Wayne State University
College of Education
Masters Essay

“Do preliminary creative activities that promote abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?"

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
For the Master of Arts in Teaching Degree
Submitted by:
Mary Myrand
December 08, 2007


Table of Contents

Chapter I – Introduction                                                                                                 

Chapter II – Review of the Literature                                                                     
            Situated Learning                                                                                              
            Initiating Metaphoric Thinking
            Inquiry
            Communication
            Exposure
            Summary

Chapter III – Research Paradigm and Applications
            Overview
            Collection of Data
            Plan for Analysis
            Textural/Structural Composite
            Conclusion

Chapter IV – Analysis: Results
            Classroom Environment
            Types of Activities
            Progress and Self-Development in the Student 
            Cultural and Social Relevance
            Teacher Resources
            Teacher Reflection 
            Textural Description 
            Structural Analysis 

Chapter V – Summary and Discussion

Appendix   
            Phone Interview 
            Letter to Participant 
            Questionnaire
            Participant Release Form  
            Lesson Plan Sample

Bibliography


Chapter I

Introduction

My research will be based on the rooted belief that everyone can develop their creative thinking. I think that reaching down into the crusty depths of one’s thoughts and bringing them up to a coherent and visual reality can be done if activities and exercises are provided to do so. I believe that if art teachers can expose children to fun and easy conceptual processes or mind mapping activities, they can use these soul and/or mind searching methods to expand their abstract thinking to be more creative, their work enriched, and develop better skills for doing so in future applications. In my research I examined the methods of high school graphic art teachers and compared them. In reviewing the results and trying to understand them I believe that the teachers activities have promoted more creativity in their students. The methods used have expanded their students’ potential in their assigned lessons.

We, as teachers, should want to provide the best opportunity for growth and development of a student’s visual and creative thinking capabilities. I believe this topic is relevant because I think it is important to stimulate the mind, get the juices flowing, and prepare students for the greatest amount of creativity of which they are capable. I think providing preliminary activities will help develop abstract thinking in the students.

The first time I was aware that I was given the opportunity to go deep inside my creative thinking was in my first basic design class in college. Our instructor had us sit comfortably, close our eyes while he then verbally suggested thoughts, and took us through a visionary exercise. It was the best tool to get my creative juices flowing. I still use this exercise to this day to bring myself back into “seeing” when I need to get focused. The exercise basically had us focus on being in an elevator. He would give us a topic, an object, or a theme. We listened to the instructor take us down a floor, then down to another floor, and so on. At each floor he would say “the door opens” and he would ask us questions about the topic or theme. This would put visual ideas into my mind. It helped me to thoroughly analyze the theme or object, and to see it at a greater detail. Through my teaching at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Saturday Art School class here at Wayne State University, I have written a lesson based on this particular exercise. I have used it with an eighth-grade as well as a high school fibers class that I taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Both classes loved doing the exercise and admitted how useful it was in helping them focus on the project.

Whether it is for my job, class work, or studio work, I continue to use creative thinking in my everyday life. Personally, I think that I have always persevered as a creative artist when I have the opportunity to work with fun activities to bring out my creative thoughts. I get that “wow, what a great idea” feeling when those thoughts start coming forward. This especially happens when I use games, activities, and exercises. I have worked as a graphic designer for Wayne State University for more than 20 years now. At this job, I constantly gather ideas, methods and other people’s interpretations to develop or initiate a concept. My duties also require providing graphic and digital services for a client-based department. When I receive a request to create a new logo or design a brochure or poster, I gather essential elements or themes of the project. I then start to make concrete objects out of these themes, and move these objects around on paper, on the computer, resize things, and search for more thoughts. I find these steps useful as a creative activity to develop more abstract thought. The acts of being social and speaking with other people about their experiences with themes and ideas, what they see, how they are affected by the material, by watching TV, watching kids, asking kids’ viewpoints, see if they understand it, “why it is that way?”, their interpretation on things, a spark of an idea, and the interest to it, help provide me with the tools to develop a concrete visual, theory or concept. I then break it apart and simplify it in the easiest way to convey a message. After all, the point to graphic design is to see if others “get it”. All of these methods help me to be a creative artist.

As with time and experience I have learned so much about approaching people, explaining a task and what to expect as outcome from participants and/or students in a classroom. Sometimes I deliberately refrain from explaining all essential criteria just to see if the intent of a lesson will explain itself. I do it just to see if I am not influencing a desired outcome. Sometimes I am surprised with the results but usually I have to go back and explain again. In sending out the questionnaires to the participants for this research I wanted to limit myself from giving them my lesson plan as a guide for the intent of my research. Only one teacher felt they were not directly related to the study. The funny thing is, they were teaching graphic design in that school district. That, right there tells me they were more concerned with teaching the processes of art production than the creative thinking involved in developing the student’s creative skills.

There are significant amounts of information to support my theory. I was excited to gather the different styles of activities and/or exercises that prove to be successful to promoting abstract thought in children. I expect that many different methods have been developed and used. I expect to see a broad amount of success in using such methodology and plan to develop and expand upon some of the methods I may find useful. With this, I would like to broaden my teaching skills and/or help promote this use by developing training sessions for other art educators as part of their continuing education.

“Do preliminary creative activities that promote abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?” is the question I have studied. There were also other secondary questions which I explored in this research. Do art teachers use a creative activity prior to a new lesson or just give standard lectures and examples of art? Do art teachers use this methodology for all lessons or just creative lessons? Why? Why not? Can one method be used prior to all lessons? Do different activities present different results? I believe that all these issues are very important to the practice of visual arts education.

One significant limitation that should be considered is that there are very few school districts that offer a graphic arts program in their high schools. Another aspect to my question is it may be limiting or too narrowing by just focusing on graphic design students. I plan to expand upon it and see if this methodology should be added to any art program. I think creative thinking is significant in any art program.

Here are a few things that could be considered delimiting to this research. Is the teacher willing to fully participate and is the teacher accepting of the theory? Is the amount of time it utilizes in the class period taking away from production time of projects?  Will it take too much time to present the activity to the class? Will it be utilized during the whole class period or only for part of the class period? Is the exercise appropriate to the assignment? Does the method or exercise require an uninterrupted environment?

I have used the Phenomenological Research Model as my chosen method to gather, analyze, and synthesize what I collected. I used sound review articles in journals, books, and magazines. I developed questionnaires and/or performed interviews (via phone, email, or personal contact) with seven high school graphic art teachers to get their interpretations and/or use of their methods and/or activities to promote or stimulate abstract thinking.

The following is a list of term used throughout this study. The definitions are provided both for clarity to the learner and to assist the researcher in organizing the data.

Abstract thinking – thinking which takes concepts and ideas and makes them more understandable; breaking them down, categorizing them, generalizing them.

Aesthetic insight – a perception of the detail or likeliness of how something will look.

Conceptualization – taking a notion or idea and forming it into a concept, interpreting it.

Critical thinking­ – the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons (Wade and Travis, 1993)

Effective persuasion – when a concept of an idea is suggested and accepted.

Metaphoric thinking – imaginative processing of thoughts and themes.

Phenomenalization – levels of thinking, analyzing, and interpreting phenomenon.

Seeing – a mental image of what you perceive it to be.

Truth – expressing the reality of what one sees, an honest judgement.

Vision – what one would imagine while developing a concept.

Visual – a draft, preliminary sketch or pictorial image drawn of a thought to show perception or arrangement of ideas.

Visual curiosity – studying something in depth by looking at it in great detail.

 

By use of the Phenominological Paradigm I have reviewed and organized themes and topics, and then compared, synthesized, and analyzed what was experienced. Then I interpreted what I found relevant. The quality of the study is based on the depth of experience given by the questionnaires and/or interviews. Once reviewed, I contacted the participants again and had them confirm the accuracy of what I interpreted from their experience. I also gathered research presented in various articles and book reviews.

