CHOICE-BASED ART EDUCATION IN AN ESL KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM © Autumn Anderson A Master’s Degree Proposal submitted to Moore College of Art & Design in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Art Education with an Emphasis in Special Populations Philadelphia, PA August 2016 Accepted: _________________________________________________________________ Lauren Stichter | Graduate Program Director Masters in Art Education with an Emphasis in Special Populations For Anna Arlene Seratch (Gram). My wonder woman guardian angel in heaven. Although you can’t be here with me, we’re really not apart, until the final breath I take, you’ll be living in my heart. !ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a Choice-Based art curriculum with students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) kindergarten classroom. Of specific interest to the researcher there was a strong correlation between students using visual aids and communication skills to set their own art making goals. Through action research, a curriculum focused on student choice was implemented over a ten-week period. The participants ranged in age from five to seven and were all in full day kindergarten. Students’ productivity, engagement, and communication skills were observed during both teacher-directed art class in a traditional art room and student- directed projects-based classes. The Choice-Based curriculum was implemented over five projects that allowed for students to be introduced to new materials and begin generating their own ideas and ways to create their own artwork. Data collected through observations, interviews, and the students’ artwork was used to measure the students ability to decide outcomes within their own artwork. The study concludes that communication skills are gained and the attention spans of the students significantly increased when students are working on Choice-Based projects. Students also increased their use of written and oral communication, while also improving their literacy skills through the use of planning and sketchbooks. !iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ……………………………………………………………………….…………i Dedication ……………………………………………………………………….…….….ii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………….……….iii Table of Contents ………………………………………..……….………………………iv Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….…1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………….1 Problem Statment …………………………………………………..……..4 Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………….….…5 Significance of Study ……………………………………………….….…8 Research Question(s) ……………………………………………………10 Limitations ………………………………………………………………11 LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………..….…12 Introduction to Literature Review …………………………………….…12 English Language Learners ……………………………….……..………13 Choice-Based Art Education ………………………………………….…15 Sketchbooks ………………………………………………………..……17 Literature Review Summary ………………………………………….…19 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY…………………………………….…….……20 Introduction to Methods …………………………………………………20 Methods ………………………………………………………………….21 Sampling …………………………………….……..……………………24 Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………25 Ethics ……………………………………………………………………25 Limitations & Validity …………………………………………………..26 CHAPTER THREE: DATA COLLECTION & FINDINGS ……………………..…28 Introduction to Data Collection …………………………………………28 Research Questions …………………………………..…….……………28 Lesson Plan Summaries …………………………………………………29 Initial Data Collection of Students Interests ………………………….…31 Lesson One: Drawn Animals ……………………………………………32 Lesson Two: Experimentation with Drawing and Painting Centers …….34 Lesson Three: Full Choice with Drawing, Painting, & Planning ……….38 Lesson Four: Full Choice with Drawing, Painting, and Collage ………..41 Lesson Five: Expressive Self-Portrait ………………………….…….….43 Interview Summaries …………………………….……………..……….46 Data Analysis ………………………………………………………..…..49 !iv Lesson One Data Analysis ………………………………………50 Lesson Two Data Analysis …………………………………..…..51 Lesson Three Data Analysis ……………………………………..52 Lesson Four Data Analysis ….…..………………………………53 Lesson Five Data Analysis ………………………………………53 Findings ………………………………………………….…..………….54 CHAPTER FOUR: SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS………………………………..60 Summary ……………………………………………………….…….….60 Action Plan ………………………………………………………………61 APPENDIX……………………………………..…….…………………………………65 Appendix A: Consent Forms …………………………………………………….65 A.1: Principal Consent Form ……………………………………………65 A.2: Teacher Consent Form ……………………………………………..66 A.3: Overview Parent Consent Form ……………………………………67 A.4: Parent Consent Form for Participating Student ……………………68 Appendix B: Research Timeline ……………………………………………..….69 APPENDIX C: Lesson Plan Elements …………………………………………..70 Appendix C.1: Visual Powerpoint for Lesson 1 …………….……..……70 Appendix C.2: All About Me Worksheet …………………………….….71 Appendix C.3: Inspiration List Worksheet ….……..……………………72 Appendix C.4: My Art Plan Template ……………..……………………73 Appendix C.5: Full Lesson Plan 4 with Tiered Rubrics …………..….…74 Appendix C.6: Visual Center Posters ……………………………………80 APPENDIX D: Progress Monitoring Log ………………………………………81 REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………82 !v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my parents, Rae and Terri Anderson, and brother, Daniel, who have always encouraged me to follow my dreams, thank you. Your guidance and love is something I will never take for granted. You all have been there for me through everything and I wouldn’t be the person or teacher I am today without your support. And to my husband, Nolan, for his infinite patience and being my steady rock. Thank you for being my partner in life and adventurous sidekick. I love you. I would like to express my gratitude to the thirteen students who allowed me to study their work for this project. Thank you for taking the creative leap and allowing me to be a part of your choices. Along with my Principal, Vice Principal, and fellow faculty at Willow Dale Elementary that were so supportive and flexible during the action research portion of my thesis. !vi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The year of 2014 was filled with many professional milestones and changes in my life. Having just graduated in May of that year with a degree in Art Education, a BFA in Ceramics, along with a minor in Special Education, I became a member of the Centennial School District in Bucks County as a long-term substitute teacher. Five