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My goal, as an instructor, is to give students the intellectual tools they need to succeed in the fields of art, photography, and graphic design. I achieve this by gearing my teaching to a number of different learning styles. I hope to reach each individual with one or more methods of delivery: lecture, reading assignment, demonstration, lab practical, and a variety of distance learning technologies.

Along with developing students' technical abilities, I feel it is equally important to build an understanding of the aesthetic properties of imagery. One of the most challenging aspects of art is balancing these two factors. I give students a visual literacy that includes the long accepted tenets of design and composition, more conceptual approaches, and a working vocabulary of terms and definitions. I present these ideas both in example form during lecture and also when critiquing student projects. Students are given the opportunity to voice views on their own work, as well as that of their peers. This verbal exchange regarding a visual medium helps students form their aesthetic eye and develop the ability to critique their own art.

Students need to understand that there are many appropriate solutions in visual problem solving. Frequently, they are hindered by years of convergent thinking -- looking for one right answer. I use divergent thinking exercises to show students how conditioned to convergent thinking most people are, then assist them in looking beyond the obvious for solutions.

Photography is experiencing the greatest technical change since its inception in the early 1800s. The advent of digital imaging technology is affecting almost every aspect of the medium and all related fields of study. The lines separating photographers from other visual artists are blurring. One of the greatest challenges in preparing students is predicting the skills they will need for this rapidly evolving media. I anticipate this evolution by acquiring new knowledge through training, reading, and research. I also identify information that will ready students for careers in the digital age by consulting with artists, industry professionals, and graduates in the field.

Balancing contemporary digital imaging with traditional photography skills is another one of my objectives in preparing students. Conventional photographic technology is far from being completely replaced by newer methods. I help students define the relationship between classical and digital techniques. I compare and contrast these two levels of technology, along with their separate aesthetic considerations. This process allows students to develop the insight to determine which technique is suitable for a given situation.

I feel it is important to incorporate these digital technologies into my teaching practices, since they are an effective method of delivering information. I utilize presentation software, data projectors, online resources, and numerous hard copy handouts to accomplish this aim. Computer graphics technology allows me to create supplemental course materials, which convey difficult artistic, conceptual, and technical knowledge with high quality, easily revised illustrations.

Beyond all the methodology and technology of instruction is a very human side to education. I strive to remember that each student is a complex mixture of emotions, experiences, responsibilities, initiatives, and abilities. Working to handle student successes and failures appropriately, I concentrate a great amount of my effort in dealing with each student as an individual.

Without patience, understanding, and compassion, education would be a very hollow experience. Whatever I endeavor to accomplish through teaching, I hope always to keep this human side a priority.

-Roland Miller