Taking time to concentrate and develop thoughts is crucial to one’s ability to express oneself. Being prepared and organized will essentially give one an edge to selling the idea, concept, etc. I feel this holds true for artists and/or designers. There is legwork that needs to be done to fully express the potential of a given thought or concept for successful design of an art piece. I believe doing creative activities or exercises prior to the introduction of a lesson plan can stimulate abstract thought processing in children. Doing so will make them prepared to accomplish the task at hand. My research consisted of what methods teachers used to do so and if they felt successful in using them.

The following chapters will include a literature review, a presentation of the research model, a final synthesis, an analysis of my data, and brief examples of lesson plans and personal stories of activities used will follow in the appendices.


Chapter II

Review of the Literature Several of the articles I reviewed were from the Art Education Journals of the National Art Education Association. I subscribe to this journal and had several issues in my personal library. I searched for more articles online in the WSU Library System. I used the library catalog and located several books and also found many articles throughout the WilsonSelectPlus records database. There were approximately 250 results listed in the combined searches. The search words I used included, but were not limited to the following: design education, creative thinking, thinking skills, graphic, visual, creative education, and abstract thinking.

My thought processes through the development of my research were to discuss how important it is to establish conceptual thought activities to encourage creative and/or abstract thinking in graphic design students. Through the articles I have read, I have also been drawn to the topic of what makes sensible design when students are working to create this conceptual artifact. It is important to know what impact the artwork will make when working on the concept. In order for students to convey their abstract ideas, they need to also make the ideas sensible. I developed these notions together because I believe they are parallel.

The articles I have reviewed have extensive elements discussing thinking skills and how they are critical in the use of modern culture and technology. Many of these ideas involve involve the use of critical thinking to foster the students’ artwork and it is done in a situated setting. I will compare Davenport’s Using Simulations to Ground Intercultural Inquiry in the Art Classroom, James’s Fostering Metaphoric Thinking, Pitri’s Situated Learning in a Classroom Community, and Walker’s What More Can You Ask? And Marschalek’s Four Learning Environments for the Contemporary Art Education Classroom: Studio, Information, Planning, and Electronic and Object Design: Twelve Concepts to Know, Understand and Apply. I have organized the themes from these articles by situated learning, initiating metaphoric thinking, inquiry, communication, and exposure.

Situated Learning

Placing students in an environment, creating activities based on one subject related to a desired outcome is useful especially in a learning environment. According to Petri (2004) this is defined as situated learning. The activity that students do in everyday situations and while they are learning is usually done by social interaction and in small groups where there is a common interest. A troop of Cub Scouts demonstrates how general knowledge pulls them together to share their experiences to develop their artwork for an Olympic games mascot.  It is these situated conditions that create nurturing environments for students to gain confidence about the subject at hand. The role of the teacher during situated learning is to facilitate social interaction, purposeful discussions, constructive conflicts, and to offer environmental stimuli to provoke students’ investigations (Pitri, 2004). Not only does this situated learning stimulate critical thinking but it also provides an environment for constructive social sharing of ideas.

Understanding the cultural background of artifacts may prove necessary for full content of its use. Before asking students to investigate the visual world around them, however, I like to ground my students’ inquiry in a firm understanding of key concepts through a hands-on role-playing activity (Davenport, 2003). It is these role-playing activities that nurture context analysis of the phenomenon presented as focal points. It is a good tool to develop critical analysis of the relationships and discovery of the significance of the project.

“Seeing,” in a creative environment, is the ability to fully understand the idea and have insight into the idea presented. To be able to “see” the full concept, I believe a myriad of pedagological approaches involving abstract thinking should be applied. Creative activities, games and thought provoking assignments should be used to do so. Expanding the knowledge base can only help.

Initiating Metaphoric Thinking

When analyzed critically and carefully, any object or visual phenomenon – including fine paintings or billboards, sculptures or household appliances – can reveal something about the people or society that made it or attached significance to it (Davenport, 2003). What design and/or creative art students need to realize is not only how the everyday objects around them look, but also how those objects are useful. Relating things to each other, comparing and understanding the objects is crucial. Using metaphoric thinking can provide the learning artists a valuable tool to stimulate their creativity.

Metaphoric thinking is an open-ended, interactive and complex process that enables students to make empathic and imaginative associations between dissimilar concepts and to interpret one element in multiple ways (James, 2002). Providing situated learning environments that harbor metaphoric thinking is valuable for students to gain insight and increase their ability to be a productive artist. Using personal analogy to understand objects, thoughts, and the world around them is necessary to comprehend and promote creativity. After students develop an ability to imagine how something or someone feels, thinks, grows, and responds to its environment, they can go on to learn about this subject in other ways (James, 2002). The James work as well as that of previous authors provides a solid foundation for the use of metaphorical thinking as a learning tool in the classroom.

Inquiry

Providing an arena for inquiry is exactly what Marschalek discusses in his article about learning environments. “Four types of learning environments were incorporated into the units that my secondary art education methods students engaged in across the semester: Studio-learning environment, Information design, Multiple-audience planning, and Electronic web-based learning” (Marschalek, 2004).

Using the classroom as an on-the-job setting and placing the students in role-playing titles can be successful at inquiry in the classroom. Students who are presented with real life situations, given key concepts and then asked questions on a need-to-know basis, are able to develop their skills to finalize their projects. Whatever the students need to know in terms of technique, use of materials, and problem-solving skills is presented as the students need it, through small teaching/learning episodes as the unit unfolds (Marschalek, 2004). Each learning environment can expose them to different fields of art and design and their role in that job. Understanding these roles will increase their success at achieving a well-designed concept or artifact, and perhaps its intended purpose. Simulations in the classroom are effective in having students appreciate and understand various viewpoints. Typically, these types of learning activities separate students into distinct, simulated cultural groups, then structure the interactions between these groups to resemble real world situations (Davenport, 2003).

How is good design of an artifact important in our/their lives? Teachers need to develop learning strategies that enable their students to understand how design is part of their lives, how it influences their decision-making. and how it could become their livelihood (Marschalek, 2005). When students are required to justify their responses in terms of how well a design meets certain criteria, they engage in analysis and critique processes that support design discourse (Marschalek, 2005). Only curiosity makes a student want to continue to develop and learn about something new and different than they are used to or comfortable with. George Szekely shares his research of the act of play in “From Play to Art”(1991). He describes play as an opportunity or outlet for a child to express his/her creativity. “When art instruction is planned around the experience of play, children can draw ideas from their own experience instead of strictly following the teacher’s lea, learning how to discover and plan for themselves.” (Szekely, 1991) As young children we are encouraged to play to express our creativity.

Communication

The interpretation - an intended message meant to be given with an artifact - may be explained incorrectly. What are its cultural influences or intended impact? Cultural impact has an overwhelming impression on what is designed and introduced into our society today. From an intercultural perspective, the most interesting insights to be gleaned from studying visual culture concern the ways in which cultural groups have interacted and cross-pollinated over time, because it is through interaction that cultures and civilizations are constructed (Davenport, 2003). What has been done and studied before has most definitely influenced or stimulated thought to improve upon or to integrate into our current society and technology. “Creative products are firmly based upon what came before” . . . but it is similarly true that artists also evolve artistically by contemplating their own bodies of work as well. Thus, art teachers should seriously consider having students spend time questioning and rethinking works which they have already created (Walker, 2003). Promoting students’ self discovery can only help in the processing and analyzing of their own work. Students cannot make their artwork understood unless they understand it themselves. Having students examine their own work will give them the tools to understand art of the past and of different cultures and perhaps provide them with a greater desire to comprehend other works and extract their purpose and intent.

Ideas central for cognitive learning are: conceptualizing, planning, mapping, and communicating (Marschalek, 2004). In developing these skills, perhaps growth, knowledge, and complexity of their abstract thinking will be fostered and the students’ creativity and expression will be nurtured.

