Masters Research Projects in Art Education

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21st century skills in the art room: developing a curriculum for high school students’ career success
(Boston University, 2015) Negron, Liz Emille
Learning does not stop at the schools; the rapidity of change and the advancement of technology place an emphasis on multimedia as a learning tool. The directive of the study was to provide information on how multimedia and critical thinking skills in the art classroom might be incorporated in order to enhance and prepare students’ for 21st century careers. Data collection was accomplished using the following qualitative methods: interviews and observation. Drawing on existing literature and the interviews, the author looked for similarities among existing conclusions and her own. A description of an art course with multimedia content is presented. The data from observation was compared to the interviewees experience with students’ engagement with multimedia and the presence of critical thinking in education. The study served a dual purpose: gather empirical data that supports scholarly evidence of multimedia and critical thinking as a tool for preparing students for the 21st century workplace, and assist in understanding students experience when engaging with multimedia.
A Historical Study of Drawing Instruction
(2015-05) Salomon, Patricia
Abstract Emerging from my interest in past methods of drawing instruction, and personal experiences of being taught drawing in the 1960’s by an industrial arts teacher, led me to the study of teaching methods of Walter Smith (1836-1886) in the 1870’s. This historical study of drawing methods used in the public schools in Massachusetts when Smith was hired by the state, to implement drawing into the public schools, revealed instructional methods based on simple elements and principles of design. Smith used six methods of drawing instruction: drawing from printed copies, drawing from the blackboard, drawing from dictation, drawing from memory, drawing from objects and drawing decorative designs. His use of personal slates and small cards with step by step directions for each day of the week all followed a sequential order for students and teachers to follow. Beginning with lines, geometric shapes, and proportions, students would understand, know, and be able to accomplish assignments successfully. Students were taught how to draw and were able to retain what they had learned through clear understanding and continual practice. This study argued that Smith’s methods would benefit public middle school classrooms today. By combining methods of the past with current practices and current technological advantages this study will offer teachers an alternative way to approach drawing instruction for the diverse middle school classrooms in the present time. Key Words: Principles and Elements of Design, Line, Shape, Form, Slates and Cards, Drawing Instruction, Industrial Drawing Act of 1870, Walter Smith, Louis Prang Publishing
Blue vs. Pink: Promoting Gender Equality through Contemporary Works for Elementary Students
Brazeau, Melissa C.
The following qualitative research study examines how an art educator engages students in elementary school with contemporary art, related to gender, in order to foster understandings of gender and social justice. The literature review discusses factors that influence gender perception and encourages social justice education using dialogue. The researcher interviews two participants in fourth grade with the pseudonyms Wonder Woman and Superman. Contemporary art introduces and examines participants’ experiences with gender and social justice. The researcher records, transcribes, codes, and analyzes the interview using the constant comparative method. Results of the study pertain to social justice, Louise Nevelson, and gender. The interview discusses gender, however, it is not the only social justice issue exposed. Viewing results as a whole emphasizes the importance of having a dialogue with students. The importance of dialogue is consistent with the literature review. Dialogue is a tool to teach social justice and reveal the social justice issues that students face in their lives. Teaching big ideas like social justice can prepare students for the 21st century. Study results could encourage art educators and the field of art education to incorporate a meaningful dialogue into the curriculum to teach social justice. A meaningful dialogue can let an educator discover and teach the social justice issues most important for the school’s population. Art educators should also use unique, diverse, contemporary artists to inspire students to learn about social justice issues. Keywords: elementary school, big ideas, contemporary art, dialogue, gender, Louise Nevelson, social justice
A Study of Self-Image Through Portraiture
(Boston University, 2014-12-01) Szabo, Benjamin
