Jackie Christie
Dedicated to facilitating a safe and artful classroom with the students’ best interests in mind.
Teaching Philosophy
Trauma Informed and Sensitive Practices
My philosophy, as an educator, is to facilitate a safe space where students feel comfortable being vulnerable and expressing themselves through the means of art. I aim to foster creativity and build relationships through using trauma informed and sensitive practices, as well as making connections with my students as an artist and someone who is still learning. I challenge their application of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and creative problem solving to empower my students in their making, so that when they leave my classroom, they know that their hands and their minds worked together to make something amazing.
When I teach art, my goal is to create a safe space for students. I want my students to know that I hear and value them. I am a person who is here to not only teach, but to support them and their life endeavors. I ask questions to pique their curiosity and gauge their knowledge and use those answers to direct my lessons. I aim for my students to feel proud of their work- with new creative ideas swimming in their heads. Through fostering deep thought and critical thinking within my students, I hope they take home with them that art can be an expressive tool that they can take with them everywhere they go. I hope they leave my classroom knowing that they are capable, strong, intelligent individuals.
Diversity Statement
As an art educator, I plan on demonstrating my commitment and responsibility for equity and diversity through representation and inclusion within my lessons and classroom. Additionally, when leading discussions, I will continue to model empathy, compassion, and tolerance for all differences between students. In my classroom, I will have posters and examples featuring artists of color, and leave my lessons open for inclusion of cultural interests. I hope to facilitate healthy and progressive conversations with my students surrounding topics such as race, gender, religion, and so on, as the topics arrive. As the years go on, our societal climate is increasing in acceptance of diversity. However, there is always room to grow and as educators, it is our job to teach students that neutrality and kindness are necessities.
I also continue to practice trauma sensitive and informed teaching within my classroom. Every student who enters a classroom has different relationships, upbringings, experiences, and trauma. The way that I support diverse emotional backgrounds is by making my students aware of their schedule for the day and the project they're on. I explain my expectations and demo techniques more than once or provide resources for students who may need reminding. My lessons allow room for various accommodations and modifications, should a student require it. These, amongst many other means of teaching, support my dedication to being a trauma informed educator. Together, my awareness of the importance of inclusivity drives my teaching practice to create a welcoming and safe environment for my students.
Student Work
2nd Grade Papier-Mâché
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Howard C. Reiche Community School
Over the course of two months, the second graders at Reiche Elementary created papier-mâché busts resembling either someone in the Civil Rights movement (started in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr unit in Social Studies) OR someone who inspires them. They spent the first few weeks building their busts and bases out of recycled materials and tape. Then, they spent time coating their busts twice with newspaper. After, they decorated with various materials such as acrylic paint, string, and tissue paper. Their busts are displayed with a written reflection about who they chose to recreate and why!
Self-Directed Painting
Massabesic High School
In Massabesic High School's Painting B class, we spent two months building personal projects that were entirely self-directed. Initially, everyone brainstormed some theoretical ideas. After meeting with me, students then began working on technique sheets for their preferred painting medium and pulling together references and doing thumbnail sketches. Finally, they began their paintings. Since this was self-directed, everyone came up with something totally different that inspired them! Our class involved whimsy, poetry, and collage in their paintings. Some students even painted on clothes, such as shoes and overalls!
Digital Photography Light Painting
Massabesic High School
At the beginning on my student teaching placement at Massabesic High School, we kicked off our time together with the interactive practice of painting with light! After a demo that expressed the repetitive, trial-and-error nature of this type of art, students got to try it themselves with the various light sources we had in the classroom. As a result, students witnessed the immediacy of digital photography and all the cool things a long exposure photograph can do! This engaged our students in their making, as well as provided a mini lesson on some aspects of the manual setting: shutter speed and ISO.
Kindergarten Wax Resist and Color Theory
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Howard C. Reiche Community School
I really enjoy connecting my younger lessons to a story book! In this project, we began by reading Flower Garden by Eve Bunting, followed by a lesson on color theory basics such as primary, secondary, and complementary colors. Then, I demoed how to use oil pastels in the form of drawing a garden similar to that in the book we read together. Students drew their gardens with a plethora of things: flowers, grass, sky, bugs, et cetera, all in the primary colors. The next week, after a demo on wax resist, they used the secondary colors in watercolor paint to fill in their drawings! At the end of this lesson, students had a wide variety of gardens that expressed the complementary colors and were able to experiment with a new medium.
Color Scheme Still Lifes
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Massabesic High School
Digital photography students built several still lifes, all in identifiably different color schemes. This lesson was centered around the compositional styles within art, and touched upon topics such as angles, framing, lighting, exposure, and so on. We also explored f/stop, shutter speed, white balance, and ISO. These technically driven lessons are important in photography so students can gain a thorough understanding of their tools and media, to become well rounded and full informed makers.
Kindergarten Pinch Pots
Howard C. Reiche Community School
Since our usual art classroom is under construction, we didn't get to have a clay unit. At the end of my student teaching placement, I needed a one-day lesson, and decided to home make enough DIY air dry clay for our kindergarteners. The lesson was for them to use half of their ball of "clay" to make a pinch pot (something I demoed) and to use the other half to sculpt whatever they liked. This utilized their creative minds as well as introduced them to those clay-handling motor skills. The following week, once they were dry, they were welcome to paint them and take their creations home.
