Art Education Commons^™

A Community Of Knots, Katherine Mahler

MFA in Visual Arts Theses

In her 1965 essay On Weaving, the artist Anni Albers stated, “As it is possible to go from any place to any other, so also, starting from a defined and specialized field, can one arrive at a realization of ever-extending relationships. Thus tangential subjects come into view. The thoughts, however, can, I believe, be traced back to the event of a thread” (Albers XI). A thread is the beginning of coming into being. In this paper, I will discuss the lines of my work from the beginning of the program, exploring mapping to how my work as a teacher …

Mindful Artmaking In Elementary Classrooms: A Path To Emotional Regulation, Christine Gober

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Abstract

In an era dominated by technological advancements and mounting external pressures, the emotional and mental well-being of the younger generation is a growing concern. This research paper explores the intricate relationship between mindfulness, art-making, and emotional regulation within the context of elementary classrooms. The modern world, filled with a plethora of stimuli, has escalated stress levels among individuals, especially children, leading to a surge in mental health issues. Mindfulness, deeply rooted in ancient traditions, teaches individuals to stay present, fostering a non-judgmental awareness of their thoughts and emotions. Art-making, on the other hand, serves as a medium for emotional …

The Mind’S Eyes: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Learning To Draw In Adulthood, Ramona Crawford

Educational Studies Dissertations

Amid a long period of deskilling in art school curricula, craft has been denigrated as inferior to art and confining for artists, but can craft liberate imagination? The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between an adult learner’s self-perceived capacity for imaginative expression in representational drawing and the development of her artisanal judgment during a self-directed program of classical study, online and in-person, over a period of 22 months (mostly during the coronavirus pandemic). The researcher created, coded, and analyzed drawings, photographs, field notes, diaries, and video recordings to track cognitive events and situative factors encountered in …

An Embodied Drama Therapy Approach To Restorative School Practices: A Method, Sarah Harmer

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Restorative School Practices offer schools a circle structure to shift the punitive mindset and power dynamics commonly found in America’s schools, to a model that focuses on relationship, connection, and mutual respect. Drama therapy interventions utilize embodied or active work that engage the entire person. The purpose of this thesis was to create a method to explore the addition of embodied drama therapy techniques to deepen the experience of the restorative school circle process. Three community-building and social emotional learning focused circles, in a second, fourth, and sixth grade class, were compared using the traditional scripts and then the same …

The Teaching Artist Experience: An Art-Based Study Exploring Teaching Artists' Perspectives On The Efficacy Of Employment-Based Training And Support, Tessa Bry Taylor

Educational Studies Dissertations

This art-based research study seeks to examine teaching artists’ current perspectives on the models of training and support provided to them by their employers. The study was conducted with a group of teaching artists exploring two key research questions: What models of training and support do teaching artists receive? What are teaching artists perspectives on the efficacy of those models? Responses were explored collaboratively through a cyclical process of artmaking, reflection, and discussion designed and facilitated by the artist-researcher. The study yielded the following outcomes: teaching artists believe training and support received from employers is inefficient and inconsistent; teaching artists …

Studio Expressive Arts Therapy: Towards A Classroom Method That Incorporates Art And Music, Michael Greenberg

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis explored the ways in which expressive arts therapy (ExAT) could be incorporated into a small therapeutic high school’s visual arts program. Through the development and implementation of a method, intermodal exchange between visual art and music was integrated into both the school’s art program and its group counseling offerings. Informed by a literature review of studio art therapy (SAT) as related to ExAT, three different interventions were used to fit within the frameworks of the high school’s offerings. The first intervention focused on making music with a few students within art classes while the rest of the class …

Exploring Tactile Art-Making With Deafblind Students And Their Families: An Opportunity For Creative Play, Alice Rodgers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The impact of a deafblind diagnosis on an individual’s mental health and the well-being of the family involved can be profound. However, current research and available literature for the mental health treatment and therapy practices of deafblind persons and their families is limited (Kyzar et al., 2016; “WFDB Global Report 2018,” n.d.). This thesis used the Leeds Family Psychology and Therapy Service principles (Leeds FPTS) and the Expressive Therapies Continuum with established deafblind teaching strategies to facilitate an original arts-based community project entitled: “Things We Like.” This project provided an opportunity for deafblind students (ages three to 22) and their …

A Virtual Art Therapy Curriculum For High School Students During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Informed By Bronfenbrenner’S Ecological Systems Theory, Kendra Soule