This active research study reviewed the relationship between portraiture and self-image in eighth grade students. The question that guided the research asked: How might student self-image of eighth graders at American Fork Junior High change when comparing portraits made as the subject, verses self-portraits made as the artist? Twelve students were asked to complete a selfportrait in graphite and respond to a series of interview questions designed to interpret whether the drawing and/or art medium influenced self-image. Next, the researcher completed a thirtyminute, video recorded head drawing of each student in blue colored pencil. The participants took part in another interview that explored the effects of portraiture on self-perception and the data from both drawings were compared. The main objective was to determine how style, quality, and art media in portraiture could influence student self-esteem. The findings were evaluated and showed that students were more worried about sitting as the subject for a drawing, but were generally happier with the results of the portrait for multiple reasons. The blue colored pencil, more often than not, was more appealing than the graphite; the style of the life drawings created an interesting aesthetic and students felt the drawing from life represented them in a positive and uplifting way. With the results of the study curricular adjustments can be made to portraiture units and relationships between teachers and students can be nurtured. Key Terms: Self-image, portraiture, head drawing, self-portrait, art media, aesthetic, trait specific esteem, state specific esteem
Artsonia: A Digital Tool for Enhancing Family Engagement in Perceiving and Responding to Student Artwork
Bryce, Kristen
This study focuses on how introducing Artsonia, an online student art gallery, to Narragansett Elementary School families might enhance their response and perception to student artwork. Triangulation was used to collect data from a variety of sources including Artsonia activity, Artsonia comments, Artsonia survey, family interviews, and student-initiated Artsonia discussions. Data demonstrated a high percentage of Narragansett Elementary School families interact with Artsonia in a variety of ways. As a digital tool, Artsonia connected families and friends from across the state and even the country to view and discuss student artwork. Fan club members expressed their gratitude for Artsonia’s ability to view artwork that would otherwise go unknown to extended family members. Through use of the project description feature on Artsonia, the researcher uploaded project descriptions including possible discussion topics to enhance student artwork discussions. Data collected from a variety of sources demonstrates an increased perception of student artwork as project descriptions made learning visible in the art classroom. All participants in the study, including the researcher, families, and students, demonstrate deep interest in Artsonia and its ability to enhance response and perception to student artwork. 
Local Street Art and Graffiti
(Danielle F. Manrique, 2015-01-13) Manrique, Danielle F.
The Masters Research Project examines how local street art and graffiti might be integrated in a curricular design. The research takes place in Bogota, Colombia. This city has become renowned for its street art and graffiti scene that has even been compared to other street art meccas such as London, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York. The primary goal aimed to create an effective way to include this non-conventional art style into the Visual Art curriculum of a Fifth Grade class at the Colegio Anglo Colombiano. The research searched to develop street art and graffiti techniques such as stencil making, free-hand graffiti or painting, and tagging. The main themes covered are place, street art and graffiti, and curricular design. This Project led students to create a street art technique of their own creation inspired through the study of renowned local street artists CRISP, DAST, and other artists that are evidenced on The Bogota Graffiti Tour. The research takes you on a voyage through Bogota’s history and it’s modern tendency to be a canvas for street art and graffiti.
Impact of Art on At-Risk Students
Vineyard, Christine
The research study focused on the influence and impact of art education on at-risk students who have experienced or are experiencing trauma. Through support of literature, including scholarly journals and case studies, and classroom observations of the researcher’s students from an inner city school in southeast Washington, D.C., it was concluded that not only does art impact at-risk students education, but it does so, positively. The classroom observations included five principal participants in both elementary and middle school, three boys and two girls, whom all live in a housing project near their school. Information was gathered about these students through both researcher observations and personal communications with the school psychologist. In combination with the student participants, data was gathered from literature —mainly from the works of Eleanor D. Brown who has done extensive research on the effects of the arts on at-risk students who have experienced trauma and/or chaotic situations. The literature and student observations were used to support one another in a cohesive, coherent way. The literature helped to decipher some of the classroom observations and better understand the reactions and responses of students. The study revealed that art education affects students in several ways including influencing the child’s education as a whole, art as a coping mechanism, school readiness, and a child’s general wellbeing. Implications of the study are the resulting affects on art education as a whole, including policy writing and the field of arts advocacy.
