Students design and implement a pilot research study on the MICA campus during their first summer residency. By the end of the first summer, students will have completed a plan for conducting a case study in their own classroom/instructional settings during the academic year.
The following titles of student Case Study Reports serve as examples of the research interests students have pursued in the MA in Art Education program since the program's inception in 2001.
Published articles are indicated in bold and can be read in their entirety by clicking on the works title.
Copyrighted material. Used with permission of the National Art Education Association. These articles are reprinted courtesy of the National Art Education Association. For more information please contact the National Art Education Association at 703-860-8000.
Art Making and Cultural Identity
2005
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Stories About Art in Four African American Families, Michaud, J.
2006
- Voices from the Fields: Migrant Children Speak Through Art, Risso, L.
2007
- "Where Teachers Know How to Say My Name": Representations of Cultural Identity in a Middle School Art Class , Lopez, V.
- What Catches the Eye? The Aesthetics of Style and Adolescents' Responses to Visual Culture, Selig, L.
- Sponge Bob, Tinkerbelle & Adidas: Using Visual Culture archives as a source for Representing Adolescent Identity in Art, Wyss, J.
2009
- Past, Present, Future: Stories of identity in an elementary art room, Pellish, J.
- Fantasy Facebook: Artmaking through meaningful and authentic instruction, Ward, A.
2010
- From Luke Skywalker to SpongeBob: Archetypes and Identity in Artmaking, Speed, E.
Narrative Teaching Strategies
2002
- An Analysis of a Unit of Narrative Instruction, Hayes, P.
- Narrative Content in ESOL Students' Drawings, Mautawalli, M.
- Narrative Drawing Dialogues: A Strategy for Scaffolding Children's Drawing Development, Podraza, S.
- Jeffrey's Stories: Construction of Preadolescent Student Identity Through Narrative Drawings, Wolf, M.
2003
- Getting Rid of "Getting It Right": Using a Narrative Strategy to Engage Students in Observational Drawing, Brahm, K.
2004
- Personal Perspectives: Navajo Children Photograph Their World, Maxfield, K.
2006
- Realities and Themes Represented in Children's Storyboard Drawings: Reflections on Life Experience and Culture, Tandon, S.
2007
- How Children Tell Their Story, Freeman, D.
2008
- A Lens to "Self" in Adolescence: Narrative Instruction Used in Darkroom Photography, Covelli, L.
- "Nature and I Made This Together": A Case Study of High School Students' Narrative Installations in the Natural Setting, McBrien, K.
2009
- Narratives of Protection: Transforming a Cultural Image to Represent Personal Experiences, Kloth, J.
Professional Identity of Art Educators
2002
- A Narrative Study of Three Novice Elementary Art Teachers, Newton, L.
2004
- Artist/Art Educator: Unraveling Identity Issues, Hatfield, C.
- Artist/Art Educator: Making Sense of Identity Issues, Defffebaugh, C.
- Artist/Art Educator: Making Sense of Identity Issues, Montana, V.
2007
- Modeling Practice: The Artist-Teacher in the High School Classroom, Cook, L.
2010
- The Layered Journal: Unraveling My Experience As an Itinerant Art Teacher, Sandagata, E.
2011
- Thinking Back and Forth: Adaptive Challenges of a Teaching Artist, Campbell, M.
- Art Teacher to Artist Teacher: Transformation of a Studio Environment, Prishak, L.
2012
- Observing, Reflecting, Relating: Enhancing Teaching Practices Through Freewriting, Shearer, L.C.
- Educating Ourselves Through Cooperative Learning, Whelihan, L.
The Creative Problem Solving Process
2003
- Emily Makes a Self Portrait: A Phenomenological Case Study, Morningstar, A.
2005
- Scaffolding Creative Problem-Solving in a Computer Art Class, Huntoon, A.
2006
- The Evolution of an Effective Approach to Instruction in Computer Design, Messersmith, B.
2007
- "Everyone Tells Me to be Creative but No One Tells Me How": A Descriptive Case Study Examining The Creative Problem Solving Process in a Figurative Painting Unit, Short, L.
2009
- 21st Century Artrooms: The "remix" of creativity and technology, Bryant, C.
2010
- Ink Blots and Story Plots: Effects of Exploratory Play on the Artmaking Process, Nichols, M.
