Chapter 7: What Works? Exercises

Chapter 7: What Works? Exercises

Mindwork

·    Possible timeline for research project:

o   Length of project: 3 months

	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3
Observing	Observe students interactions through lens of empathy and record thoughts	Teach empathy unit and observe student responses	Observe student interactions through lens of empathy and record thoughts post-project
Interviewing	Develop and test empathy survey, revise if necessary	Administer pre and post empathy survey
Gathering Materials	Develop empathy unit, create teacher exemplar; gather needed materials. Collect permissions.	Photograph student works in progress; gather copies of student reflections and peer responses
Reading	Read previous related research	Read student responses
Writing	Journaling on process and observations.	Journaling on process and observations.	Compile findings into short article and curriculum unit
Analyzing and Interpreting		Compile data that relates to my research question	Review findings.
Revising			Revise as necessary

·    I feel that this project can fit comfortably into my normal schedule if I allot time after on most days, plus a few weekends, to prepare, review, and compose my material. This project is intended to be on a small-scale, probably among 2-3 classes of a particular elementary grade (5^th?).

·    Again, the change I would have to make at school would be minimal, as this is a unit plan I could fit into my normal curriculum. I would just need to make sure that I had adequate storage and space, and that I planned my time wisely, so that all components could be completed. I would probably have to adjust my schedule to have a “writing day” of class where students complete surveys and write reflections and peer responses. I would also have to allot a “presentation day” for students to share their works, they key factor to getting an empathic response from my students.

Mindwork:

·    Agency

o   National Art Education Foundation

·    Goals and purposes

o   To further research in the art education field

·    With whom does the agency associate

o   They are associated with the National Art Education Association, art educators, art researches, etc.

·    Other funded projects?

o   NAEF funding supports a wide variety of professional activities, including promotion of art education as an integral part of the curriculum; establishment and/or improvement of art instruction in public and private K-16 schools; promotion of the teaching of art through activities related to the instructional process, curriculum, student learning, student assessment, classroom behavior, management, or discipline; purchase of art equipment and/or instructional resources; and research in art education. Additionally, the NAEF provides professional development scholarships. (taken from NAEA website)

·    Criteria I meet?I meet the criteria for the Mary McMullen grant scholarship, which asks for research projects that “promote art education as an integral part of the curriculum; to establish and/or improve the instruction of art in public and private elementary and secondary schools as well as schoolsof higher education in the US. The following areas will be considered for funding: 1) Curriculum Models, 2) Pilot Projects, and 3) Policy Models” (NAEF Grant Guidelines PDF)

·    Criteria I’m missing?

o   None that I can find

·    What assumptions does the agency have about education?

o   This agency promotes the value of an education in visual culture for today’s students, and that this value is not acknowledged enough culturally

·    Does this fit into my philosophy?

o   Absolutely, it promotes the development of a wider and more relevant arts curriculum toward the cultivation of a more visually literate society

·    Analyze language

o   The language of this agency is very proactive and very forward in terms of advocating art education. Any tones or words that are strong, bold, or give the impression of “spreading the message” seem to be favored.

Mindwork

·    Working title

o   Visual Arts: A Curriculum for Empathy

·    Background

o   Through my education and experience in the arts, it has become clear to me that visual imagery has its own power to develop the emotional, cognitive, and social behaviors and understandings of students of all ages. It has been my personal experience that students, especially during those vital elementary years, are at that time in the midst of discovering the world around them, and many of those students struggle with how to navigate that very world.

Art education provides an incredibly rich opportunity for all students to investigate complex and universal themes – especially that of empathy, which is reportedly on the decrease – in a creative and open atmosphere of discovery and sharing. It is empathy, the ability to recognize and share in the feelings of others, that above all promotes connectedness among fellow citizens: a vital characteristic in such a small and diverse world.

·    Research question and subquestions

o   How can empathy be taught and developed through the visual arts in 4^th grade classrooms?

§  What is the 4^th grade understanding of “empathy?”

§  How can the use of images promote empathic connection among classmates?

§  How can empathy be measured?

§  Why is it important to teach empathy?

·    Related Research

o   There is much research already done on the topic of empathy and its neurobiological response in the brain, called mirror neurons. Studies have found that the use of visual imagery sparks a response from the mirror neurons, resulting in an empathic response (Bower, 1985; Jeffers, 2009, 2009, 2010). Other research has already tested the use of visual images to enhance empathic reactions in pre-service art educators and in nursing students (Jeffers, 2009, 2010; Wikstrom, 2003). I have also come upon related curricular units that promote a “portrait” methodology when having students investigate heritage and identity in order to promote a personal connection to the self and to others (Chapman, 2007).

·    Permissions

o   I will require written permissions from my supervisors, students, and parents of my students in order to use their created, written, and spoken works.

·    Data Sources

o   Pre-unit data sources will include my own observations and recordings about 4^th grade student interactions regarding empathy, as well as open-ended surveys that ask students about their understanding of empathy, as well as questions about how they relate to their classmates. The purpose of this survey will be to stand as a comparison to the end of unit “assessment.”

Data sources during the unit will include the students responsive artwork as well as recorded oral presentations, written reflections, and written peer responses.

Post unit data sources will include a re-administration of a empathy survey as well as my own recorded observations of student interactions.

·    Methods and Analysis

o   The project will begin about a month before the actual teaching of the unit, when I will test my empathy survey with a selection of uninvolved individuals perhaps in another school. I will also spend time each day observing and recording my findings about student interactions regarding empathy and lack thereof.

The unit will begin on month 2. Each 4^th grade class will go through the process of filling out the survey first. Then, each class will progress through the empathy unit, which involves: reading and discussing The Arrival, viewing works of art about empathy, developing a vessel or “suitcase” 3D project (mirroring the suitcase of the book’s character) that investigates the inner and outer self leaving home, oral presentations of the projects, and then a series of written peer reflections. This process is adapted from studies already done by Carol Jeffers on pre-service teachers.

Month 3 will be spend consolidating and finishing the study.

·    Timeline: beginning of semester

	Month 1	Month 2	Month 3
Observing	Observe students interactions through lens of empathy and record thoughts	Teach empathy unit and observe student responses	Observe student interactions through lens of empathy and record thoughts post-project
Interviewing	Develop and test empathy survey, revise if necessary	Administer pre and post empathy survey
Gathering Materials	Develop empathy unit, create teacher exemplar; gather needed materials. Collect permissions.	Photograph student works in progress; gather copies of student reflections and peer responses
Reading	Read previous related research	Read student responses
Writing	Journaling on process and observations.	Journaling on process and observations.	Compile findings into short article and curriculum unit
Analyzing and Interpreting		Compile data that relates to my research question	Review findings.
Revising			Revise as necessary

·    Possible finding

o   I feel that my project will find a marked increase in my students’ understanding of the concept of empathy, as well as a shift to more positive interactions among the classmates who have developed a greater understanding of “walking in the other’s shoes.”

·    Dissemination

o   I will compile my findings in a research article, as well as develop and hopefully publish a finished and refined curriculum unit for the 4^th grade classroom.

·    Budget

o   My budget will include the cost of materials: the book The Arrival, 3D collage materials, etc. I will also need to invest in photocopying as well as, possibly, materials for organizational and management purposes (files, folders, etc.)