Research Proposal

Motivations in the Art Classroom

I. Introduction

         A. Problem Statement- Why do different levels of motivation in the art classroom exist, and                                                        how do they impact learning?

                     1.  Purpose:  By studying this issue, I hope to uncover some of the reasons behind                                                                  motivational differences in the classroom, and aim to level them as much as                                                      possible in each situation.

                     2. Context of Problem: Students have varied levels of motivation in the art classroom,                                                        which leads to varied levels of participation.  This also leads to behavior                                                            problems and general lack of respect in the art room.

                    3. Background of Problem: This study was started because I often wondered why some                                                    students were more motivated than others to complete their work.  My                                                              classroom observations led me to think and wonder how and why some                                                              students are motivated and some are not.  I have a great interest in learning                                                      more about this topic, and improving my classroom environment.

                    4. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study is to explore why different                                                                        motivational levels exist, specifically in my classroom, and what I can do to                                                      level them out.  I will look at my own classroom techniques, as well as                                                                research on motivation, and interviews with other teachers on motivation.                                                        Many subquestions have arisen from my original question.  They include the                                                    following;  What motivates students in the art classroom? Are there gender                                                      imbalances in my lessons? Am I properly motivating at the beginning of a                                                          lesson? Are outside forces (home life) hindering students in ALL subject                                                            areas? Do students understand what I am teaching?

  B. Preliminary Literature Review

 1.  Sauders, Robert J. (1982) The Lowenfeld Motivation.

My research started with Victor Lowenfeld.  He studied motivation, and came up with                                    the idea that you had to move step by step through different levels of art competency                                     before you could achieve a mastery of drawing, painting, etc.  This theory was eye                                           opening!  I had only been my students’ art teacher for two years, and beyond that I                                         had little knowledge of their skill sets, and preparedness to tackle new information                                         and projects.

2. Studio Learning: Motivation, Competence, and the Development of Young Art                         Students’ Talent and Creativity.

Stemming from Lowenfeld’s ideas,  another article talked about how “we get interested                                  in  what we get good at” (Rostan 2010).  The idea of competency was being reinforced                                    with another’s research.  It makes sense that we are uncomfortable with the                                                      unfamiliar, and some of my students were very unfamiliar with art.  This made me                                          consider going back to basics in each project and checking for knowledge and skills                                        before we began drawing or painting.

3. Effect of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation on Academic Performance.                                       Institute of Business Management

Further research talked about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  Extrinsic motivation                                  is done for the final prize such as a grade, intrinsic motivation is done because it is                                          personally satisfying.  While I find some students do things just for a good grade, most                                  who are passionate about art do it because they love it, grades are secondary.  These                                      two types of motivation definitely factor into how each student is motivated.

4. Young children’s perspectives on learning and teacher practices in different                           classroom contexts: implications for motivation

NLC- non learner centered classrooms vs. LC or learner centered classrooms also have                                  an effect on motivation.  In an NLC classroom, teacher present information and                                              students are expected to learn it by taking notes or memorizing.  In an LC classroom,                                    students are active participants in their own learning, and they choose which path they                                  want to take.  Most of my lessons allow for more LC classroom time than NLC.  My                                        introductions are short, and I rarely lecture, give notes, or tests.  Students are                                                  encouraged to make their own learning path.  I like to say that art is a creative way to                                    solve a problem.  I give you the project (problem) and you come up with a creative way                                  to solve it.

5. Gender differences in the academic ethic and academic achievement

My last bit of research had to do with gender imbalances in grades, and academic                                            performance.  In some studies, females performed better academically than males.                                        This is definitely something I have observed in my classroom, especially if a male                                            student does not like art to begin with.

C. Foreshadowed Problems-

I expect to get some answers to this problem, but not all motivations will be explained                                  as I will not be talking to all students about all problems.  I expect some teachers to be                                  too busy to be interviewed.

D. Significance of Proposed Study-

I hope to change the atmosphere of my classroom with research and understanding of this topic.  With more insight, I can better understand why some of my students thrive, and why some are left behind.  This information can lead me to change my personal teaching methods to include every student, and make my classroom an environment where everyone is included and can feel successful.  I aim to make my room friendly to all, and hope to make each student appreciative and interested in art. I do not believe this is possible 100% of the time, but I hope to improve the current situation with this new quest for motivating all students.

