7th Grade, Lina Iris Viktor-inspired painting

Meet the Art Educator

Sylvia Zawistowska

I am a passionate visual artist and art educator who is motivated to cultivate an inclusive, supportive and engaging learning environment where all students can explore art history, develop technical art techniques and to express their own ideas through creation of original artworks. With a BA in Visual Arts and an MAT in Teaching Students with Disabilities, I bring both artistic expertise and a strong foundation in differentiated instruction to the classroom.

My goal as an art educator is to provide students with a guided, student-centered learning environment that supports everyone’s learning style. Through scaffolded instruction from thoughtful planning, I guide my students in building historical and technical knowledge while encouraging critical thinking, problem-solving and personal expression through individual creative choices. By balancing guidance with freedom, my students gain the confidence to discover their artistic voice and help them realize how their creativity connects to their everyday lives.

Sylvia Zawistowska’s

Teaching Philosophy

In my classroom I strive for inclusivity and a student-centered learning environment where students feel supported, challenged, and empowered. For elementary students, I focus on a more guided, teacher-supported approach that provides a nurturing way of learning, promoting curiosity during study and creation, and confidence after completing projects. With older students, I use a project-based approach that integrates art history and studio practices. My teaching philosophy focuses on providing my students with scaffolded lessons which include mini-activities, project examples and non-examples, task analysis and differentiated materials. This ensures that all of my students have accessible learning, personal choice and creative freedom. This learning environment builds confidence for students to take risks in experimenting with their skills, and supports them to solve problems independently. Personalizing art lessons and adapting projects allow my students to meet their potential and realize how their creativity can impact their lives inside and outside of the classroom.

Classroom Code of Conduct

Aim for your best to do the right thing.

Respect all of the art materials and everyone in the room.

Trust in yourself and your ability to learn and create.

"Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”

-Margaret Mead

Classroom Agenda

Art Class begins with an introduction through warm up questions or a warm up drawing assignments. After an introduction to the day’s lesson, I use direct instruction and demonstration to explain the objective of the day, how to use scaffolding tools and art materials to complete the day’s tasks. Afterwards, through independent and group exercises; student’s study, practice and learn about art history, art processes and how to creatively solve problems.

Classroom Environment

My main motivation for my students is to show who they are as a creative individual. Creating a classroom environment suitable for inclusivity, safety and a place for true expression is established with mindful art teaching and consistent classroom practices.