months into the job, I was offered a contract as the sole art teacher of Willow Dale Elementary. I felt prepared, classes were going well, and I loved what I was doing. Following the first year of my teaching, I took time to reflect upon how the year went and what I wanted to change in future classes. It was then that I began to question my teaching philosophy and how I was teaching: what do I want my students to know? Did they feel as engaged in the process as I felt with each lesson I presented? It was during that conversation with myself that I realized I wanted to make a change and implement Choice-Based Art into my curriculum. Leaders in the field of art education recognize the importance of students taking ownership of their own educational pursuits. Choice-Based Art Education is an art education movement that “develops artistic behaviors by enabling students to discover what it means to be an artist through the authentic creation of artwork… Students need to learn about materials and techniques, concepts, and art history; teachers need to connect the child’s world to the curriculum” (Douglas, K. and Jaquith, D., 2009, pp.1-3). !1 During that same summer, I began graduate school at Moore College of Art and Design for a Masters in Art Education With An Emphasis On Special Populations. While on campus, I had a chance to engage in conversation and collaborate with others in the program and talk about their successes and struggles with teaching at all levels in the art education community. Knowing that I would be working towards graduating and presenting my thesis during the summer of 2016, I returned to my teaching position at Willow Dale Elementary feeling refreshed and excited. It was in the faculty lounge after the first couple days back when I expressed the difficulty that I was having communicating with my all day kindergarten students who are English Language Learners (ELL). The discussion quickly turned into how can I effectively teach students who are already struggling with the language. The other specialists in the teacher’s lounge were also having difficulty communicating with these same students. Teaching ELL students not only presents hurdles for the student, but also for the teacher. Having an entire class of ELL students made me realize that teacher-directed learning, which is when a teacher provides all steps necessary to complete the entirety of a project, was not going to work in this particular class until I was able to overcome the language barrier. I realized that as the teacher, I was in charge of making all the decisions in curriculum, ideas, and materials. In a teacher-directed classroom, it is the teachers brainstorming, teachers’ experimentation, and the teachers final outcome that can be seen throughout all of the students work. I chose to work on implementing Choice-Based learning into my kindergarten ELL class. Unlike the teacher-directed approach, Choice-Based Art Education allows the !2 students to have a voice through their materials, choices, and how they would go about the entire artistic process. Using art centers, such as drawing, painting, and collage would allow the children to interact with each other, and I felt I would have more time to spend one on one with each student, while giving all of us a chance to learn to communicate with one another on a very basic level. Kindergarten presents many firsts for all students and engaging in art would be one of those firsts. I had a chance to impact how students felt about taking a visual arts class and I wanted to seize the opportunity presented to me in a way that was relevant, engaging, and exciting. I wanted their time to be memorable and applicable to their daily lives. Engaging such a diverse population and still needing to meet the demands of core standards was the turning point for choosing to initiate Choice-Based into this particular class. The students in this class are at different levels when it comes to understanding and speaking English. Some students have never been exposed to art, while other students are just moving into the district. All students, including those in the ELL program, are expected to engage in conversation throughout the school day. Of specific interest to my research was the correlating results between how I taught my kindergarten last year with a teacher-directed approach, prior to my transition to Choice-Based learning this year. Through the method of action research, I chose to implement a curriculum which focuses on student-directed learning as the basis for my thesis over a ten-week period. The students in the program are five to seven year olds and speak little or no English. The research will aim to construct an environment of Choice-Based art exploration and the use of sketchbooks in an ELL kindergarten classroom. I will be looking at individual !3 student decision-making abilities through a variety of open-ended designed art lessons. Students will have mini-conferences to talk about their ideas and material choices. In my experience as an art educator, I have found that students need time to explore and create through their own discoveries, just like artists do in their own studios. Students need opportunities to create, explore, question, and think as real artist do. For this study, I will take on the role as a teacher-researcher in order to investigate ways educators might support students in an ESL classroom while making their own choices and developing communication skills. By utilizing a sketchbook as a tool for generating ideas, problem solving, and reflecting, students will be introduced to the idea of monitoring their own creative growth during the time of this study. I want to investigate how I, as an educator, in an ELL kindergarten classroom, might support my students in making their own choices that will possibly affect the way they think as artists as they create art, while giving them the opportunity to engage in conversation with others so they can assimilate better in their school community and home. Problem Statement Students that have an ELL background nearly always have problems communicating with their teachers, especially if the teacher cannot speak their native language. Thus, language can become a significant barrier in educating a student. However, art is a visual language that is found all over the world which allows students to communicate above language barriers. A Choice-Based Art Education program relies heavily on visual aids for each art making center. Introducing ELL kindergarten students !4