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

During the 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic became a global health threat. In order to maintain public safety many schools had to transition onto a virtual space using online programs and classrooms. Not only did schools move to an online platform, but also mental health therapy moved to telehealth platforms to serve those affected by the pandemic. Art therapy is a form of therapy that uses the tangible art making process, art piece, and therapeutic relationship as aspects of therapy. With the move to the virtual setting, art therapists had to modify their work to fit the new setting. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological …

Music Interventions For A Child With Developmental Disabilities, Zishan Xiong

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This capstone thesis project explores a musical intervention (Development Interaction Through Music, DITM) for a 9-year-old girl with neurodevelopmental disorders in a school setting. Although there was research on the application of music therapy in different populations, there are relatively few documentations on music therapy in the field of special education. Some case studies have found that music therapy has a positive effect on people with developmental disorders (Thompson & McFerran, 2015). Clinicians need to engage in more clinical practice and collect case data as strong evidence. Music therapists who work with children with severe disabilities are recommended to build …

Art Therapy In Public Education, Sophie Edelman

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature review explores the history of art therapy in education. By understanding the history it is clear that art therapy has always been a positive force for students. By learning from the successes and challenges in our history we are better able to plan for future programing and expansion of art therapy programs. Because art therapy was developed in part by educators, the history of art therapy itself is linked with the history of art therapy in schools. In today’s application of art therapy in education there are three models most typically used. The research discusses the strengths and …

Art Therapy, Mass Media And Self-Acceptance With Adolescents: A Literature Review, Samantha Leary

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This literature reviews provides a synopsis of art therapy its potential benefits in combating negative effects associated with social media and adolescents’ sense of self-acceptance. Using art therapy as a mode of self-expression is found to help negate negative effects of social media and provide adolescents with healthy tools to help them develop and grow. Social media provides a wealth of information that can be detrimental to the emotional growth of young adults. In this literature review lack of face to face connection, idealized beauty standards, instant gratification and social comparisons are correlated to depressive symptoms in adolescents. Through the …

One-Canvas Method: Art Making That Transforms On One Surface Over A Sustained Period Of Time, Abbe Miller

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The one-canvas method is a practice of ongoing art making on one surface for a sustained period of time. Expanding on a pilot study, this inquiry followed an art-based research design guided by three questions: 1) Are there art therapy qualities that are unique to the one-canvas assemblage painting process? 2) What are the therapeutic qualities of interim periods during one-canvas work? 3) Can digital media that is used to document one-canvas processes further appreciation and understanding of therapeutic arts modalities? Five adult participants including myself, used the method over three sessions. Individual summary videos that integrated three modes of …

Student Wellbeing And Open Studio Process In The School Curriculum, Maria Kim

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This study aimed to explore whether Open Studio Process (OSP) increased wellbeing of middle and high school students when facilitated by teachers as a part of the regular art curriculum. It was hypothesized that OSP might increase the sense of wellbeing among middle and high school students as well as facilitating teachers. The research was conducted as a mixed methods study in South Korea where students need preventative interventions for their wellbeing. The researcher trained eight teachers to facilitate OSP and five of them implemented it with their classes for seven sessions. Quantitative data (K-YSR; pre- and posttest) were collected …

Bridging The Gap: Exploring Indian Classical Dances As A Source Of Dance/Movement Therapy, A Literature Review., Ruta Pai

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Indian Classical Dances are a mirror of the traditional culture in India and therefore the people in India find it easy to connect with them. These dances involve a combination of body movements, gestures and facial expressions to portray certain emotions and feelings. There are seven major Indian Classical Dances- Bharatnatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Odissi, Kuchipudi, Manipuri and Mohiniattam. These dances possess three common aspects - Natya, Nritta and, Nritya. These aspects include several other elements which are at the core of these dances. This literature review focuses on three of those primary elements – Abhinaya, Gestures and Navarasas because they …

Emotional Regulation & Therapeutic Rapport With Adolescents: Exploring The Effectiveness Of The Expressive Therapies Continuum, Kasey Larsen

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapy is a beneficial service for adolescents who face obstacles connecting emotionally, behaviorally, and academically. Creative techniques and therapeutic rapport can facilitate connection with the self, focus, and emotional regulation. Teens, especially struggling with mental health, often have difficulty functioning in the average public-school setting. Research supports a positive correlation to art therapy services and effectiveness in a school setting. The intention of this capstone was to test the effectiveness of the expressive therapies continuum (ETC) in supporting emotional regulation with two high school girls in a therapeutic day school. The method of research includes a pre-, post-, and …

