Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Art and Design Theses Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design 8-8-2017 Visual Art Curriculum Framework For Small Group High School Instruction: An Art Teacher's Reflections Penny Lee Colangelo MS Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/art_design_theses Recommended Citation Colangelo, Penny Lee MS, "Visual Art Curriculum Framework For Small Group High School Instruction: An Art Teacher's Reflections." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2017.edu/art_design_theses/227 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art and Design Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University.
For more information, please contact scholarworks@gsu. VISUAL ART CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR SMALL GROUP HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUCTION: AN ART TEACHER’S REFLECTIONS by PENNY LEE COLANGELO Under the Direction of Melody Milbrandt ABSTRACT For this thesis, I developed a curriculum for high school art students using centers for small group instruction that helped them develop skills and knowledge in creating art. The type of small group instruction that I implemented is centered based and includes a teacher facilitated component, an interactive activity, and a project done in a small group at their desks. The groups were broken down in levels of ability, skill, and the extra time needed for students to complete their work.
By developing this type of curriculum for the Visual Art 1 course, the goal of small group instruction in the art classroom is to support student understanding of the artistic process through successful experiences. INDEX WORDS: Centered small group instruction, Curriculum, Reflections, Teacher facilitated, Interactive, At-your-seat -work VISUAL ART CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR SMALL GROUP HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUCTION: AN ART TEACHER’S REFLECTIONS by PENNY LEE COLANGELO A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Art Education in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2017 Copyright by Penny Lee Colangelo 2017 DEVELOPING A VISUAL ART CIRRICULUM FRAMWORK FOR SMALL GROUP HIGH SCHOOL INSTRUCTION by Penny Lee Colangelo Committee Chair: Melody Milbrandt Committee: Melanie Davenport Kevin Hsieh Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2017 iv DEDICATION In memory of Carol Ann Burnsworth who cultivated the love of art and education in all of my endeavors. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my professors Melody Milbrandt, Melanie Davenport, and Kevin Hsieh. v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .1 Purpose of the Study.
2 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE.1 Centered Small Group Instruction and Curriculum Strategies .2 Student Development and Behavior .1 Question for discovery: .2 High School Setting .1 Defining Centered Small Groups……………………………………………16 3.2 The Framework of the Curriculum ………………………………………….3 Time Line and Lesson Outline ………………………………………………19 3.4 Assessment and Student Progress ……………………………………………20 4 IMPLEMENTATIONS: REFECTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 Reflections and Discussions .1 Week One: Lesson One; Organic vs.2 Week Two: Lesson Two; What Do You Value?.3 Week Three: Lesson Three; Value Circle Close-Up…………………. 76 viii ix 1 1 INTRODUCTION As a new teacher, I am interested in always improving my curriculum and projects for my art classes. During a professional development class, I was encouraged to try this type of small group instruction. In the county where I teach, small group instruction was not accepted by many high school teachers, including any art teachers.
I was intrigued by a Professional Development presenter, who was interested in learning how small group instruction worked in an art classroom. This type of instruction is a nontraditional way of teaching art. The typical art lesson is a taught with information presented to the group and then helping students individually. Although small group instruction has been traditionally used in the beginning grades of elementary schools and special needs groups in both Gifted and Special Education classrooms, it is now being used with academic classes in the upper grade levels.
It is used to make sure all students obtain and retain the information given and help keep students engaged during instruction. The students who move quickly in each of the activities can go forward to the next very easily. The student who needs more time and extra help can get help without being overwhelmed with the next activity until they are ready. Art is typically not a subject that uses organized small group instruction; it is usually taught with one on one explanation and teacher demonstration to the whole class.
Small group instruction allows for students to move forward at their own pace and allows the teacher to guide their practice more specifically which encourages personal growth and individual differentiation.1 Purpose of the Study The reason I chose developing curriculum for the centered small group instruction for the visual art course is because of the type of student community in which I teach. The high school that I work at is a themed Magnet School where gifted students, general education students, and 2 students with special needs are all enrolled in my classes. Also, 9th through 12th graders are all enrolled in the same art classes. This high school is a Title I school with 64.3% of the students on free and reduced lunch programs.
Our graduation rate is below 75% and we have a high rate of students who discuss dropping out as early as the second semester in 9th grade. The goal for this research was that small group instruction may help ALL students pass the class and feel successful in creating art. In my research, the focus was on centered small group instruction using three groups: the Teacher-Facilitated, the Interactive, and At-your-Seat -Work. The goals were for students to work at their own pace, get one on one instruction from the teacher while continuing to work on their art projects, and have opportunities to discuss their artwork with their peers.