Exposure

Field trips, interviews, books, magazines, the Internet, and questions are all good exposure to fundamentally enhance the information needed to develop students’ concepts. Experts are invited to class or students take field trips to sites that are exceptionally broad in scope and related to the topic . . . The purpose is to represent the field of study in the real world. As the teacher I am not the expert, so I invite or visit experts in the respective field (Marschalek, 2004).

Knowing, in a creative sense, is to have clear understanding or perception of something about to be created. Providing exposure to key elements to a proposed artmaking process will enhance the ability to know or communicate what it is.

Summary

These planning environments are important because they involve students in projecting for the needs and mindsets of different users, groups, levels of learning, diversity of needs and contexts (Marschalek, 2004). These educational strategies create facilitative contextual factors for students’ decision making, self-expression, questioning, exploration, investigation, and negotiation, all of which are thinking qualities that lead to spontaneous and voluntary problem finding and committed problem solving (Pitri, 2004). Building a knowledge base for artmaking is about more than technical knowledge; it is also about knowledge of ideas as well. But most importantly, knowledge must be an active agent and player in the artmaking process (Walker, 2003). Clearly, providing an environment where exploring stimuli through curiosity allows students to express their creativity and develop their abstract thought processes and perhaps be constructive designers who are ultimately able to produce well designed and carefully planned projects or artifacts.



Chapter III

Research Paradigm and Applications

Overview

I used the phenomenological method of research because my research question, “Do preliminary creative activities that promote abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?” requires analysis, interpretive viewpoints, and/or inquiry of a live experience to provide the data needed for my research.

Researchers that use the phenomenological method of research will value the quality of the research. They are interested in the value of the experience and not the objects or part of it. They are interested in the meaning behind the experience, which is what becomes much more valuable to them. A phenomenological act involves a first-person experience. The questions used to guide the experience reflect the interest of the researcher.

The phenomenological experience consists of one or more of the following elements: An interview guiding the person through steps of reflection on the subject; a written reflection of their experience; a questionnaire with detailed elements from the participants upon which the researcher can reflect.

What phenomenological researcher seeks is from the following perspectives: Ethnography – this research involves gathering data in a human social setting, it is done with communication and interaction; Grounded data – this involves the unraveling of the elements of the experience, the theory behind what is happening; Hermeneutics – focuses on the consciousness of the experience and understanding the correct meaning of what is happening and all prejudgments are corrected; Empirical science – where transcendental phenomenon is shown, the feelings of the experience are made known, material things are not considered; Heuristic – where discovery is understood, the “aha” feeling is apparent and things begin to make sense (Moustakas, 1994, p. 1-21). All these steps are rather interesting to study and use. In time, I would like to integrate these steps into simple processes that students would use to also help gain insight into their abstract processing and/or conceptual development. Tools that can help them organize their thoughts.

When I started conducting interview(s) or describing the reflective experience(s), I forced myself to be able to engage in the experience without external distractions. I continued to be fully focused and was able to concentrate on the experience before me. Sometimes recording the experience(s) either by audio or video is good to return to for reflection and clarification, however, I did not need to audiotape any of my interviews and/or telephone conversations. I simply took hand written notes when needed, or used email communication to refer back upon. When preparing to do the phenomenological experience, I will follow these recommended steps to guide me through the process.

I. [Epoche] I listed any preconceptions and set them aside. I removed any past experience or education, personal connections. I had to try not to focus on distractions of people, noise and personal discomfort.

 II. [Bracketing] Focused, avoided distractions, and continued to bring myself back to the experience.

 III. [Horizonalization] Organized the data, gave every thing equal value, became very familiar with all aspects of the experience and items surrounding it.

 IV. [Deliminating] Identified things that stand out, eliminated things from horizonalization that are not important.

V. [Organizing the Invariant Constituents or Themes] Started to pull things together, coding and/or labeling themes, putting things in clusters.

 VII. [Textural Description] Wrote paragraphs about the themes, made pure descriptions, just reporting, not explaining.

 VIII. [Structural Description] Here is where I wrote a reflective analysis of the universal parts of the experience; what I had experienced and the personal relationship with the experience(s). Share my feelings and intuition. (J. Brown, personal communication, September 21, 2006)

Next, the collecting of the experiences from the research is done. This is where interpretation of the findings was analyzed. The writing of a description and the reporting of the themes begin. The iterative phase, where processing back and forth, or in a cycle, the analysis is utilized (Creswell, 2002 p. 258). The reports will be reviewed many, many times to make sense of what has been collected. This is where the views and perspectives, the personal culture, and history are considered and may shape the interpretations of the data. These views should be broken into elements. The elements, when organized, are thought of as coding. A useful way of coding can or may be organized in the following methods:
-       setting, context
-       perspective of the participant
-       way of thinking
-       processing and/or disruptions
-       activities
-       strategies
-       social setting/relationships

(Creswell, 2002 p. 266)

Once coding is started, the dividing of segments and elimination of redundancy provides for breaking down the coding, which will give me the themes upon which to construct. It is then that I can begin to start to write a narrative summarizing the data analysis (Creswell, 2002 p. 271).

As a qualitative researcher, I engaged in the following processes for analysis and interpretation:
-       preparing and organizing of all data for analysis
-       exploring and interpreting the accumulated data
-       developing themes and describing those themes
-       reporting and indicating representative values
-       making interpretations of collected items
-       validating, showing the accuracy and credibility

Interpreting the data is where I started to make sense of everything; expounding upon lessons learned, making comparisons, drawing from past research to support and/or contradict their studies.

Validation of the study is crucial. Establishing clear agreements at the beginning with regards to what the research is about and providing full disclosure of the nature and purpose or requirements must be understood. A suggested way of validating this research is returning the findings of the study to the participants and asking them to carefully examine the unified description of the analysis. They must also provide additions and make corrections. (Creswell, 2002 p. 280). Misconceptions are then to be clarified as well.

Understanding the human perspective and/or the Transcendental Phenomenology is the basis from which the phenomenological paradigm is rooted. The primary source of knowledge cannot be doubted; it is the true experience of the participant(s). It is through the participants’ perceptions, judgments, experiences and thoughts that their reflective themes are organized. The comparison and analysis of these themes will present themselves and they are organized and reported. The use of qualitative research in which data is analyzed, coded, and narrative interpretations are made. The meaning of the research will be revealed, and questions will be answered.

Collection of Data

I have read articles from journals, books, and magazines to collect common ideas and themes that are related to teaching methods or practices that promote and/or stimulate conceptual and/or abstract thinking.

I used questionnaires and phone interviews with graphic design teachers from within the southeast quadrant of Michigan.  I located these individuals by soliciting help from Wayne RESA (Regional Educational Service Agency), speaking with members of the MAEA (Michigan Art Education Association), and by speaking with teachers in school districts that I know. These questionnaires will include questions and areas for personal reflections. Please see the appendix for the draft questionnaire I plan to utilize. I contacted 10 high school graphic design teachers by phone, explained to them who I was and what I was requesting of them. Two of them asked for the materials by United State Postal Services and the remaining eight provided me with email addresses to send them the materials electronically. I had seven participants return their questionnaires answered. One felt she was not qualified to answer to the questionnaires intent.

Plan for Analysis

Once I had all of the questionnaires completed and turned in to me, I analyzed what answers were included. From these questionnaires, I looked for similar characteristics relating to activities that can draw out thought processes, creative processes, learning modes, ways of seeing, and abstract thinking. By using the phenomenological research method, I eliminated any preconceived notions about the data collected. I continued to focus on what has been given. Once I started to pull things together, I looked for elements that prevailed more than others. I began to organize and label the themes and by putting things in clusters. I then began to write textural descriptions of these themes. From there, I continued to reflect and analyze and present my intuitive sense or curve to the overall themes.