The Role of Music in Art Education
(2014-05-19) Aissis, Arlene
This is a report of an action study involving the role of music in elementary art education.
The Flipped Classroom and Art Education: A Study in a Computer Based Visual Art Classroom
(2014-05-14) Roy, Alethea
The purpose of this study was to find out how flipped teaching impacts learning in an eighth grade Art and Computer Design elective. Over the course of three fifty-minute sessions, two similar classes were taught the same unit. One class was taught with traditional teacher-led instruction and the other accessing a web hosted classroom, online tutorials, and course content prior to and through the duration of the unit. The findings of this study indicated that, in the researcher’s classroom, flipped teaching in a computer based studio art class makes time for increased one-on-one student to teacher interaction, individualization of course content and pace, and greater student independence and satisfaction. This research provides evidence that flipped learning could successfully be applied in a visual arts context.
Collaborative School Culture Murals
(2014-05-06) Rolfsness, Jennifer
This classroom based study investigated the collaborative mural process with Drawing II students at Arundel High School. The research question asked: What social challenges and opportunities might students encounter while collaboratively planning a mural that reflects school culture? The research focused on both the positive and negative aspects of teenagers working together on the same piece of art. Observation notes were made regarding student behaviors, conversations, and logistics while painting. The completed murals, artist statements, pre and post survey comparative data, and teacher observations determined the results of the study. Recommendations were made for future application of the study.
Using Teacher Websites and Student Digital Portfolios to Enhance Student Learning
(2014-05-01) Medsker-Mehalic, Kimberly
We live in a visual world constantly surrounded by technology. Technology has altered the face of educational environments. Freeport High School in Freeport, Maine is one of sixty-two schools participating in the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI). This program was one of the first statewide programs for equipping seventh to twelfth grade students, and their teachers, with technology. This qualitative study incorporated surveys, online investigations, and classroom implementation to explore how students and teachers had been using their iPads for educational purposes. This study was a classroom-based study that took place in high school studio art courses where the researcher was also the teacher. While collecting data from student and teacher surveys the researcher focused on improving her practice by reflecting on her own integration of technology in her studio art classrooms. This study also focused on investigating ways in which iPads can help studio art students document their own learning by creating digital portfolio websites reflecting their artistic process and final products. The teacher and student websites resulting from this study were created as frameworks for sharing knowledge, learning, and understanding. The results of this study encourage art educators to integrate technology into their curriculum specifically through the use of student digital portfolio websites. In addition, teachers are encouraged to improve their curriculum transparency by creating and maintaining helpful teacher websites.