II. Design and Methodology

A. Suitability of Site-  I teach art in an elementary center.  I teach seven classes a day in grades                                    kindergarten through sixth, 45 minutes each class.  The environment in my classroom                                  is  very busy, noisy, and sometimes chaotic.  Students are moving at their own pace                                        through a project, and are not all on the same step at the same time.  This can lead to                                    non-motivated students being left behind.

B. Researcher’s Role- My role will include interviews, surveys, literature reviews, looking at                                        historical data (classroom size, socioeconomic factors), taking personal notes in the                                        classroom, and writing down observations of motivated vs. non-motivated student                                          behaviors.

C. Purposeful Sampling Strategies- I will use all the grade levels that I teach (k-6) to collect                                   my data.  I will use equal amounts of female and male students to make sure my                                             samples  are even for gender purposes.  I will make sure students are not affected in the                               classroom by my observations or data collection.

D. Data Collection Strategies- I plan to collect data during the school day while teaching each of my                    classes using field notes, and observations.  I also plan to collect interviews outside of school                        hours using email and telephone conversations with colleagues.  Data will be collected and                          managed by me in notebooks and journals.  A male vs. female chart can be made to show                              gender differences in students motivational needs.

E. Inductive Data Analysis- The results will be presented in a written paper showcasing the                                    hypothesis that were met or broken.  New results will be analysed with new meaning for                                classroom implementation.

F. Limitations of the Design- This will be a qualitative study designed to show research results that                      can be applied to classroom design and instruction.  This study will spread over the course of                      two semesters and the results will be calculated over the summer.  The final research will be                        presented in the following fall.  Students and teachers will participate only if they are willing                        and able.  Anyone interviewed will be told up front what my research is about.

III. References

Sauders, Robert J. (1982) The Lowenfeld Motivation. Art Education Vol. 35, No. 6, (pp 28-31)

Jaquith, Diane B. (2011) Intrinsic Motivation and Autonomy in Children’s Artmaking. When is Creativity?.Art Education; Reston Vol. 64, Iss. 1,  (pp 14-19).

Pavlou, Victoria. (2006) Pre-adolescents’ Perceptions of Competence, Motivation and Engagement in Art Activities.  International Journal of Art & Design Education. (pp 1-9).

Rostan, Susan M. (2010) Studio Learning: Motivation, Competence, and the Development of Young Art Students’ Talent and Creativity. Creativity Research Journal (pp 261-271).

Daniels, D.H., Kalkman, D.L. & Mc Combs, B.L. (2001) Young children’s perspectives on learning and teacher practices in different classroom contexts: implications for motivation, Early Education & Development, 12 (2), 253-273.

Chee, K.H., N.W. Pino, and W.L. Smith. 2005. Gender differences in the academic ethic and academic achievement. College Student Journal 39, no. 3: 604–19.

Gnezda, Nicole M. 2009. The Potential for Meaning in Student Art.  Art Education: Vol 62, no 4. Pp. 48-52.

Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality.

In R.A. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Perspectives on motivation (Vol. 38, pp. 237-288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Ayub, Nadia. 2010. Effect of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation on Academic Performance.  Institute of Business Management (pp 1-10).

I have chosen to rewrite my first story based on current pandemic living.  In the first two paragraphs my revisions are in bold to show the new and the old story in comparison.  I thought this was interesting because of how drastically things have changed since January, and most of this is completely true;

It is the year 2045 (2020)and my classroom no longer exists.  My job now is to teach art completely online and to make this curriculum accessible for all grade levels in the elementary level. (I never would have dreamed this would be a reality two months after I wrote this, but my classroom no longer exists, as I am not allowed there!)

In this new world, where all students are more comfortable on a device than in front of other people, this new way of teaching just may work out.  Students have no more socialization in school, and everything is completely online.  Mobile devices have become household norms that have crossed every socio-economic boundary and now reside in every home in America.  Even those who cannot afford a computer have been given one by the school for student use, and internet is being given out for free for school students.  Our society has become dependent on these technologies, and our students need them to learn in this modern society.

For my first attempt at complete online teaching, I have chosen to make a google classroom for my 1200 art students.  They can communicate with me via messaging and live chatting, but no longer in person.  They have to do their assignments and upload them for me to view through my computer.  No longer can I look at them and say, “How nicely you made that texture with colored pencil”, or ” You spent so much time and effort on that”, because I cannot judge these things through a computer file.  This new way is a dramatic change, but one necessary for a world living in fear of a deadly disease.