Textural/Structural Composite

By using a qualitative research method such as the phenomenological approach, I compared the activities and approaches used by high school graphic design teachers and other literary masters and feel that these tools will develop sound tools and methods that will improve my teaching skills and perhaps that of other teachers interested in developing creativity in their students. I believe that it is crucial in developing the conceptualization skills of students’ cognitive learning. In doing so, knowing, planning, and communicating their ideas is essential. Activities to stimulate these skills are necessary and need to be a continual effort in the artmaking process. In reviewing the research, I am providing a textural description of the experiences and synthesize what has been presented to me. In doing so I will unfold common practices that can be used as methods for teaching abstract thinking.

Conclusion

Out of all the data that I have reviewed for this study, a common thread would be the desire by all educators to have the students understand the medium they are working with. If the educator can create an environment to promote the understanding of the assignment or task at hand, then they are content that the activity is succeeding to teach their students what they originally planned in the lesson.

Comparing preliminary creative activities to promote abstract thought processes in my research has been a lengthy task. I believe it was necessary to show a correlation between what teachers that practice these activities have versus those that do not. Any learning processes that can stimulate cognitive learning and add to the development of conceptual thinking, planning, and communication of students’ ideas must be part of any graphic design course. It is crucial if a student is planning a career as a graphic designer to be able to foster effective persuasion. I truly believe students that are placed in situated learning environments will only develop the tools necessary to explore their needs and interests, develop their communication skills, and be able to make sound imaginative choices in developing creative, meaningful, and useful objects or literature in their future careers.

I know, as a student in high school, I did not have the situated learning environment to foster creative thinking in my art classes. It was not until I attended college and was exposed to an episode that made me think critically about my project that I understood this methodology. I then excelled with my metaphoric skills after I was given the opportunity to do so. I feel that if teachers can understand this methodology and add it to their pedagogy it will only promote students’ abstract thinking.


Chapter IV

Analysis: Results

Classroom Environment

            The range in age of students for which the participating teachers in this study taught graphic design was 15-19. All are public school teachers.

            There is a wide range of possible classroom settings in the graphic design/art classroom. From “rarely is my room a quiet one” to “active”, these teachers believe that their approach allows students freedom to move and express themselves. When a teacher expressed that their classrooms were quiet, it was usually only at the beginning of a unit. Once the students began to understand the lesson and became more comfortable, they loosened up and talked to each other and critique each other’s work. As the project developed and concepts started flowing at a higher level, the noise level would rise and more activity in the classroom would prevail. At times one could hear lots of laughter, and some complaints of moving around too fast. Students would get off track from time to time, but nothing out of control, and a simple reminder would bring them back to the task at hand.

            As far as group activity versus individual activity, both approaches were used by the participants. The participants replied that “it depends on the project”. Putting students in groups allowed for brainstorming and discussion. This promoted peer group understanding and networking of resources. One participant explains “Talking with their peers about a design is a skill that I find most students do not have.” The teacher tried very hard to break that barrier and develop communication of ideas. The approach was to prepare them for “real world” experiences. When working in the “real world”, you must be able to communicate and work as a team. Sometimes, especially at first, it is group activities, then, as they progress, it becomes a solitary activity. Students who were more serious art students would concentrate intently on the activities and were usually quiet and worked alone.

            I asked several questions regarding the environment and function of the classroom. I was looking for patterns that might determine if noise and actively moving students would affect how the class would function.  Did this produce more results in students, and were they more successful at accomplishing projects? Most of the participants expressed that rarely were the classrooms quiet. There is occasional laughter and some complaints of too much noise from other students. One teacher shared that his classroom is both active and quiet depending on the project. When the project is first assigned, students are active. They are discussing ideas and concepts. Once each student finds the idea or area that they wish to pursue, the class gets much quieter.

Much more activity and discussion happen when students are allowed to solve a problem or collaborate by working in groups. “All activities are assigned individually, but discussing and brainstorming in groups is encouraged. Talking with your peers about a design is a skill that I find most students do not have.” (Participant #4, 2007) A graphic designer must be able to collaborate and learn from external resources. They need to understand the world around them. Making sense of the world around them only helps them develop better skills to simplify complex issues and clarify them so other people can understand them too.  Graphic designers need to be good communicators. Putting students together in groups provides the student with this opportunity. This type of teamwork is good for giving students that real-life working environment. It gives them the connection to other ideas and the abilities to build on together to complete the project. Many students thrive on this. It is the first experience in which they have had to collaborate and learn potential job-related skills that will help them later when they seek employment as graphic designers. Some teachers use the opposite philosophy. They encourage group discussion when the project is first introduced. Then the students are expected to disconnect and work on their own to compete the given assignment.

After the initial discussion on group versus self-productivity, I further pried and brought up the question as to whether the students are given freedom to dwell into the projects or are most classes totally structured. There was almost a 50-50 split in the responses here. The response include: “being structured – the students know exactly what is expected, free time – I will not hassle the students on how they spend their time – as long as the assignment get done within the time frame;” “An art class cannot be totally structured;” “My classes are fairly structured, but not totally;” and “Time is given to work out thoughts, that is totally free.” It seems to me that most teachers have set ground rules. If students maintain and follow these structured parameters, they are given freedom to experiment and be creative with freedom and allowed independent expressive times too.

Types of Activities

            “Myth: Creativity Comes From the Unconscious. In fact, creativity rarely comes in a sudden burst of insight. Instead, scientists have discovered that creativity is mostly conscious, hard work.” (Sawyer, 2006 p.18)

            When asked about tapping into their creativity on its own, the following question was asked, “Do you allow creative thinking to develop on its own or during inquiry into a project?”. The majority of the responses felt that creative thinking develops on its own. Some felt that it depended on the circumstances and the lesson. “I feel that creative thinking does develop on its own, but also in some students this ‘creative’ side needs a jump-start.” “For some this process comes almost naturally. For others, it takes much longer.” (Participant #4, 2007).  “Absolutely, creativity for some begins with discussion. For others by seeing how someone else has approached a problem, while some students become creative when actually working with the materials, based on their individual learning styles.” (Participant #6, 2007).

            When thinking about appropriateness of pre-activity toward a new project, teachers expressed different reasons for using them. One teacher would spend more time on software proficiency because he felt the students needed to develop those skills in his classroom. They might not get a chance to continue on to college or post-secondary schools to learn the trade. Getting financial support to continue on to college was not an option. It was better to provide them with skills to begin entry-level employment.

            Each lesson has its importance for preliminary information. In this day and age of technology, many teachers utilize PowerPointÔ presentations to provide for visual references. It is in these presentations that examples of the masters, teachers and other student works have been shown for clarification and understanding of the idea or content that will be necessary in the upcoming lesson.

            One teacher would write his lessons around poster and design competitions for the students to enter. This would encourage and motivate them. One, because they were working on something current and valuable in the real world and two, there were usually prizes involved.

            Being creative means working with your audience. Students tend to design things that interest them. It is when they are forced to design something that interests an entirely different group that the process can take on an entirely different meaning. When given certain parameters they should meet, for example, a poster or advertisement, they start thinking right away and raising questions to fill a void in their interpretation. Then when told they must make the project for a given target market, for instance, four to seven year olds, there is an entirely different approach to the matter. It is these changes and interpretations that develop the creative window, environment and/or outcome. Here again explains my theory that preliminary exercises can develop the conceptual thought process in students.

