Chapter 3 Exercises: What Works?

Possible research question: How does the study and creation of (self)portraiture contribute to the development of empathy in art education students?

Mindwork:

·    If I were to explore my own experience with portraiture, I would probably say it is to me the most fascinating and challenging subject, especially when it concerns the self. I have a long history with attempts at self-portraiture and my ability to portray myself accurately both internally and externally.

·    I am aware of the different styles of portraiture, from realistic to abstract to non-representational. Portraiture is a means to capture a record as well as to express a sentiment or emotional state.

·    I’ve read journal from NEA as well as NAEA that I liked, because I found them accessible.

·    In my student teaching, I’ve noticed that my students were very eager to begin learning portraiture, however when they actually got started, many were easily frustrated.

·    A portrait unit would be able to stand alone.

·    A portrait unit could explore realism, expressionism, color, texture, proportion, and figure-ground relations, among a lot of other options.

·    I will consult ERIC, JSTOR, NEA and NAEA publications, as well as and possible primary artist documents that I can find. It might also be useful to access scientific or social journals on the topic of empathy or social relationships.

·    My mother, a psychiatrist, and my father, a neurosurgeon. My host teachers, who are experienced in the typical social development of various ages of students.

Mindwork

·    Options for further research

o   I think that my topic is pretty focused as it is. There is a lot of material I can choose from. I should probably choose a specific age.

·    What I know now…

o   I remember reading Daniel Pink’s chapter on empathy, but did not make the connection until I saw a reference to him on a google search of portraits and empathy.

·    Alternative keywords?

o   Social development, portraiture versus self-portraiture

·    Alternate source?

o   I need a scholarly journal database, such as JSTOR, to find more reliable sources

·    Download or print?

o   I’ve downloaded a few relevant PDFs from ERIC

·    Experts’ names?

o   So far, Daniel Pink and Carol Jeffers have been a reference. Also, Brelsar and Latta have an interesting article that might be a springboard for me.

Mindwork

Armon, J.; Uhrmacher, P.B., and Ortega, T. (November 2009) The significance of

            self-portraits: Making connections through monotype prints in letras y arte.

            Art Education, 62(6), p 12-18. Retrieved 30 Jan 2011 from

            http://www.naea-reston.org/

Byrnes, K. (2009) Portraits of contemplative teaching: A third way. Retrieved from   

ProQuest LLC.

http://proxy.mul.missouri.edu:2081/pqdlink?did=1850687111&Fmt=7&clientId=45247&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Jeffers, C. S. (2009) On empathy: The mirror neuron system and art

education. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 10(15). Retrieved 30 Jan 2011 from http://www.ijea.org/v10n15/.

Jeffers, C.S. (2009) Within connections: Empathy, mirror neurons, and art education.

            Art Education, 62(2), p 18-23. Retrieved 30 Jan 211 from

            http://www.naea-reston.org/research/advertising/art-education

Jeffers, C.S. (2010) A still life is really a moving life: The role of mirror neurons and

            empathy in animating aesthetic response. Journal of Aesthetic Education, (44)2.

            Retrieved 30 Jan 2012. doi: 10.1353/jae.0.0079

Pink, D. (2005) A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. Penguin

            Group: New York.

Shuster, C. (2000) Emotions count: Scaffolding children’s representations of themselves

            and their feelings to develop emotional intelligence. Retrieved 30 Jan 2011 from

            http://ericeece.org/pubs/books/katzsym/shuster.pdf.

Wikstrom, B. (2003) A picture of  work of art as an empathy teaching strategy in nurse

            education complementary to theoretical knowledge. Journal of Professional

            Nursing, 19(1), p 49-54. Retrieved 30 Jan 2011. doi:10.1053/jpnu.2003.5 

·    More current articles?

o   No, my articles are current.

·    Can I eliminate sources I thought were valuable?

o   Not yet.

·    Different types of material?

o   I could use more variation. My sources are almost entirely published journal articles, with a couple dissertations and a book. I have a few more books I could look into, as well as possibly researching some lesson plans.

·    Where to go next?

o   To my own textbooks to see what material I can use.

·    Revise question now?

o   Not yet. I feel my question is very focused and has adequate material to begin researching. I wouldn’t yet know how to revise it, if I even needed to do so.