Why Adolescent Students Attend Extracurricular Art Lessons
(2014-01-14) Larkan, Tiffany
What value do adolescents place on art education? What role do parents and teachers play in their decision-making process? Personal, practical, and intellectual goals are the basis to investigating and answering such questions. This study investigated the individual and cultural implications of adolescents participating in extracurricular art lessons in private art organizations in Hong Kong. Data collection included online surveys, personal interviews, and in-class observations in order to gain further understanding of the values and perceptions adolescents and their parents place on art education. The researcher used a constructivist approach to analyze the findings, which developed existing studies on the changing perspectives of art education in Hong Kong. Student responses suggested the value placed on art education is often driven by intrinsic and extrinsic motivation along with the need for (or lack of) self-expression. The decision to attend extracurricular art lessons reflects such opinions. Additionally, the researcher found that relationships between students, teachers, and parents were pivotal for cultural values placed on art; however, these values were not concrete nor one sided. The significance of the study intends to contribute to the development of future art appreciation in schools and private art organizations in Hong Kong–informing policy-making, curriculum development (in secondary and tertiary education), and alternate perspectives to action research in art education. The research highlights and evaluates the reasons why adolescents attend extracurricular art lessons with the proposition to implement a better framework of support for adolescents’ decision-making processes in art. Keywords: adolescents, private art organizations, values, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: ENHANCED STUDENT MOTIVATION AND GRANDMOTHER VOLUNTEERS
(2014-01-07) Poole-Heyne, Rebecca
Enhanced student motivation was observed in a small rural elementary school art room with the aid of grandmother volunteers and a lesson on local history. Improved qualities of transitions, participation and deep engagement were measured using audio recordings, visual recordings, and observational notes over a period of three 50-minute sessions. Students worked in small groups with grandmother volunteers to learn traditional quilting techniques to create small wall hangings celebrating the life of a beloved local historical hero. Highlights of this research study included beginning transition times changing from 5 minutes to 40 seconds within the 3 sessions. During the same period, ending times were extended 10 minutes with many students requesting to stay in during recess. Even more dramatically, four minutes of silence was recorded during the third session, with all students deeply engaged in the sewing process. The precise role that the grandmother volunteers played in these dramatic results is an area for further research. Compelling results provide new thoughts on classroom culture, relevant curriculum design and community-based learning.
Socially Engaged Art Education: The Impact of Contemporary Art
(2014-01-07) Yamaoka, Lisa
Exposing students to socially engaged art encompasses a meaningful opportunity of connecting progressive education to contemporary arts. This grounded theoretical study explored the impact of contemporary art and street art (JR and Swoon) as a means of promoting social change through aspects of art education. The foundation of the study was structured on analyzed interviews conducted with art educators, personal experience of the researcher, arts-based literature, and art education journals. The author discussed contemporary art as an exemplar for addressing social issues within art teaching and the potential for enhancing student connection to local social concerns. Specifically, the research revealed potential aspects of contemporary art that provide connections between the community and the impact of art in society. The collective study has been researched to show the explicit value of addressing art for social change and the direct impact for art educators and student artists.
Calligraphy: A Vehicle to Self-Reflection
(2013-12-19) Boukerroui, Mohand Tahar
As an auto-ethnographic study, “Calligraphy: A Vehicle to Self-Reflection” was designed to explore the art of Arabic calligraphy and its possibilities. The driving question of this research was: How can understanding calligraphy art, the creative process, and its evolution be transferred by an artist-teacher promoting inspiration to regain self-identity and humanity for young minds? The researcher became the student through studying the history, understanding the theory, and practicing the craft. Traditional work and techniques were investigated as well as modern work. Throughout the study, memos, reflections, and journals were maintained along with photos and videos and each oeuvre created was followed by an artist statement. These sources were analyzed and recommendations made for their use to promote a reflection of belonging, regaining self-confidence, and promoting acceptance of who they are amongst the lost youth of Algeria and other third world countries. Therefore, promoting local craft extracted directly from the milieu was found to be an excellent method to foster the desired self-reflection that would encourage the strengthening of identity, culture, and belonging; furthermore stop the imitation of others and build self-confidence.