            “Ideas central for cognitive learning are: conceptualization, planning, mapping and communicating” (Pitri, 2004). Often activities are playful and non-threatening. Creativity is at its height knowing that anything is acceptable and encourages students to trust their own intuition. Mind mapping exercises can help some individuals but many immature students do not excel at this. No games are used in introducing activities. Students in the classroom work progressively toward a goal to understanding the overall concept of being a designer. Students are developing their skills in “baby steps”. This allows each student to understand basic concepts and continue to succeed in the class. When stuck on a process, they are encouraged to discuss the matter with fellow students and are also encouraged to use online help guides before seeking guidance from the instructor. This helps the students develop a sense of troubleshooting and better understanding.  If games are used, it is usually after a lesson to review and sometimes it is in the form of a pop quiz.

            After initial demonstrations are given, students are given time to reflect and interpret what they are going to be doing. Class discussions are always encouraged. Open discussions are an important part in formulating thoughts and sharing ideas. If not, the creative process would not fully develop. “Usually once a student mentions a problem or has a question, other students will help in describing the answer. Students will also give each other suggestions or tips on how to complete the given project. This type of discussion generally needs to be introduced to be effective. Most high school students do not randomly discuss different program techniques on their own.”(Participant #4, 2007) All agree that many times other students come up with great ideas that make the lesson more exciting or challenging.

            Often I think about follow through when teachers present a new activities or lessons. In my classes as a child, I remember teachers giving brief explanations about the project we were to complete, and then we were given a work sheet or job description for the project. I thought I would ask the teachers in this research about verbal guidance throughout the activity. Do they practice good communication throughout the unit they are teaching? Two teachers provided no answers to this question. Perhaps I was vague in my question, or maybe they couldn’t believe I was asking it. I did not ask them to explain. I had been pressuring them to finish the questionnaire. I believe they did not want to continue to be bothered so I left them as unanswered. The remaining teachers did express their techniques though. Most agreed that verbal guidance is necessary throughout the activity. “I think it is helpful to students that don’t necessarily speak up”, “Some need a lot, while others need none . . .I watch the student and their progress.”

            External exposure to the students can offer a wide range of creative development. Role models and guest speakers are wonderful motivational opportunities. Teacher’s responses to what they have used is as follows: artists, parents, storytellers, professional photographers, Detroit Institute of Arts lecturers and other educators. “I find it important for students to understand the concept of graphic communications, not just from myself, but from other reputable sources. This is an important resource.” “It is important because students can see that they make a living in a creative field. If they are creative, a guest speaker may encourage the students to pursue art careers.” (Participant #6, 2007)

            Field trips can also be a great activity to stimulate the creative juices. “Often my topics are dependent on the events occurring within our community such as exhibits at the Detroit Institute of Arts or the Frederick Meijer Gardens.” “Bringing this relationship of real world to classroom together is an eye opener for some students.” (Participant #1, 2007).  Some teachers did not respond to this question because their school districts do not have funds to participate in field trips.

Progress and Self Development in the Student

            One’s progress in class is essential for self-satisfaction. Having open discussions about processes can help encourage self-esteem in the student.  It offers suggestions as a whole and not one on one. It is helpful to those students who don’t speak up. Once the process is understood, students begin to interpret the idea(s) and make concrete images by doodling or sketching.

            Sketching on paper is important in jotting down ideas. Sketching and thumbnails should be required before every activity and/or project. One teacher expressed that they believe sketching is like brainstorming before you write. “It gets the creative juices flowing. It is an important element in the creative process ... even when the final product looks nothing like the original sketch.” (Participant #6, 2007) 

            All students are expected to participate in the activities. Usually the experiences are enjoyable. If not, teachers make changes to the lesson or it is dropped.

            Whether it is by self-assessment in writing a statement, or by verbal self-critique, all participating teachers allow for students to do this step in their classrooms. “Is this is a poster that I really feel that I would see in a store or out in the real world? If the answer is ‘no’, then the design is not done, if the answer is ‘yes’ then the project should meet the criteria.” (Participant #5, 2007).

Culture and Social Relevance       

            My idea when questioning the participants about cultural and social relevance was two fold. One, I wanted to see if teachers were utilizing diversity in explaining lessons when approaching activities that involved teaching many different cultural backgrounds in one classroom. Two, can students understand that they need to create artifacts that can be understood by different cultures. There responses were quite interesting. My approach as a teacher is to make sure that diversity is at least looked at. As a communicator it is essential to make sure that everyone can understand how to communicate a message to all cultures. Graphic design students need to keep that notion active when they are analyzing and developing their projects. Take, for instance, the thought of  “symbolism”. “We look up and see a coloured shape in front of us, and we say, –there is a chair. But what we have seen is the mere coloured shape. Perhaps an artist might not have jumped to the notion of a chair. He might have stopped at the mere contemplation of a beautiful colour and a beautiful shape. But those of us who are not artists are very prone, especially if we are tired, to pass straight from the perception of the coloured shape to the enjoyment of the chair, in some way of use, or of emotion, or of thought.” (Whitehead, 1985 p. 2) The perception, the awareness of the item described has different meaning to different viewers. “An adequate amount of human mentality requires an explanation of (i) how we can know truly, (ii) how we can err, and (iii) how we can critically distinguish truth from error.” (Whitehead, 1985 p. 6)   Alfred Whitehead writes of this when he speaks about the fact that direct experience being infallible. He basically explains that what we experience is only understandable if we know it. 

            What we are exposed to in our lives and cultures delegates what we know. Understanding and knowing is dependant on the viewer. I believe that being a good designer involves knowing what the client or the customer wants. What do we know? What does the customer know? What do we/he see? “It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but words can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled.” (Berger, 1977 pg.7) “Images were first made to conjure up the appearances of something that was absent. Gradually it became evident that an image would outlast what I represented; it then showed how something or somebody had once looked – and thus by implication how the subject had once been seen by other people. (Berger, 1977 pg. 10) This could really go on to much more of philosophy of art, but my point here is that creating images is done by what we know, and what others know. What we see is only relevant if it is recognizable by the audience. Knowing what to create to that audience is relevant if the message is to be successful. Drawing from all forms of identity and knowing is when the message is successfully applied and carried forward. Exposure is the key to knowing. “Teachers who promote situated artmaking encourage children to express and explore their needs and interests, and to interact and communicate within their own physical and social environment.” (Pitri, 2004).

            When participants were asked about exposure to cultural findings, more than half agreed that they included cultural issues. “We partner with many non-profits who specifically target social and ethical problems.” (Participant #3, 2007) “Social relevance is discussed, meaning that students must understand the group that they are trying to send a message to, but also understand that other people are going to see the message. If a poster is displayed outdoors, many different types of people will see this message. The message must not offend anyone, or the design is rendered useless.” (Participant #4, 2007)

            “Discussing ethical and social impacts are easy to do with students at the high school level. Students love to be given the chance to talk and speak their views.” “I discuss with the students the concept of how different people react to certain designs or creations. A ‘designer’ must be aware of how these items reflect on their design. They must know their ‘audience’.” (Participant #4, 2007). “Many students are motivated to create posters when they are asked to discuss the topics of teen drinking, teen pregnancy, smoking and eating right.  . . . it makes a great impact on the students . . .they think about how to make world changes.” (Participant #6, 2007).

 

Teacher Resources

            Exposure is the creative stimulation. All agreed on this point. Whether it come from lessons published by others, life experiences, great art exhibits or oddities, much of the stimulation first comes from other sources. A large amount of the lessons are shared material that is coming from other teachers and is adapted to fit the class and the project. “I like to create my own lessons; however, most lessons have been taught before. I like to put my own personal spin on activities collected from fellow teachers (not always art teachers) or from arts & activities magazines as well as lessons discovered online.” (Participant #6, 2007)

            Visual examples are not always given before a lesson. Some teachers feel that the students only copy what was shown to them. It usually depends on the objective of the activity and/or lesson. One teacher expressed that “It helps paint an immediate picture in the students minds. I do not like to use visual examples because I do not want the student to ‘copy’ the example that was presented.” Another teacher expressed that they have used past students examples. It can help begin the thought processes on track. It can give them the necessary idea to get the mind going on their own.

