Continuing Education Instructor, Drawing for Beginners

Rhode Island School of Design•Providence, RI

1d•Onsite

About The Position

RISD Continuing Education (CE) operates within the esteemed RISD institution, known for its exceptional graduates in the creative fields. With over a century of experience in fostering critical making, thinking, and innovation, CE is dedicated to personal and professional growth through immersive learning in the creative disciplines. CE instructors are committed to inclusivity, diversity, and equity, and are responsible for planning, organizing, teaching, and providing feedback to guide student learning in alignment with RISD's student-centered values and the essential competencies of artists and designers. Instructors are expected to respond promptly to students and communicate effectively using college-provided tools. We particularly encourage instructors with experience teaching historically underrepresented communities. This role involves teaching in-person at the Block Island School to a diverse group of adult students. Essential qualities include strong interpersonal and leadership skills, clarity, generosity, and creativity in both personal work and teaching. Candidates must be prepared to develop culturally diverse syllabi for studio and seminar courses and lead classes and critiques that foster constructive, inclusive discussions, encouraging intellectual and creative growth. Please note: RISD CE does not provide transportation to Block Island, and the candidate must be able to make their own arrangements. Classes are scheduled for evenings, and ferry schedules may not align with off-season times. The focus of this position is introductory drawing, emphasizing the development of hand-eye coordination. The instructor will guide adult students in observing and translating the world onto a two-dimensional surface through presentations and tutorials. A deep understanding of describing objects by scale, angle, and proportion is crucial, as is teaching the exploration of line as a descriptive and expressive tool through weight, direction, and speed. The role also requires teaching the use of light and shadow to create volume and space, progressing to more complex subjects and compositions to build student confidence and strategy. Proficiency in using pencil, charcoal, and eraser for drawing still life, architecture/space, and a brief introduction to landscape is required.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree required.
A track record of paid professional experience at companies successfully doing related work, and/or a robust, creative, intellectually and critically engaged design or studio practice, as evidenced by recognition in publications, commissions, exhibitions, awards and/or collaborative projects.
In person teaching experience, including the ability to create syllabi and lesson plans, and how to tie those to learning outcomes.
In person course content; syllabus, learning outcomes, tutorials, assignments and other components such as intuitive navigation, lively discussions, and meaningful feedback as part of a successful class.
Ability to develop and implement diverse teaching and learning for different learning styles and to respond to the needs of learners from a variety of educational backgrounds in a multicultural environment.
Analytical, evaluative, and critical thinking skills.
Accept and act upon constructive feedback from course and classroom evaluations by students and staff.
Ability to meet RISD’s technology requirements.
Strong interpersonal, communication and organizational skills.
Ability to develop syllabi and lead classes and critiques that model constructive, inclusive discussions, and that encourage students to grow creatively and intellectually.
In-depth knowledge of Drawing.
Resume, including a URL link for your professional portfolio.

Nice To Haves

MFA preferred or equivalent in established professional practice in area of study.
Teaching experience in a collegiate or adult education setting that addresses underrepresented communities.
Ability to convey complex art engagement ideas in a clear and articulate manner for an art and design program and design concepts that serves adult students with varied skills (novice to advanced) in a condensed time frame.
Commitment to excellence in teaching and mentoring students.
Lifelong learning orientation with demonstrated interest in learning about new developments in their area of study.
Ability to empathically relate to a wide range of student perspectives and maturely handle interpersonal issues that may arise.
Statement of interest preferred.

Responsibilities

Plan, organize, teach, and provide feedback to promote and direct student learning.
Respond to students in a timely manner and communicate via college-provided tools and resources.
Develop culturally diverse syllabi for studio and seminar courses.
Lead classes and critiques that model constructive, inclusive discussions.
Encourage students to grow creatively and intellectually.
Teach introductory drawing, focusing on hand-eye coordination.
Guide students in understanding how to look and transcribe the world into a two-dimensional surface through presentations and tutorials.
Describe objects through scale, angle, and proportion.
Explore line as a descriptive and expressive device to describe form through weight, direction and speed.
Utilize the power of light and dark to create volume and space.
Lead toward more complicated subjects and compositions, allowing students to grow in confidence and strategy.
Draw still life, architecture/space, and a brief introduction to landscape using pencil, charcoal, and eraser.