Students will still make art, and still be engaged in great activities online like our Nature weaving Webquest assigned this week, where students will interact with multiple different interfaces to create a virtual reality nature weaving.  Students will upload images to cluster for an online class critique, which will be done on a google meet platform.

Students will also be subjected to other online art experiences such as an exquisite corpse drawing, or a curated art find card assignment where their skills will be sharpened, and their interactions with other students will be kept up.  These assignments are meant to foster the social skills that we are lacking right now, while also learning new technical skills.  While interacting online, students will have new challenges to face, and new obstacles to overcome.  The most common questions will come in the form of how to operate these new systems such as Adobe Cloud in the virtual reality assignment.  A learning curve is expected from everyone.

The use of Facebook at this time has become invaluable for interacting with students and parents.  Teachers have been posting on our school page messages of positivity, and school pride events, such as “show us your school t-shirt today”.  The page has been a great place for art, as I have been posting daily drawing videos for my students, as well as my friends and family that I cannot see right now.

Every other social media site has been the same ray of hope, where groups of people are coming together to offer each other help and support in this time of need.  Free lesson plans, ideas, messages of hope, art, music, and love are being spread around like wildfire.  I hope this is the future of art education, where we share and help one another.

The arts have also become much more highly regarded during this time.  We were once a frivolous subject that didn’t matter to some, now we are a beacon of hope for most during dark times.  Art is being celebrated and bringing people together in a new way that will hopefully have a lasting impression on its importance.  Art is bringing people together, whether they are students, parents, celebrities, athletes, or anyone else.  Right now money doesn’t matter, but having the ability to entertain someone with a drawing or painting lesson, is worth its weight in gold.  I hope we remember this.

I absolutely love the Dear Data series.  It is so beautiful and so unique.  I saw on the website that you can write to them and become a part of the data pen pal exchange, and I intend to do that.  Such a random idea, but so cool.  I also really enjoyed Chris Jordan’s series of data art.  I love the barbies and I love the cans.  That must have taken a spectacular amount of time to make, but such an amazing effect in the end.

For my data collection, I have chosen to collect data during our quarantine centered around family activities.  Obviously life has changed and as we finish up week two, we are settling into a new normal.  I have been tracking areas of life that changed, or that we don’t usually have time to do.  This list includes myself, my husband, and my two children 7 and 9.  We have been home together for two weeks.  Here is my list:

Data Collection 3/13-3/28

____________________________________________________________

Art projects- Mandalas, Facebook drawing videos-cow, cake, donut, frog, fox, zentangle, chameleon, pizza fractions

Walks-to and from grandmas, dog walks

Complaints- I miss school, I miss my friends, I want my IPAD, Why do I have to do this, I ‘m bored. Why can’t we go for donuts?

Letter/Emails Written- non work related

Phone calls- non work related

Cleaning projects- Basement, attic, bathrooms, bookshelves, junk removal, vacuuming,

Out of ordinary- paint the deck, broke window in soccer game, cat almost died, scavenger hunts, art videos

Games- uno attack, boggle, soccer (yard), life, clue, mouse trap, Mario Rabbids Close, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario World.

Puzzles– Crayons

Special Cooking– fresh squeezed OJ, Breakfast Tacos, Jello Harry Potter Jigglers

Take out– Dominos, Happy Valley (owner delivered food)

____________________________________________________________

As I considered my options for making this data visual, I first thought of a pie chart, which is boring but how I often think of data visualized.  I love the way the Dear Data was visualized but I really don’t understand a lot of it.  I ultimately have decided to make a story board using pictures for my visual data like the example in Nina Katchadourian’s Genealogy of a Supermarket.  I am going to use pictures to map out our data and see what comes of that.

Here is the entire map together:

The entire map includes 11 sections detailed above:

Here are some close ups of each section:

Pink/complaints- this section of the data map shows the six most repeated complaints over the two week period of data collection.  They include I’m bored, I want to see my friends, I want to go to school, I want to play on my Ipad, I want Dunkin, and finally I don’t want to do school work.  There were many other complaints but these were uttered most often.

Yellow/cleaning projects- this section signifies the cleaning projects that we did that were out of the ordinary.  They include; cleaning bookshelves, basement, attic, children mopping, children cleaning bathrooms, and removing junk from house.  I just used basic cleaning images to express these tasks, as I did not photograph these actions.