            Preliminary vocabulary should be a given. Introduction to a wide variety of terms is necessary in any trade. Tools, methods, and procedures are going to put students in a new environment and is going to bring on a broad spectrum of vocabulary terms that must be identified and explained. Terminology is very important no matter what subject area is being taught. Usually no handouts or lesson sheets are given to describe the range of vocabulary used. As new processes are introduced, preliminary vocabulary is given and explained. Some school districts require a list of vocabulary to be introduced and used.

            Lesson plans are a must. It is required as part of the state curriculum. The best lesson plans are when there is diversity and keeping an open mind about what may happen along the way.

            Unit teaching or building on lessons is very common in the graphic design/art classroom. Every project builds on the next one. Skills learned from earlier lessons apply and other alternatives are assessed and carried forward. This can also prepare the student to understand that all clients are not the same. There are different styles involved in designing and there are differences they need to work around. Assessing differences gives them the opportunity to encounter diversity and try to apply what skills they have learned to achieve successful understanding of the needs of the project.

Teacher Reflection

            Participating teachers in this study had a wide range of experience. One teacher had only two years of experience, but the majority had 12 to 32 years of experience. The teachers teach all the sub areas of beginning art, painting, drawing, sculpture, electronic art and graphic design. Following is a brief highlight of their years of experience in teaching art and design.

            Were the activities successful in stimulating inquiry and productive art processes and/or behavior toward projects? All participants answered “Yes”.  “I think any exposure to good design stimulates inquiry, and hopefully stimulates some passion for the assignment.” “It often leads to more activities.” “Students are more creative than they realize. Their behavior seems to improve when they feel they are successful”. “I reflect on my teaching methods, and make changes when necessary. Nothing is perfect, so there is always room for improvement. Student feedback is a very real measure of your methods. I personally evaluate my methods informally. I do not have data which increase or decrease in student success.” (Participant #4, 2007). Most participants agree that they notice things and that they adjust their pedagogy when necessary or when it isn’t making the impact that they intended.

            When asked about changing approaches, one participant stood out as being a novice. They conveyed that students don’t understand what the class is about and that the classes are overwhelming. All the other participants were basically on the same page in that they conveyed that they know when they are on target and when they are not, they adjust and accommodate to the student feedback and rearrange the project accordingly the next time it is assigned. One participant expressed one thought I think is relevant to share: “The questionnaire makes one express what we often take for granted in an Art Situation” (Participant #5, 2007). My summary will express why I think they fully understood my intent of this study.

Textural Description

            If any thing, an art room full of activity proves to be more ideal for stimulation to a foster creativity in a student, than a quiet classroom. Harboring the brainstorming and discussions that happen between students tends to promote understanding and boost self-esteem in the student.  Especially when encouraged to collaborate and discuss critical concepts. Talking amongst peers helps with future skills needed to network and build upon ideas for successful campaigns. This will allow students to make sense of the world around them and create a better understanding of their community. Therefore, students will become better designers and persuaders.

            Activities used to harness creativity are absolutely essential. The style of activity greatly depends on the true characteristics of the assignment and what its intended message conveys. Some activities are self-study and used to enhance their perceptive devices. Other activities are group related and meant to instill teamwork. “Students in my class work progressively toward this goal. When the school year starts, students are introduced to the class in ‘baby steps.’ This allows each student to understand the basic concepts and then find that they can succeed in this class. Once these ‘baby steps’ are complete, all students will concentrate on certain computer programs such as Adobe PhotoshopÔ and Adobe IllustratorÔ. I assign each student certain items in each program. The key concept from this learning experience is that the majority of students are completing tasks that they have never done before. If a student gets stuck, or does not understand something about the program, they must use a combination of the “help” files or the Internet to assist in getting the answer. They cannot ask me, the instructor, for help unless they have done this initial research and then asked two fellow classmates. With this learning exercise, students develop a sense of troubleshooting and better understanding. It is this exercise that leads into the next subject area, for example a poster design which may be their next assignment.” (Participant #4, 2007)

            Communication is one of the most relevant factors in teaching. Understanding the reason for art and the applied academics skills to reach success is difficult to convey to students. Relating real world art and what is done in the classroom can be difficult to merge and make understandable. Exposure can help to bridge that gap. Seeing successful artwork in the community can help understand the correlation and necessity. Why a cultural group may create certain artifacts and its relevance to its community are good ways of interpreting art. All this is essential when student graphic designers are developing their skills. What a student knows will only increase his chances to developing sound decisions on where to go with his project(s). This lesson shared by participant #1 explains what the cultural experience can do to stimulate their student’s creativity. Students listened to five musical selections that were diverse culturally. Selections were as followed: “Ketjak,” Balinese monkey chant from the Balinese village people, “Spring”, from Vivaldi, a selection from Timbuktu by Ali Farka Toure, “Medley” by Mei Han a Chinese contemporary composer, and “J.C. on the Set” by Detroit, Saxophonist James Carter.  It was important that the musical selections be something the students would not normally listen to. We played the musical selection prior to discussing each grouping.  For “Ketjak”, students were shown a video clipping from the DVD Baraka.  At this point, the students witnessed the visual performance, by the people of Bali.  Students were in awe of their Monkey dance and asked “What” and “Why?”  It was a culture shock to these suburban art students.  In view of the designs created while listening to the chanting, the works were haunting and visually powerful.  I gave students the known information and how the community would perform this act for hours as a form of exorcism, a means to chase the devil and/or evil out through the quick changes in the rhythm and movement.  This happened to be the best discussion of all selections because of the culture most foreign to the students. With another style of music, a few students drew the instrument that was heard.  When it came to James Carter, one student created a martini cocktail with an olive making associations to a Jazz bar.  Overall, students created designs that they would normally not create. Trite imagery was non-existent.

            Mentors and teachers are essential for successful experiences. Those who have designed and those who have created artifacts are good motivators to young minds. Building upon lessons done before are great tools for teachers. Continually assessing ones methods and encounters can only help modify pedagogy towards greater understanding and promising results from the students. There is always room for improvement. I shared with all of the participants in this study the elevator lesson plan that attached in the appendix. One participant has since shared that she has modified the steps outlined and used it as a preliminary exercise to several of her introductory lessons to help the students focus.

Structural Analysis

            I believe all these teachers who participated in this study are in the classroom because they love sharing with students what they know. It is always challenging to us when a child cannot understand what we are trying to convey. Taking steps and breaking them down is proven to help. Changing directions and adding a twist to the lesson might just get that one person on track.

            When asking the participants to reflect on their projects and how they plan them, similar characteristics stand out; most believe that it is important that every project builds on the next one.  Skills learned from earlier lessons apply and it is another alternative in which to create by; usually one technique will lead to another technique. “It makes it easy and consistent. I know the students understand the content by the end of the unit. Except for those unmotivated students, everyone has successfully achieved creating well planned and visually pleasing projects. I find satisfaction in this. It is especially gratifying when one or two are chosen to enter in competitions.” (Participant #4, 2007)

            Do the participants feel they succeeded in stimulating inquiry? Yes, all feel they have achieved inquiry in their students. It is evident when the students are more creative than they realize. Their behavior seems to improve when they feel they are successful. “I try to build on their enthusiasm and help them carry it over the next lesson or lessons. I don’t like to see students struggle. I want to try and make the process fun not laborious” (Participant #6, 2007)

            When discussing feedback and how it has improved or changed their method of teaching, only one participant’s reply impressed me and made me think they had worked successfully teaching art. Their response was: “After teaching for 20 years, one could get caught up in doing the same lesson over and over.  I never teach the same lesson out of pure sanity unless it is a top-notch lesson expected by the students.  They often make requests from what has been seen over the years.” (Participant #1, 2007) This I believe is a teacher in touch with their students. They know the lesson is enjoyed by the students and finds satisfaction in pleasing the interest of the students by doing the lesson upon request.