What Can A Studio Approach To Teaching Tell Us About The Academic And Social Learning Of Middle School Students? An Exploration Of Student Understanding Of How Making Art Supports Their Academic And Social Learning., Maureen Creegan- Quinquis, Maureen A. Creegan-Quinquis

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study explores the types of social and academic learning typically overlooked in public school education. Art-based approaches to academic learning have been labeled as“fluff.” Education policymakers hold a biased view of the arts. When asked to consider art as a viable epistemology, cognition theorists have dismissed art as irrational. These biased views have contributed to the marginalization of the field of art education. The purpose of this study was to question this bias through an art-based studio approach to research. The goal was to explore how middle school students understand the role of visual arts in their own academic …

Art Therapy And Art Education: A Conversation - A Critical Review Of The Literature, Shannon Rogers

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Art therapists and art educators are continuing to define the boundaries of their professions while finding opportunities for collaboration. While there are limited studies focusing on art therapy with students, the existing research suggests that the interventions that have been done are associated with an increase of self-esteem, ability to communicate thoughts and feelings, and healthy self-expression for students. The topic question investigated in this paper is what are the emotional benefits of implementing art therapy for elementary students within art education? This literature review will explore what few have focused on, the overlap between art therapy and art education. …

Dance/Movement Therapy As A Tool To Address Racism And Injustice In Service Learning, Melody Gamba

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This author developed a community engagement project within a predominately white, higher education service-learning course to explore racial identity, unrealized bias, and privilege through movement and other artistic modalities. The students explored how movement could aid in fostering community dialogue, bring awareness to their racial identity, and create a more empathetic and compassionate campus community. Through the exploration of a traditional service-learning program delivered in a primarily dominant group, this research investigates how applying a critical service-learning model in conjunction with dance/movement therapy theory may strengthen the understanding of personal and community values around racial awareness and how shared art …

Perspectives Of High School Photography Teachers Regarding Visual Literacy, Kristi Oliver

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of high school photography teachers regarding visual literacy. A qualitative methodology that used a phenomenographic research design was employed to gain understanding about the perspectives of high school photography teachers in their conceptualization, perceptions, and experiences surrounding visual literacy. A survey/ questionnaire was used to explore participants’ paths towards becoming a high school photography teacher, the amount of years they have been teaching, and their geographic location. Participants perception of school demographics such as school size, community contexts, racial, ethnic, and economic diversity were also collected. Additional prompts were designed to investigate curricular influences, …

The Way Of The Artist Educator: Understanding The Fusion Of Artistic Studio Practice And Teaching Pedagogy Of K-12 Visual Arts Educators, Christopher M. Strickland

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this autoethnographic study was to examine the experiences of Artist Educators and how they perceive the fusion of their artistic studio practice and teaching pedagogy impacts their creative and teaching practices. This study involved a focus group of six individuals, including the researcher. All the participants were practicing artists, currently employed or recently retired K-12 Visual Arts Education certified in the states of Maine or New Hampshire and members of the Kittery Art Association. This study used a combination of interviews and an arts-based method for data collection. All the data were analyzed and resulted in the …

Integrating Expressive Therapies And Visual Literacy Skills In An Exceptional Children Classroom, Natalia Torres Del Valle

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The method conducted in this thesis integrated museum education, exceptional children education, and expressive arts therapy practices. Objectives for implementing the method were to learn how to effectively address the unique needs within the exceptional children classroom, as well as to collaborate with the teacher to address those needs through expressive arts therapy and visual literacy approaches. In so doing, I wanted to examine the differences and similarities between museum education and expressive arts therapy and how they can work together to meet therapeutic goals. The method took place over four sessions; each session focused on a work of art …

Paradise Entertainment's Feature Of The Week: Splint, Brittney Callahan

MFA in Photography and Integrated Media Theses

Watching television has been part of my daily ritual since childhood. Every time it was turned on, I was able to enter into new worlds that were exotic compared to my house. Each story on the screen filled me with hope, inspired me with passion, and took me to a place where everything, no matter how terrible, seemed to have a purpose, an arc, and an end. These visual narratives birthed the idea of an equational life, one that seemed simple and mathematical. After I realized that life couldn’t be firmly calculated, I decided to invent my own alternative realities …

Visual Influence And Youth Empowerment, Rebecca A. Cote

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

During adolescence, youth start to look outside of their spheres of family to explore the greater world and they are often left with visual media as the go-to source of information. Media images are contrived to provoke meaning through the use of signs and how they are presented and they manipulate images to impart messages. Youth need to be literate in visual language in order to discern the implied influence.