Tempera Landscapes
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Massabesic High School
In 2D Design, I led a landscape painting lesson that specifically explored foreground, middle ground, and background, as well as color mixing and application of materials. I scaffolded this by having them start with landscape collages, which was a commitment-free and quick way to get them to understand space. We then moved on to a technique sheet, and then to a mini practice landscape painting. Following the completion of those three assignments, they began their final landscape painting. They had to paint somewhere they've visited before, or somewhere they've always wanted to go. This connected them to their painting- and pushed that sense of "why am I making this?". Tempera paint isn't easy to navigate properly, but with demos and practices, it can be a great beginners' medium.
Resume
Jackie Christie
Lyman, ME
(207) 850-0181
Professional Summary
Aspiring art teacher who is enthusiastic about developing craft as well as educating all learners.
Key skills:
Utilizing trauma informed and sensitive teaching practices
Professionally trained in creating engaging and unique lesson plans
The ability to see each student for who they are and what they are capable of
High levels of patience and the ability to persevere in stressful situations
Detail oriented and organized
Teaching Experience
Massabesic High School, Waterboro, ME
Student Teacher (February 2022- Current)
Independently taught approximately 80 students of grades 9-12 over the course of seven weeks after observation of a mentor
Delivered engaging and accessible lessons to 2D Design, Digital Photography, and Painting B
Facilitated a safe and formative makerspace where students can express themselves, build artistic confidence, and gain skills within their medium
Reiche Community School, Portland, ME
Student Teacher (January 2022- February 2022)
Independently taught approximately 380 students of grades K-5 over the course of seven weeks after observation of a mentor
Accommodated to a diverse student body, the majority of whom are English Language Learners and/or live below the poverty level
Covered a wide range of developmentally appropriate art skills through various lessons, such as textural paper sculptures, papier mache busts, pastel self portraits, and many more
**Other teaching and work experience available upon request**
Education
Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, ME
Masters of Art Education, anticipated graduation in May 2022
Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, ME
Bachelors of Fine Art, with a major in Photography, 2021
Curriculum Vitae
Jackie Christie
Lyman, ME
(207) 850-0181
Education
2022 (anticipated) Masters in Art Education, Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, ME
2021 Bachelors in Fine Arts in Photography, Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, ME
2016 Pre-College, Maine College of Art + Design, Portland, ME
Teaching Experience- Student Teaching
2022 Massabesic High School, Waterboro, ME
Student teaching February- April
Independently taught over 75 students (9-12) in 2D Design, Digital Photography, and Painting classes for seven weeks
Created various engaging and thorough lessons intended to develop students’ craft
Built connections with students and facilitated a safe and creative environment
Attended weekly staff meetings
2022 Reiche Elementary School, Portland, ME
Student teaching January-February
Independently taught over 380 students (K-5) in multiple forms of media
Built and delivered multiple inclusive lessons for a wide age range
Accommodated and modified for differently abled students and multilingual learners
Adapted to a widely diverse community of learners and provided an education for them that was considerate to their capabilities
Attended weekly staff meetings
Teaching Experience- Workshops
2021 Maine Virtual Academy
Zoom Art Lesson at the High School level; Long exposure photography lecture and activity
2021 Brunswick Junior High, Brunswick, ME
Embroidery lesson to a small group of students during an after-school art fair
2021 Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME
Tour of the museum and drawing lesson at the Elementary Level
2021 Waynflete Elementary School, Portland, ME
Three after-school foundational art lessons for 18 K-1 students; sculpture, color mixing, collage
2021 Centerpoint Martial Arts, Falmouth, ME
Two part clay lesson at the Elementary Level; tiles with DIY clay and decoration, tied to the history of Moroccan tiles and Eastern culture
2021 Learning Works, East End Elementary, Portland, ME
Two weeks of foundation art lessons with at-risk Elementary students; color theory, puppet shows, and illustration
2020 Elementary Art Lessons, Waterboro, ME
Homeschooled engaging art lessons throughout the summer for a 5 and 7 year old
Exhibitions
2021 MAT Exhibition: “Connections”, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2021 BFA Thesis Exhibition: “Terrains”, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
2020 “Free Fall”, Sistered, Portland, ME
Community Programs
2015 Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
Selected by my high school art department as a sophomore to participate in the Student Craft Institute
Volunteer
2014 Willard Elementary School, Sanford, ME
Painted murals of trees throughout the school to beautify the space and encourage themes of “growth” and “change”
Skills
Art Education
Lesson planning and rubric building / Experience with all age groups / Student engagement and building relationships / Trauma informed and sensitive practices / Facilitation of a safe learning environment
Digital
Adobe Photoshop / Zoom / Google Suite / Instagram
Photography (film/digital)
Adobe Photoshop / Epson scanning and printing / Darkroom processes and printing / 35mm, 120mm, 4x5”, 8x10” film use and processes / Color and black and white film use and processes / Lighting studio equipment use
Painting
Oil / Acrylic / Gouache / Watercolor / Gesso / Canvas stretching / Panel building / Surface preparation
Ceramics
Clay mixing / Throwing / Trimming / Handbuilding / Glazing Techniques
Woodworking
Equipment use (table saw, bandsaw, drill press, sanding, jointer, planar, lave) / Hand carving / Staining and waxing
Additional Experience
2016-Current Food Service Management Positions
Customer service skills
Training techniques
High stress situations
Mediating customer disputes
Multitasking
