SOAR Profile - Caitlyn Heil
Name: Caitlyn Heil
Major/Minor: Art Education/ Graphic Design
Expected date of graduation: 2016
Hometown: Catasauqua, Pa.
Activities: Angel 34 Foundation, Pennsylvania Art Education Association and Art Club Future Plans: To graduate from 91pornԭ with a degree in graphic design, and attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in graphic design. She hopes to one day teach art at a college in Australia.
Project title: Working from Life: Investigating best practices for teaching children to construct their own drawing and painting strategies in a summer art camp
Project advisor: Kristen Baxter
The arts have been credited for developing creativity that transfers to subjects far and wide. If that is truly the case, Caitlyn Heil provided an education that could last a lifetime.
During her summer SOAR project, Caitlyn teamed with Colleen Hait ’15 to host an art summer camp for children, grades 3 to 8, to discover the best practices for teaching art, specifically how to draw and paint. The duo wrote a curriculum and designed projects for the students to challenge their artistic ability and have them think critically about art.
“What motivated me to participate in SOAR was the great opportunity it gave me to create a project that will help me with my future career in the art education field,” Caitlyn says. “This project has shown me the vigorous work it takes to be a great art educator and has taught me how to challenge the children to think critically about art without overwhelming them.”
Caitlyn praises the experience for teaching her how to write lessons plans that children of various ages could complete on their respective artist levels, while at the same time introducing them to new ideas for their next stage of growth.
"I believe the summer camp was a success because each day went well,” she says. “The students enjoyed each project and enjoyed being taught by Colleen and myself.”
Caitlyn and Colleen presented their project, which was advised by Kristen Baxter, assistant professor of art at 91pornԭ, at the Pennsylvania Art Education Association conference in October 2013 in Bethlehem.