An artist-in-residence: Teaching with a sense of urgency

This case study demonstrates the value of a ‘sense of urgency’ within the context of artist-in-residence programmes in K-12 public schools. Although the notion of a sense of urgency is often referred to within the context of business, this study reveals ways that this concept can be applied to an educational situation as well. In this article, a case study is presented in which an artist-in-residence created an environment where students in an Advanced Placement sculpture class set goals maintained constant vigilance, took risks and learnt to evaluate their own skills. This article indicates that using a sense of urgency as a pedagogical style can bring an additional learning benefit to students.