            All but one participant in this study was willing to give ample information regarding how teaching art was a great experience for them. That they were challenged by the students and were forthcoming with expression on how they thought doing preliminary activities were fun and rewarding for them. The one participant however was a bit rigid and expressed more opinions on how art teachers do not make good designers. That teaching design principles was easy, applying them was difficult. I really feel this participant was missing the point about my survey and was more expressive on a personal movement they were trying to convey about other teachers instead of sharing their experiences with their students.

            All of the participants in this study show their care and concern about how we teach just by their thoughtfulness to take time and respond to my questionnaire. I applaud them. They understand that a student needs time to understand and “know” what to do. Creating a safe and fun environment to experiment in is what they feel is needed to do to allow students to succeed. Changing the classroom environment to allow the students freedom to express themselves is always a great start. Searching for unique lessons geared towards diversity and community related topics give them relationship to the real world environment. Having students collaborate amongst themselves to understand peer level ideas and insights make them comfortable. The participants in my survey showed great understanding in these areas and conveyed them to me in their questionnaires. I have shared those experiences within this thesis and find this information beneficial and will provide for more detailed analysis on my preparation of lessons throughout my career as an art teacher.


Chapter V

Summary and Discussion

            Creativity expresses itself in all types of behaviors and actions. I believe using one’s intuition, knowledge, and education all leads to the growth of creativity. When starting out to research this idea of conceptualization, I had a limited pool of experience with children in an art room. I have since started doing my student teaching and have been exposed to how strange it is to get all students to develop their creative juices at the same time or level. I now know it requires many types of activities and exercises to draw out their creativity. It is necessary to harness the little bit of knowledge they have at first and then to build on it. Some of the faculty I reviewed in this research spoke about “Individual Learning Styles”. This is exactly what has happened in my personal approach to teaching design. I seek out the student’s personal knowledge and develop activities from there. Starting out with vocabulary and visuals to initiate a unit project is good for some students. But, unless they have been exposed to a great deal of art processes, it is difficult to keep all the students on the same page. I cannot believe how much, even in high school, I have had to explain how to use a ruler to a handful of students in one class of 34 students. It makes it very difficult to even illustrate something proportionately if they don’t know how to measure and use a 1:3 ratio from a grid.

            My goal in this research was to see if teachers were developing skills in teaching design by tapping into the student’s own creative juices. Many of the teachers were concerned with stumbling blocks, financial support, class sizes, subject matter or special needs students. This was not at all what I had expected. I was looking for methodology and sharing of skills. What I did find however was how much students were encouraged to help each other through the processes. Peer support was important, thus creating a different twist to assignments given and a greater desire to complete it. What a fantastic way for the teacher to learn from his/her students. 

            In today’s world, it is vital to keep current with technology and methods. It was inspiring to see that many of the teachers used in my study read current literature and attended continuing education courses to keep them abreast of the modern or contemporary skills used today. I was quite surprised that in one school district where I spoke with a participant, that they did not have any current software, computers and printers for their students to use. In fact it was not even part of their curriculum. They used stencils to cut out letters for signage. I believe that district is only hurting its students by not preparing them for the “real world” of graphic design. Yes, it is vital to teach students the academic world of art and its processes. But not having hands-on experience will only slow their progress in attempting to make it into an art college. I guess this bothers me so much because I am a graphic designer and I work in this arena and know that I would not hire a student apprentice who did not know how to use a computer to design or draw with. In today’s world of technology, most messages that are conveyed to society are by electronic means. Graphic designers need to know how to create artwork digitally to do this. Other school districts in my study have extensive graphic design curriculums. It is in these districts that our future creative force will succeed in conveying well designed and well thought of messages to present to their audiences. The teachers in these districts who have current software and computers show more progressive methods of stimulating creativity. They use a plethora of activities. Some were (but not limited to) including museum visits, community work, searching the Internet and guest speakers to expose them to several means of preliminary activities.

   I used the elevator assignment I spoke of in the first chapter, again this semester with my students. I do get incredibly positive feedback from the students when I use this method. They like that it helps them focus. It allows them to think differently about the object that they are working with. To me, it helps them use the right side of their brain. It taps into the shapes and the actual proportion of the item. It blocks the left-brain from taking over, which forces them to just use their logic and explain what the object is. There are many methods to help develop right-brain thinking from the book “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” by Betty Edwards. Some of the participants in my study talk about using right-brain methods and thinking. I have recommended they read Edwards’ book and develop their own lessons using her methods.  Using this lesson also has that “play” feeling to it. I say, why not continue that play process as the child continues to adulthood. Leave out logic and processing. Encouraging playfulness continues to develop that abstract thinking and keeps it close at hand for development of concepts and new ideas when needed as designers.

            The initial group I was aiming to review in this study was research toward “graphic art” students. I now feel that preliminary creative activities are essential in any art program. If the process is encouraged from the beginning of any creative class, whether it starts in a beginning art class or a beginning design course, it surely will help a student develop their abstract thought processes no matter what age they are.

            Preliminary activities can be fun for the students and not always about books, pictures and exposure. Sometimes it is about physical activity. Just providing examples of art is not enough to have students develop their knowledge base. When teaching my beginning art class about values, I started out using a standard PowerPointÔ demonstration, giving the academic tools and vocabulary so they understood what using “value” of a color is. I then used another activity that was shared from one of the research participants. They have the students get out of their seats and stand in a straight line, using the values in their hair color, lined up from lightest to darkest. They continued to do that for a couple of days in other ways. One day they evaluated their shirts and then the next day their jeans were used to identify values. It was surprising how much they worked together and helped each other understand what values meant by moving each other around and comparing themselves to each other. I feel providing opportunities in the classroom for inquiry, whether it is live group activities or interactive instruction on the computer, or role-playing, every situation can help each student go beyond his or her comfort zone and provide for problem-solving skills.

            Students are like sponges. The more you expose them to external stimulation, the more they soak it up and rework it. Exposure to social and cultural relevance is the best thing in keeping students stimulated and working. Perhaps it is to gain a better understanding of the world around us. Perhaps it is to develop self-esteem. There is a lot of theory that can be better explained by delving deeper into the psychology of conceptualization. But that requires a great deal of research beyond what I have to add to this thesis. The literature review for this research project was substantial. I found myself narrowing down the topic and eliminating much of what I initially wanted to include. So much of the design education and concept thinking stressed more psychoanalytical studies and I didn’t want to bring that arena into this study. I was more focused on developing thoughts and their knowledge by exposure.

            I believe that providing a “learning environment” like Marshalek explained in his article about four types of learning environments is a sound foundation to foster creativity. Doing role-playing activity was fun for me as a child. Providing this avenue to learn is what I plan to continue to do as an educator. The research I reviewed and stated in this paper shows that creating a situated learning environment for students can develop their abstract thought processing and be beneficial in their ability to be productive in their graphic art projects. Much of that involves more than just a vocabulary review. It involves role-playing, comparison and peer stimulation. It is these tools that I hope to continue to provide in my classrooms for I know it will only foster creativity to blossom and develop in the students I am blessed to have.


Appendix

Phone Interview

Hello, My name is Mary Myrand and I am a graduate student at Wayne State University. I am working on my master’s thesis research. I am trying to locate high school graphic arts teachers in the tri-county area.

I was hoping you might be available to participate in my research. It involves two parts. One is a questionnaire. The other is a lesson plan.

My topic is “Do preliminary abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?”

The questionnaire is crucial to my essay. When you fill out the questionnaire, I would like you to share your experience(s) not your opinion. Your ability to do the lesson and report your finding is not essential but would greatly enhance my study.

The questionnaire is two pages, and would not require more than one hour of your time at the max. The lesson plan would be much more involved, but I think if you use it, you and your students would enjoy it.

