one’s expertise to meet the needs of clients and that can be extremely rewarding. So, I was hesitant that in taking this step I would lose autonomy and that my professional knowledge would not be valued. On the other hand, I relished the opportunity to work with young people in a collegial environment, which is something that’s certainly missing when you run a small business.
Training to teach has been both demanding and enjoyable. I’ve been able to make extensive use of my subject knowledge in photography, which has consistently underpinned my teaching. However, alongside this it has been critical to develop effective teaching strategies, gradually learning to make decisions about how to break down and sequence the knowledge that my students need to know.
Along the way I’ve learned the importance of predicting and addressing students’ misconceptions; after all practice makes permanent, so it’s vital that what they practise in the studio and on location, is accurate.