Graffiti-Inspired Curriculum: Enhancing Student Understanding of Artistic Conventions, Symbolism, and Metaphor
(2013-12-18) Christenson, Matt
Graffiti is an art form that has been largely ignored by institutions of art education. This art-based, classroom study explores the student learning that can occur through the implementation of a graffiti-inspired unit. The content assessed for student growth in understanding was artistic conventions, symbolism, and visual metaphor. This study describes how the data on student learning was accumulated through the use of questionnaires, individual interviews, and written artist statements. The graffiti-inspired curriculum of this study, that included three major assignments based on a common theme of personal identity, showed that students were able to significantly increase their understanding of artistic conventions, symbolism, and metaphor almost universally. The final results of this study were applied to a graffiti-inspired unit plan for art educators to use and adjust in order to engage and increase the knowledge of their individual student populations. Keywords: graffiti-inspired, artistic conventions, visual culture, visual metaphor
How Gender Based Differences in Drawings of Preschoolers Can Help to Inform Preschool Visual Art Curriculum
(2013-08-30) Hopkins, Priscilla
The purpose of this classroom-based study was to explore the gender based differences in the free drawings of students at Beginnings Preschool. The researcher explored these patterns and their implications for the field of art education. Through the collection of free drawings created over the course of six, 15-minute sessions, the researcher studied patterns relating to students’ choice of content, use of color, and use of space within their drawings. Audio recordings of sessions and in-process photographs of student work provided supplemental data. Through an analysis of the data, the researcher found certain gender based patterns in preschool students’ choice of subject, use of color, and use of space. The work of male students tended to involve more adventure and conflict, whereas the work of female students tended to depict tranquil outdoor scenes or people living harmoniously. Drawings by male students were more likely to have a limited color palette and female students were more likely to use the bottom of the page as a ground line. Although gender based patterns were found, there were always several drawings by both males and females that did not fit the patterns. The researcher concludes by making recommendations for art educators based on the findings from this study and designed a unit plan that serves as an example of how to put those recommendations into practice.
Understanding How the Role of an Artist-Teacher May Impact Student Learning and Teaching Practice
(2013-05-15) Gronvold Roller, Nichole
The definition of an artist-teacher has been an ongoing debate amongst many within the fine arts and art education. The following research is the journey of a newly proclaimed artist-teacher as she finds meaning in her newfound declaration with the dual identities. The action based research documented the happenings and insights of an artist-teacher, along with nineteen high school art students in Central Illinois. The researcher sought to discover whether an artist-teacher may work alongside students in a studio setting, investigating and analyzing both the positive and negative results. The goal of the research was to understand how the role of an artist-teacher may impact student learning and teaching practice. As a result of a triangulation approach to data collection, the researcher uncovered that an artist-teacher working alongside learners in a studio setting promoted a comfortable working environment that increased student interactions and dialogue. Additionally, the importance of an artist-teacher being reflective of practice was revealed as the researcher found such reflections to be a resourceful tool in order to better balance the dual roles that at times may become overwhelming.
TECHNOLOGY TOOLS IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL ART ROOM
(2013-05-09) Trausch, Christine M.
The growing use of educational technology tools in the classroom was the impetus behind this study. This classroom-based study was conducted to determine how technology-based lessons in middle school art classes might impact student motivation, understanding, and art production. An art unit, enhanced with technology lessons, was presented to three sixth grade art classes to determine the answer to this question. Observation notes and student surveys were used to gain multiple perspectives of this phenomenon. Additional data supporting the results of this study include teacher interviews, observations of technology-based lessons in various classrooms, and literature based on similar studies. It was determined that technology-based lessons can be used to increase student motivation and to help students to more clearly understand new material. It was also determined that with increased motivation and understanding, students were more engaged in the art process, worked more independently, and produced more meaningful art pieces. Also noted in this study is the importance of carefully planned technology-based lessons. These lessons should be varied and creatively planned in order to maintain a positive impact on student learning.
Making Art Together: A Class's Collaborative Art Experience
(2013-05-01) Pomranky, Esther
This action research project explores the impact of a collaborative lesson on the behavior and relationships of students in a combined 3rd/4th grade class at St. Mary of the Lake School in Chicago. Students in this class exhibit immature behavior and unhealthy habits of relating to one another. The research aimed to discover the effects that working collaboratively might have on students’ behavior and relationships. Using principles of cooperative learning and community art, the researcher designed a collaborative lesson for a unit on symbolism. Students used bottle caps to create a large hanging mural of a class symbol. The results of this study support the results from other studies that indicate that cooperative learning can have positive effects on students’ relationships and motivation, but negative effects are also likely. The results also indicate that thorough planning and preparation is necessary for collaborative art lessons to be a success.

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