Green-Special Cooking- This section represents all of our out of the ordinary cooking projects.  These include Jello Jigglers (top and bottom left) which was a complete fail, apparently there is a separate recipe for Jigglers, I did not know this.  We did successfully make these later on.  We also made fresh squeezed OJ (top right), the girls had a really good time with this.  Finally we had breakfast for dinner which was pancake tacos with eggs and bacon in the middle (bottom right), this was a lot of fun.

Orange-Letters Written- The kids and I wrote seven letters to friends and family.  We have heard back from everyone we sent out to, which was cool.  I used generic google images to represent the letters sent, I was going to include names, but I didn’t really feel that would be meaningful to anyone but me.

Purple-Walks- This section shows our walks over the course of ten days of data collection.  Out of those ten days, we took 14 walks, most of which were dog walks around the neighborhood, but some were longer walks for finding firewood, or even walks to grandmas house about a mile away.

Green-Phone Calls- This section is for phone calls that are out of the ordinary.  I called many friends that live out of town, it was nice to catch up during this time when we are all home.  My daughters both used Facetime to talk with friends and grandparents who they cannot currently see in person.  These calls are represented by IPhones that I found on google images.  Again I considered adding names, but I didn’t feel that would be meaningful for my map.

Red-Puzzles- This part of the map is quite small because of the amount of time that these puzzles took to put together.  Usually a puzzle was started on the weekend with lots of help, then abandoned when everyone got bored and finished by me!  So our puzzle output was small (and soul sucking on my part, so many shadows!)  I can’t quit until they are finished so I had to complete them.  We did purchase two more new puzzles, we will see if we get to them in the month of April.

Yellow-Out of the Ordinary- This section represents anything that happened out of the ordinary that didn’t fit into another category.  Top left picture shows a pvc pipe creation that my husband made me to create art videos online for my students.  I saw this on instagram and he recreated it for me.  It works great!  The next picture to the right of that is the window we broke when we were playing garage wall soccer, each circle represented points that you got if you hit the soccer ball in that circle, if you broke the window, you got -1000 points.  My husband got that honor.  Not fixed yet.  The next picture to the right of that is me painting the deck which I did one day, then it rained for the next few weeks, so I still haven’t finished.  The next picture to the right is a scavenger hunt that my girls made for each other, they did this on multiple days, and had a lot of fun doing it.  Bottom left picture is our cat next to my daughter, she almost died in first week of quarantine.  My husband mixed new chemicals to kill Corona and the cat licked some of it, she had to go to emergency vet for two days, it was awful, and they didn’t know if she would survive.  She is totally fine, I on the other hand have battle scars from the 14 days of meds she needed, she was not a great patient.  The next photo to the right is the scoring of the garage soccer game, it shows the circle with point values.

Blue- Art Projects- This section is the art projects that we made in our two weeks of data collection.  Many of these are examples of art videos that I created online for my students.  The top right photo is a picture of hearts that we made for our front door to support those essential workers still our there risking their safety for us.  We have a state trooper and a nurse next door, so we wanted to support them with this message.

Light Blue-Games- The last section of my map is games.  We played a ton of games in this quarantine situation.  We played a ton of board games, as well as Nintendo switch and Nintendo Wii games.  We discovered new games that we love like Uno Attack, which we will continue to play long after this is over.  We have been having lots of fun as a family.

All of this data was fun to collect and fun to report on.  I could have continued collecting for the entire quarantine, but there was a due date to this assignment so I decided to only include two weeks worth of data.  This is a time that I will never forget with my family, and I was happy to make this into a visual memory for us.

I look forward to future opportunities to use this data analysis with my students.  Perhaps they can create a visual data analysis map while they are at home for an art project.  I’m sure older grades would enjoy making memories in the same way that I enjoyed this assignment.  I hope to dive further into this Dear Data project into the future by becoming a part of the chain of data collectors and sharers.

I have played many online games before from childhood to today.  As a young child, I remember playing math games like Super Munchers, where there was a monster who plagued you until you got the math problems correct.  I am still not that interested in math, but I loved that game and played non-stop.  I believe the addition of game play can heighten focus and bring a new level of interest to a subject that a child (or adult) may not have had any interest in before.

As an young teen I was obsessed with Nintendo, and with a computer game called Space Quest.  My dad brought it home from work, and I played for years through multiple cd-roms given to me.  I remember the art and graphics improving in each game update.  This game was based on a sarcastic character who traveled through space completing quests, but you had to be very specific in telling this character what to do, or you would die repeatedly.  I remember one scene that I must have played for days, I was trying to find this gem in a lake, and I kept trying to swim down to get the gem and drowning.  It took me forever to type in the correct sequence of “take a deep breath” before my character finally got the gem from the lake.  I will never forget that game, or that moment in the game, which means I definitely learned something from it.  Was it language?  Perseverance? The own lengths of my stubbornness?  All of the above?  The point of it all is that we can definitely learn from games, and we can do it in a fun way.

