It’s Not Just About the Art: Helping Students Become Active Learners Through a Culturally Responsive Arts Curriculum

Item

Title
It’s Not Just About the Art: Helping Students Become Active Learners Through a Culturally Responsive Arts Curriculum
Creator
Teresa L. Hire
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Teaching (initial licensure)
Project Type
Action Research Project
Date
6/17/2023
Abstract
Culturally responsive arts curriculum research in a racially/ethnically diverse Title I middle school arts classroom found that student engagement and participation increased after implementing lessons that connected to various cultural funds of knowledge. Connections to student background experiences included exploratory lessons on: planting seeds and visually documenting growth and transplanting seedlings to school garden; exploring Pacific Islander culture, patterns, and symbolism in Samoan tapa cloth designs with a survey of personal student identity; and hands-on exploration of form by using generational familiarity with Lego toys to create the illusion of 3D form on paper and digitally, as well as inventing and modeling new Lego pieces in clay. Increased engagement was documented in student sketchbooks, artistic projects, exit tickets, student reflections, and teacher observations. Literature in the field of culturally responsive teaching outlined by Geneva Gay (2000), and her five tenets, was used as the pedagogical framework to provide novel examples for teachers to implement in a middle school visual art classroom. In the closing reflection of the action research project, teachers will discover that a meaningful arts curriculum “is not just about the art”.
Committee Member
Xiaopeng Gong
Paula Booth
Rights
Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 10/03/2023, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author by contacting the WOU Library.
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Language
eng
Type
Text