Fostering Student Engagement, Skills, And Connections Through Peer Review/Critique Across Disciplines, Jesse W. Schoaf, Summer Clark, Liv Cummins, Lisa Spitz, Katarina Keown, Linda Pursley, John Mccormick

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

The process of peer review/critique in the college classroom is rife with challenges which may stem from a lack of commitment on the part of students and instructors alike, despite a significant body of literature which suggests peer review/critique can be an important learning tool. Studies demonstrate, when students are committed to the process, peer review can improve myriad skills, including written work (Topping, 1998, Mulder et al, 2014) and collaborative and communication skills (Topping, 2000, Topping, 2009, Mulder, R., Pearce, J., & Baik, C., 2014, Nicol, 2010), among many others. Our action research study documents how four undergraduate professors …

Arts Based Brain Research, Alicia Arendt

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

Art is believed to be “the expression or application of the human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their aesthetic value or emotional power” (Buk, 2009, p. 61). While there are a myriad of ways to define and categorize art, such a definition as the one above is useful as it touches upon three key areas of arts based brain research; artistic cognition, artistic production and aesthetic experience. The study of arts based brain science, or the neuroscience of art, demands an understanding of the interplay between these three facets of the artistic experience. Most …

Art Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Relationship Between Personal Artistic Creative Work And The Practice Of Teaching, Dianne Lynn

Educational Studies Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore visual art teachers’ perceptions of the relationship between their artistic creative processes and their teaching. National Visual Arts Standards, developed by National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, and New York State Learning Standards for the Arts assert that teaching creativity is essential. Based on this foundational idea and guided by a phenomenological research method with additional strategies drawn from arts-based research, this study sought to understand what art teachers learn from continuing a creative practice, the impact a creative practice has on learning environments, and to understand the relationship between …

Interdisciplinary Arts As An Agent For Community Building In A U.S. Public School, Ida Pappas

Educational Studies Dissertations

The aim of my dissertation research is to understand the relationship between interdisciplinary arts experiences and the establishment of a community culture in a mainstream public high school in northeast United States. With this research, I hope to provide evidence to support the inclusion of interdisciplinary arts projects in the fabric of students’ high school curricular and extra-curricular experiences. Through engagement in design, art, video, music, dance, theater and the close study of a minority culture, high school participants provided regular responses to planned survey questions and open-ended survey questions (Experience Sampling), as well as through interviews, written prompts and …

Engaging Bilingual Students In The Grade Six Classroom, Kathryn Contini

Community of Scholars Day—Posters

In this presentation, I will share my ongoing case study research on factors that support reading motivation and engagement for three emergent bilingual learners (BLS) in my grade six English language arts classes. I will present a variety of information gained through both quantitative and qualitative research methods, and share strategies that been helpful to engaging these sixth graders. Feedback from other practitioners will be solicited.

Taking In: A Juried Selection Of Undergraduate Photography 2016, Lucad Students

Taking In

Taking In is a juried annual student-run publication that showcases the best of LUCAD undergraduate photography and video. The project focuses on the business of promoting art and culminates each year with a juried exhibition, publication, and website all designed to promote selected works of AIB artists. The selected pieces were chosen anonymously by a jury of distinguished members of the Boston art community. The book in your hand is the end result of a collective effort by those in the class.

Enduring Peripheries, Anna Yeroshenko

MFA in Photography and Integrated Media Theses

In the 80s when Russian state-sanctioned architectural production consisted of standardized buildings that deplored any unnecessary ornament or decoration, an architect functioned only as an interpreter of numerous limiting factors. As an act of protest against the stagnation in architecture, a group of young architects began to create projects that existed only on paper. For them ‘Paper Architecture‘ became a way of bypassing restrictions and dissenting, a way to critique the dehumanizing nature of the architectural style that prevailed at that time. Spatial compositions, which were hard to comprehend visually, elements of inverse perspective, and impractical, idealistic environments depicted a …