I have noticed students are particularly interested in coding, and there is a great movement in elementary schools to introduce students to coding.  Our computer class, as well as STEM class both deal with coding as young as first grade in our school.  Students begin the basics of coding, and really seem to enjoy it.  One program I have explored is ScratchJr, which is based off of MIT’s Scratch, but made for kids.  ScratchJr allows students to code in a fun, colorful, visually friendly way.

For my lesson plan I have developed a Scratch Jr. exploration to give students in fifth and sixth grade a journey into game play and coding on Ipads.  I will first show students multiple DuChamp works and we will discuss why he equated a game to art.  How can this be relevant today?  I will then show them a clip of The Minority Report, where Tom Cruise uses future seeing balls to detain criminals who will commit crimes in the future.  I will then show them the EyeToy balls, and discuss relevance.

“Two young male interns at EyeToy® watched the movie The Minority Report with Tom Cruise as the detective character who uses a futuristic computer. They decided to develop this into an EyeToy® game. In their game, by squeezing spongy balls you can rotate and expand photos for “detective” puzzle solving work (Kusher, 2004; Robischon, 2003). Few if any art educators or art education interns are involved in this area of new media game development. It’s a site ripe for exploration by art educators, but as yet there are few art educators that include computer game construction by children in their curriculum.” (Keifer-Boyd 2005).  These pre-crime balls below, show victims names and perpetrators names.  The pre-crime detectives go out and arrest the perpetrator for a crime they would commit in the future.  These EyeToy balls, give a similar experience virtually by showing clues to who the perpetrator of a crime was in a certain online situation.

These two examples, DuChamp, and EyeToy balls can be used as inspiration for students projects.  Students will be in charge of their own scratch jr coding game, where something unusual can become art.  Students will have to present their game to the class, and explain why they believe their art is valid.  They can also present how their game can become a toy that can be marketed to children, such as the EyeToy balls.

Upon completion of presentations, class will comment on what games they like, what they would buy, and how each game could be considered art.

For my teacher example I created a farm on scratch jr, where the dog is the main character.  The dog is in charge of the entire farm and tells everyone else what to do.  In this game the humans are less important than the animals, and all dynamics are turned upside down.  Attached are some of the images of my coding along the way.

As I come back to this post weeks later to finish it up, something else has struck me about the idea of cybergames as a means of art and learning.  The world has really reached out in terms of cyber art to entertain and educate during this Covid-19 crisis.  The amount of free material on the internet available to all people is really inspiring and hopefully for the future of the art world.  Whether it be free art museum tours, artists drawing with children online, free subscriptions to art websites and channels, or just a local art teacher posting for her students online every now and then.  It is calming to know that our career (often overlooked and dismissed) has been a sign of hope and peace during a national pandemic.  I hope others in this field can take some comfort in this knowledge as well.

References:

https://www.christies.com/features/Marcel-Duchamp-his-pipe-and-his-passion-for-chess-7301-1.aspx

Keifer-Boyd, K. (2005). Children teaching children with their computer game creations. Visual Arts Research, 60(1), 117-128.

www.ScratchJr.com

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/trying-to-make-a-minority-report-precog-ball-on-the-laser-engraver.267638/

Layered Analysis #1

Part 1:

The two questions posed by Mary Elizabeth in this inquiry are;

1.In what ways do participants generate and use documentation to facilitate professional learning?

2. As participants share their documentation with the inquiry group and engage in dialogue, what indicates shifts in thinking about teaching and learning?

• Learning from each other- these teachers are looking at how they have learned from each other over the past year through shared experiences and new insights.
• coded with a star
• Technology- technology played a role in these new learning experiences for each teacher, especially those given new tech never used before
• coded with yellow 
• Styles of teaching- each teacher influenced another to teach in a new style jut by talking about their own style and showing examples of how they teach and how their students work
• coded with green
• Teaching on an island- each teacher felt isolated in their “department” during staff development days
• coded with pink 
• Uncertainty/Questioning- each teacher has uncertainty about new processes, and used that uncertainty to ask questions and be validated by one another during this session.
• coded by circling

Layer 2:

Rachel, Jason, Abigail, Emma, and Ann talk all seem to agree that this interaction is more effective than any college course they ever have taken.  They agree that the use of the technologies afforded by the AETI program have lead to new interactions in their classrooms, and they have all learned from each other despite being isolated in their own school settings.  As Mary Elizabeth asks questions, and facilitates dialogue, it becomes clear that each teacher has their own doubts and insecurities about their own teaching methods, and their changes being made in their classrooms.