This is totally anonymous. Your name and school will be never be mentioned.

I would need to have you return the materials by ________________________

Would you be willing to participate?

Would you like to receive the materials via email or snail mail?

Email Address_____________________________________________________

Mailing Address ___________________________________________________

                        _____________________________________________________

                       

                        _____________________________________________________

Thank you so much for your time.


Letter to Research Participants

Dear Participant,

Thank you for volunteering to participate in my research study “Do preliminary abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?”

My research will be based on the rooted belief that everyone can develop their creative thinking. I think that reaching down into the crusty depths of one’s thoughts and bringing them up to a coherent and visual reality can be done if activities and exercises are provided to do so.

The packet of information I have sent you includes the items I previously discussed with you over our phone conversation; a release form for you to sign, a questionnaire, a lesson plan and a return envelope. (If you have opted to do this via email, please just return files you have filled out.)

The questionnaire is crucial to my essay. It is three pages, and would not require more than one hour of your time at the max. Please be as thorough as possible with your responses in the questionnaire. When you fill out the questionnaire, I would like you to share your experience(s) not your opinion. Please feel free to write as many examples of your activities you have tried, developed or failed in using. If you have lesson plans and would like to share them, that would be all the better.

Your ability to do the lesson plan is optional.  It is not essential but would greatly enhance my study if you decided to do it. The lesson plan is much more involved, but I think if you use it, you and your students would enjoy it.

It would be very helpful to me if you return your information to me by March 9th. This will allow me ample to review and start to write my thesis.

I may contact you for further clarification and verification of the information you have provided.

I welcome your participation in my master’s study. Thank you for agreeing to take the time and effort to assist me. Please, if you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to call me at 313-577-1484.

Sincerely,

Mary Myrand


Questionnaire

Note: Please answer the questions without opinion. Try to express what happened in detail and share what you experienced as a Graphic Design/Arts Teacher and your methods having impact on students abstract thought processing. Please use additional paper to explain your experiences if necessary.

Do you use preliminary activities to foster creative thinking?
What do you do (provide a lesson plan if necessary)?
Do you allow creative thinking to develop on its own or during inquiry into a project?
The activities. Were they brought on by stimulation and/or activities, like games, mind mapping, or exercises?
Did you develop these activities on your own or were they collected from other sources?
Were the classrooms active or quiet?
Were activities in groups or solitary?
Do you allow for open discussions?
Was sketching allowed while activities were playing out?
Was verbal guidance only used during activities?
Do you allow free time for thought or are your classes totally structured?
Was preliminary vocabulary given?
Were visual examples given?
Were other similar projects discussed, unit teaching, one step to the next?
Do you invite guest speakers in?
Do you take field trips to relevant sites regarding the topic?
Was exposure to cultural findings addressed?
Was exposure to social relevance and peers discussed?
Do you discuss ethical and social impacts?
Do you feel the activities were successful in stimulating inquiry and productive art processes and/or behavior toward projects?
At what age was this activity given?
Do all students participate?
Do you provide students opportunity for self-assessment?
Did the students enjoy the activity?
Did the students understand the activity?
Do you provide different levels for diverse learners?
Have you tried to study any patterns in your methods?
What feedback from students has changed your approaches?
How many years have you been teaching?
Which sub-areas of art do you teach?
Do you have something you would like to add to this questionnaire? (For example:  relevance, concerns, additional thoughts, and questions.)


Participant Release Form

I agree to participate in a research study of “Do preliminary abstract thought processes have beneficial effects on high school graphic art students?”

I understand the purpose and nature of this study and agree to participate on a voluntary basis. I grant the permission for the data I submit to be used in the process of completing a master’s thesis and any further publication. I understand that my name and identifying information will not be used.

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Lesson Plan -  Conceptual Thinking Elevator Age Level:

Middle School – High School

Rationale:
Used to get the student creatively thinking outside the box. The elevator concept helps them focus step by step through different levels of thinking.

Objective:
Student will close their eyes while holding an object and instructor will vocally lead them down the elevator to understand every aspect of what they have held in their hands. After a series of questions taking them through the overall texture of the object, they will be instructed to draw a part or texture or section of that item on a piece of paper.

Materials:
Gather all sorts of objects: tools, cleaning utensils, gadgets, hand held toys . . etc., enough for each student to hold one object.
Drawing Paper
Colored Pencils

Timing:
Introduction: 5 minutes
Selecting objects from bin: 5 minutes
Elevator exercise: 8 to 10 minutes

            Drawing time will be 45 minutes.
            Analysis and Review of pictures (Question and Answer time) 15 minutes
            Clean up – 10 minutes

Introduction:
Describe to students that this lesson is an interactive lesson that involves them using their conceptual thinking skills. That you are going to use the elevator idea as a game of sorts to help them understand how to break down the intricate parts of things that they normally see and not just recognize or draw it as a whole object. Explain that while you take them down each floor, to imagine zooming in closer and observing more details about the object they will be given. After you take them down the elevator, tell them they are to draw pictures of the images of what they saw on the drawing paper by using colored pencils. Tell them to try and represent textures, shading and contours. Let them know at the end of class you will have a question and answer time to reflect on this experience.

Practice:
Have students close their eyes. Ask them to picture their bedroom. Look at their bed. Do you remember what your covers look like?  Look at their wall on the left, or the right. What is hanging there? Have them open their eyes. Explain to them that what they just experienced is similar to what they are going to do with this lesson.

Activity:
Have students select an object from the container and sit back at their seat.
Tell students when asked a question, feel the object and imagine in their minds what they are feeling. Remind them to speak internally, no vocal sounds.

Teacher speaks:

Eyes open . . . say what you have in your hands
Elevator door closes. Ring bell

Have them close their eyes and keep them closed until you instruct them to re-open them. Tell them to think of themselves like a microscope, zooming in closer and closer to their object.

We move down one floor. Ring bell.
Door opens.

Is your object soft, hard? Wait about 10 seconds each time you ask..
Door Closes.
We move down one floor. Ring Bell.
Door opens.

Continue to open and close and go down floors for each question.
Does your object have textures?

Is it shiny or dull?

Does it have connecting parts?

  What color or colors are on  it?

  Are there flat surfaces or round surfaces on it?

  Is it long or short?

 
Now open your eyes.

Have student think about those images and transfer them to the paper. Do not draw the whole item only a part of it. Image it like looking in the microscope.

They may do as many angles as they wish, but only one picture per piece of paper.

Connections (Review): Have students display their pieces. Invite them to describe what they were experiencing. Encourage questions from other students.

Assessments:

Rubric -         

Exceeds expectations of Lesson

• Takes an object from the box
• Listens and participates in elevator experience
• Completes several drawings of experience
• Drawings are related to object
• Used colored pencils
• Signs and dates drawing
• Hangs drawings up for review
• Participates in question and answer session

Meets expectations of Lesson

• Takes an object from the box
• Listens and participates in elevator experience
• Completes a drawing of experience
• Drawing is related to object
• Used colored pencils
• Signs and dates drawing
• Hangs drawing up for review
• Participates in question and answer session

Tries to do Lesson

• Takes an object from the box
• Listens and participates in elevator experience
• Doesn’t complete a drawing of experience
• Drawing is related to object
• Used colored pencils
• Signs and dates drawing
• Reluctantly hangs drawing up for review
• Participates in question and answer session

Does not meet expectations of Lesson

• Takes an object from the box
• Does not want to listen or participate in elevator experience
• Drawing is not related to object
• Participates in question and answer session

Back up plan:

Have student/s think about their bedroom again. Have them draw a detailed picture of what is on or along one wall of their bedroom.

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RESEARCH PARTICIPANT

Please use the research questionnaire provided to reflect upon your using this lesson. Please remember to express only what you experienced with the lesson. Try not to use your opinion or preconceived thoughts on the experience.

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