By using this type of instruction, students stay focused and productive in the art classroom.2 Expected Framework for Instruction The course time for art class is a ninety-minute block, which allows approximately 20 minutes in each of the three groups. The remaining thirty minutes is structured for a 20-minute lesson in the beginning and 10 minutes for cleaning up at the end of class. The lesson begins with whole class instruction and communication. Then the first group works in the Teacher- Facilitated-Group where a “mini” lesson supports the main instruction.
Here the teacher instructs, demonstrates, and works with approximately 10 students at a time. In this group, the teacher can see if students are struggling with the concept and need to stay for a second presentation and support. The student can stay in this group until they feel confident and have mastered the task and information. Students who achieve the objectives quickly can move into the other groups faster to complete the other tasks and therefore work at their own pace.
While these students are working with the teacher, the Interactive Group is working on a small activity 3 that supports a previous lesson or skill development. For example, in Visual Art 1, one of the objectives is that the student will draw the object provided and show how to render value with a designated light source. This activity is due at the end of class as a ticket out. Sometimes it can be a lesson in two parts, due on the second day.
The last group is the At-Your-Seat-Work, which usually involves student projects. These projects are given a set time to complete and the student continues to work on this in the 20 minutes of the rotation of the block period. I felt that using this instructional delivery system would give the student more opportunities to achieve success and become confident in producing art. 4 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Centered Small Group Instruction and Curriculum Strategies Centered small group instruction is a nontraditional method of teaching students that is beginning to be used in higher educational classes.
Research done by Achen, Dodd, and Lumpkin (2015), in Student Perceptions of Active Learning, shows the increasing success of using student centered environments and activities to impact student learning. According to Doyle (2008), learning centered environments are the most important way to teach in optimizing student learning. He suggests that learner centered environments help students take ownership of their own learning process by making choices of how they will learn and become more responsible for the outcome. Centered small group instruction can allow students to be positive and interact with the lessons and the teacher more readily and personally.
The teacher can help students understand the concepts and develop skills like drawing, rendering value, and creating a good composition by using interactive activities and one on one instruction in the Teacher- Facilitated Group. Relationships with peers and the teacher can encourage students to believe that they can accomplish their learning goals. According to a research study by Borůvkova and Emanovský (2016), small group instruction helps students build relationships which in turn creates a better working environment. This study showed the increase in participation in isolated learners especially in the cooperative learning.
Students developed relationships that helped them with their learning processes, they interacted and worked together with peers in order to develop skills. Small group instruction makes sure all students learn the content effectively, especially through the Interactive Group. Students are forced to accomplish the goal with students that they normally would not be put together. These students will help each other and develop a social interaction that can enhance 5 small group instruction.
This small group learning allows the student to be the focus in the learning process. This differs in more traditional methods were the teacher is the center of activity. In small group instruction, the teacher’s role is a facilitator to the students’ process not a lecturer as in most tradition classrooms. This type of learning allows student to converse and share skills that lead them to become more expressive, share what they know, what they do not know, and what they might want to learn.
Students will take more risks and experiment knowing that there is a safety net amongst each other. In this research, they concluded that there are five criteria for the cooperative project: (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) face to face interaction for at least part of the work, (4) appropriate use of interpersonal skills, and (5) regular self-assessment of team functioning (2016). The cooperative art project needs to make sure that students have independence amongst themselves and within their group to insure accountability. These relationships need to be in a positive environment and the student needs to understand that they have accountability separate from the group.
The project needs hands on by all members of the group and that they react to each other in an appropriate manner to fulfill a creative experience. The assessment needs to be an evaluation of the group’s interaction together (2016). The teacher’s role is to facilitate and requires pre-planning of the groups and the instruction needed. The teachers will give instruction and guide students to stay on task, provide feedback, and skill support.
Monitoring student and group progress is essential to the success of the student and the group. Assessing each student’s participation and group interaction will help support the end result of the project. Teachers will check for individual accountability and group success (Borůvkova and Emanovský, 2016). 6 Other support for this type of curriculum development comes from the article, “How do we teach? Results of a National Survey of Instruction in Secondary Art Education,” David Burton (2001).
He discusses the practices of art teachers in a secondary classroom. The survey shows teachers’ preferred teaching methods and suggests that further studies could help enhance art-teaching practices. It raises the questions on whether teachers could use more support in these strategies or and how effective they are for student learning.