Everyone seems to have gotten a huge amount of creative juice from each other in terms of lesson planning, and teaching methods.  Talking with this group gave each participant a new lens to look through into their own classroom.  The technology gave them new practices to try, and their colleagues gave them new ideas to try.

Layer 3:

All of this data; “We were always sharing and then taking ideas and moving along with them,  “This arts focus is unique thing for me”, is showing that the teachers’ thinking is shifting based on the ideas of others and the collaborative work they are doing.  As they present their work and question each other on processes- they learn how to revamp their methods and make a better classroom experience.

Through collaboration, these teachers are making a better curriculum for themselves, therefore adding more value to this process of AETI.

Layer 4:

Mary Elizabeth posed two main questions;

1. In what ways do participants generate and use documentation to facilitate professional learning?

2. As participant’s share their documentation with the inquiry group and engage in                dialogue, what indicates shifts in thinking about teaching and learning?

This inquiry really shows the value of art teachers being together for professional development.  This group got so much out of sharing data and documentation together.  What if all PDE hours for art teachers were in this format?  What if state laws were changed for special subject teachers to allow for professional development to actually be meaningful for us?  Inquiries like this could lead to change that could actually help art and music educators to feel some positive benefits from these days seemed to be designed around the rest of the school population.

Layered Analysis #2

Part 1:

The central question I have chosen to focus on for this analysis is going back to my research in blog 2:

How can I change my current STEM school into a STEAM school using research, collaboration with current STEM teacher, and changes in curriculum and schedule?

Layer 1:

As I go back through my research, the common themes that I am seeing are:

• Collaboration- working with other teachers on current lessons that can be threaded into art curriculum
• coded with a star
• Organization-remaining on top of what each class is working on in regular subjects
• coded with a circle
• Scheduling-how does scheduling fit into this puzzle?
• coded with pink
• Why STEAM works for our school- research to back up my claims to admin
• coded in green

Layer 2:

This data collected together shows me that this task is all up to me.  The only person in my school who is benefiting from this change is myself, and the only one who is making this change is myself.

The layer of organization/collaboration is important because I have to stay on top of what seven grades are learning at all times, to incorporate those lessons into the art curriculum.  If I am successful at changing my school to a STEAM learning environment, there will be a lot more planning to do on my part, and I will have to work closely with homeroom teachers to stay organized.

“Provide Time for Teachers to Collaborate: Any type of integration requires planning time in order to be effective. Please give teachers as much time as you can to collaborate so your STEAM efforts can be successful.”

In an article I read it said “Change is very difficult for teachers because we already have so much on our plates. If you are going to start this process, however, you need willing participants. Begin looking for others who have the same excitement you do for STEAM education.”  I have to find this in my school.

If my schedule changes (15 days in a row instead of once a week) that will greatly change the work load that the students can accomplish.  I will have to plan accordingly for that change if it happens.  In my own notes, I wrote “less reviewing each class, more on task creating” I would hope that would be the case for a 15 day cycle.

My last topic of concern is administration.  I work in a huge elementary center, and admin really doesn’t bother with me much.  We wave to each other in the halls.  I’m not exactly sure how to talk to them about this when I don’t have a solid plan in place to make changes.

Layer 3:

How is this plan going to turn into action, what are the next steps to move forward?   That is my next plan for research and thinking through this project.  I would love to talk to someone who has done this before in their school.  I have to consider administration in this plan, and their role in decision making.  They will be vital in changing things like my schedule, which I have no control over.

Layer 4:

The major theme I see here in all of this is that I have a ton more work to do, and I don’t really know where to start.  Perhaps reaching out to someone who has done this before can be a vital first step, as well as doing more research as to the actual ACTION part of this action research plan.  So far, I have some research, but I have no action, and I have no plan,  those both need to be worked on quite a bit.  This quote seems like a good place to start:

“Their approach is not more classes, more arts or music, more anything. That would be nice but, frankly, there is not money for doing anything more, only doing things differently. Again, the secret is using the arts as a catalyst for teaching across the curriculum.” (Eger)

I have no more time in the day or in my schedule, so I cannot do more, rather I have to do things differently.  I can change my curriculum to better suit the needs of the STEAM ideas, but it is going to take a lot of change, and a lot of collaboration.

“Get ready folks, the key to unlocking the real potential for (the common core) is ultimately through an arts integration approach. (I feel your pain!). For all those who think arts integration doesn’t work, try again. For all those who think it demeans the arts, try again. For all those who think that the arts in on their own are going to transfer to what students need to know and be able to do in the Common Core State Standards, try again.” (Eger)

References:

@creativityassoc: (2014) 7 Ways to Turn STEM into STEAM.  George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/groups/stem-education/777181

Eger, John. (2014) The Common Core as a Path to STEAM. Huffpost. Retrieved from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-common-core-as-a-path_b_5193594?guccounter=1

• Curator Statement- This exhibition is called Hidden Truths. The videos that I chose all have an obvious message with a more hidden message to each individual viewer.  We all see things differently, and interpret things differently.  I am always fascinated by the way my students see art in different ways.  The hidden meaning in the way we have remixed these four videos can show individual struggle, triumph, personal loss, or emotion that others cannot see when they view that same video.  I challenge you to find your own hidden truth in each video.

• Find Card- Find the hidden message- or personal meaning in each video.  Each individual viewer sees things in a different way, so use this activity to find your own meaning in these videos.  Dig past the obvious meanings portrayed by the artists, what else could they be trying to say?  What else do you hear or see from these remixed videos?  For example, some hidden truth in my own dog video is that our environmental climate is frightening to me, and it is easier for me to make a joke about it than face the harsh truths that are happening around us.  Also, I have learned that I am very, very unskilled at editing video, as this took me an absurd amount of time to create.

Attached you will find my poster, and voice thread links.

Hidden Truths (1)

Hidden-Truths-By-Elizabeth-Leslie

References:

Bhargava, Gopal (2002). Ecological Politics: Different Dimensions. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 9788178350196.

While reading Educational Agents for Positive Change, I began to think about a new role I have taken on at school as a “check in/check out monitor”.  This role gives me the privilege of helping three students monitor attendance, homework, and tardiness.  These three students are to check in with me in the morning and afternoon to discuss these three issues that they struggle with at school.  I use a hole puncher and a card with the date on it to help regulate their good and bad days.  When three good days are achieved, they get a small prize (candy, snack, pencil, etc).  We have about 80+ students on the check in/check out system at our school (CICO), some for behavior, some for other issues like my students.

While I encourage any and all positive engagement with students, I wonder if this system is actually helping anyone at all.  Let’s talk about students on my list.  I will call them Jane, John, and Ron for this story.  Jane comes to me for homework and attendance concerns.  Without being given any background on Jane ( I am an art teacher, I see Jane once a week for 45 mins, I am not her homeroom teacher) I am asked to help her with these problems.  So week one, we start discussing homework, she is absent 3 of 5 days that week.  Needless to say, homework is not done.  I am trying to give her strategies to help time management, “get it done as soon as you get home, that way you won’t forget”, trying my best to be helpful.  Week two goes by, same situation.  I’m focusing on Jane here because she is the only one coming to see me for CICO.  John came once in week one, never saw him again.  Ron never came at all, came to find out he is now home schooled.  So week three comes along and I start asking questions, “why is Jane out 3 out of 5 days a week, and how the heck is she passing school, why are we focused on her homework here?”  I am seriously confused.  I find out Jane is in a terrible situation at home where she is up at night caring for young siblings, mom is not reliable, and Jane is acting as mom at least half of the time.  WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE TALKING TO THIS GIRL ABOUT HOMEWORK!!!!!   This child needs other services that address her home life and mental stability.  I get it that she still has to show up to school, but this is a bit ridiculous.

As I was reading the words injustice, oppression, activism, I couldn’t help but think of this story, and think about what an INJUSTICE my school is doing to this child that needs so much more help than checking in on her homework.  It’s nice that someone cares that she isn’t doing her homework, but shouldn’t someone care that she isn’t sleeping?  Can’t get to school because mom won’t take her?  These are not issues that a fourth grader can fully grasp and take control of.  I feel helpless in this situation that I have been put in as a CICO monitor for this child.  I wish there was a better system to address high risk students like Jane.  And what about John and Ron?  There situations could be so much worse if I have never even seen them for CICO.  John’s teacher informed me that he missed entire weeks of school.  Again, that is not a child in fourth grades issue.  That is a parental, home life issue.  I feel terrible that I have been given this responsibility to add more pressure to these kids lives, and I feel I will not be a CICO monitor for very long.

This poem sums up this situation quite well:

Klein’s article states that “Self-awareness is necessary for breaking one’s silence and moving toward public disclosure of one’s personal and professional struggles that can no longer remain private.” (pp 2)  I am very aware that my school is mostly below the poverty line, and that many of our students struggle.  In the art room that is not always apparent.  I do not see bookbags, jackets, notes from home, etc.  The homeroom teachers are much more aware of these situations than I am, and have much more of an ability to connect with students than I do.  One of our school wide goals for the year is positive personal connections with students.  I see 150 students a day, my head is spinning by 3:00.  I have a hard time with the names of my 1200 students, never mind making personal connections.   Jane made me see that this personal connection is so important, and no matter what I do in my teaching, that is something I will strive to get with as many students as I can.  The introduction of STEAM into my curriculum could have the potential to change my schedule.  The current STEM teacher sees students for 15 days in a row before switching to another class, which offers more time for personal connections.  I would have to research how to make this possible in my STEAM plan.

While listening to the TED talk on parking signs, Ethnography described as seeking out the obvious by watching people made a lot of sense to me.  So in my situation, I know our students are low income, but it took me watching this one particular case (Jane) to really understand how that affects student life, and how our school is focusing on the wrong aspects of that problem.  The shift in my schedule from 1 class every week to 15 days in a row, would give me greater insight into my students, and greater ability to connect with those students, and hopefully foster positive change such as letting guidance know that Jane needs a lot more help than the CICO system.

Listening to Wanda Knight speak about her drive to get an education and get out of small town North Carolina was really interesting.  Teachers giving positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement really can make a difference in a child.  When she speaks about “knowledge of self” that really makes sense that we as educators have to figure out why we are teaching what we are teaching.  My curriculum is 100% made by me, therefore I am 100% responsible for what I teach (or what I don’t teach) so looking at myself and what I may be afraid to dive into could be a great way to broaden my curriculum.

I really liked what Bill Doan says about being creative in his interview, when asked why he takes breaks every day to write or sketch.  I think I have that same creative twitch, that has to be served daily, and I am lucky enough to work as an art teacher where I have a ton of opportunity to make that happen in the classroom.  I have never heard it described like that before, I enjoyed hearing him speak.

References:

Educational Agents for Positive Change (2011 © Sheri Klein, Elizabeth Delacruz, Karen Keifer-Boyd)

StoryCorps: Wanda Knight Talks with Karen Keifer-Boyd (Links to an external site.). Posted in StoryCorps, 2011-02-24

Selfie Avatar:

The things that shape my identity as a teacher are my family.  I care about students because I care about my own children, I can relate to students because I relate to my kids.  I think being a parent gives you a great advantage as a teacher because you have your own practice versions at home.

When I think about what is an avatar, I am immediately picturing Avatar the movie, where the disabled man goes into virtual reality and lives a different life through his Avatar.  He does not want to come back out, and he has a vested interest in what is happening in this VR world.  I believe there is a sequel in the works.  So I guess an avatar is a character version of yourself, which is why I chose to change my family photos with an app called cartoon on my phone.  There was a free trial then a subscription (3.99 I believe) I will cancel before that happens.  I did feel I had to change the pictures in the collage so they looked more character like to be considered avatars.  I think they ended up more like paintings or drawings, but the whole image came across the way I wanted.

This weeks reading was very interesting.  I felt like every female, in every country could relate to this story in some way.  Liao talks about body image and societal norms in the online world, the way I remember chatting in high school.  The fact that she is struggling to create a gender neutral avatar (and her avatar is suffering) is a complex thought.  She at one time uses a snowman because she is at odds with the male/female body choices she is offered in this SL world.  “Still, I am happy to be a snowman, because I believe it helps to create space for imaging a self that may be different from my physical appearance” ( Liao pp 31).

Liao also talks about autoethnography.  She says “Autoethnography works to hold self and culture together. . . you come to understand yourself in deeper ways, and with understanding yourself comes understanding others” (pp 32).  I like this explanation, I have read this word many times, and I think this is the first time I understood what it meant.  So I am hoping to use autoethnography in my family life and in myself, to learn internally and project that learning to others as a future teacher.

References:

Liao, C. (2008). My metamorphic avatar journey (Links to an external site.). Visual Culture & Gender, 3, 30-39.