2011
- The Messy Classroom: Fostering Creative Resolutions to Open-Ended Art Problems, Kruszynski, E.
2012
- Motivating Students to Explore Their Own Realities, Emberson, L.L.
Place-based Art Making in Natural Settings
2003
- Journey of Awareness: Art, Nature and the Adolescent, Salzman, L.
2008
- Environmental Vernacular in the Elementary Art Curriculum, Hansen, E.
- "Nature and I Made This Together": A Case Study of High School Students' Narrative Installations in the Natural Setting, McBrien, K.
2012
- The Bottle Shop Project, Kildahl, J.
Art Making with Special Populations
2004
- Visual Voices: Art Works by Students in a Special Needs School, McKissic, T.
- From Cartoons to Rapsters: Themes Outside the Art Room, Nickols, J.
2007
- "Sometimes I Feels Like Nobody is Listening": A Study of Art Students with Learning Differences, Sonkin, J.
2008
- "Fight with Your Heart": Teacher-Student Relationships that Reflect Classroom Engagement, Sugar, M.
Holistic Learning and Teaching
2003
- In the Art Room and Around the Campfire: Students' Perceptions of Community in Two Learning Environments, Comeau, D.
2004
- Spiritual Themes and Adolescent Art, Mills, T.
2006
- A Holistic Approach to Teaching a Traditionally Technical Photography Class, Scoville, S.
2007
- Teacher Talk: Reflections on Holistic Art Education, Garton, A.
- A Holistic Unit of Study: Engagement in Art Making, Distad, J.
Art-Making in Community Settings
2003
- Art Classes in a Children's Hospital: An Evaluative Case Study, Bell, A.
2005
- Following the Art Work Home: An Examination of the Parent/Child Dialogue, Gizzard, C.
2006
- Art in the Home: Activities and Perceptions of Rural Families, Crum, J.
2009
- Realized Possibilities: The story of a relationship between an artist-mentor and an adolescent artist, Chacon, R.
2012
- Activating the Inner World: Women Developing Artistic Voice and Self-Identity in a Collage Art Workshop, Luycx, A.
Purposes of Art Education Within School Culture
2003
- The Value of Art: A Middle School Perspective, Wittner, D.
- "Thank You For Coming and Letting Us Draw": Itinerant Art Teachers Describe Teaching Art from a Cart, Linder, L.
2004
- Perceptions About the Purposes of Art in a Private Middle School, Parker-Dial, W.
2006
- Beyond Boundaries: Administrator, Teachers, Parents and Students Discuss Appropriate Thematic Content for Student Art Work, Hallquist-Bergland
2008
- What's the Point? Examination of Views About Art and the Purposes of Art Education by Students, Parents and Administrators, Alp, C.
2009
- Finding Familiarity: Making connections to encourage meaningful art production, Haney, K.S.
2010
- What Can I Change Where I Am? Transformations in an Urban Classroom, Crites, T.
- You Can Get to Know Them From There: Enabling the Voice of the 21st-Century Student, Pierce, J.
Student Engagement in Art Making
2002
- Computers in the Elementary Art Room: A Comparison of the Content of Artwork Generated by Second Graders, Moffett, E.
2003
- Looking Through the Lens: Meanings in Three Adolescents' Photographs, Opher, C.
2005
- "Wow, It's Quiet in Here": Engaging the Middle School Student, Buys, S.
- Drawing Together: Cooperative Learning Strategies, Shuler, B.
2006
- "I Can't Draw": Adolescents and Fear of Making Art, Laugen, S.
- Utilizing Instructional Prompts to Influence Adolescent Artistic Expression, Sinclair, D.
2007
- A Closer Look: Student Engagement in Art Making, Levine, R.
2009
- What Does It Mean to Be Afraid of Making Art in a Fifth Grade Art Class? Neale, K.
2010
- Spin, Slide, Jump, and Roll: An Encounter With Kinesthetic-Based Art Making, Hartjen, L.F.
- The Ice Is Melting: Engaging Students Through Issue-Based Art, Wozniak, N.
2011
- Three-Dimensional Explorations: Building Meaning and Motivation With Non-Traditional Methods, Halcott, M.
- Setting the Stage: The Power of Performance-Based Pedagogy in the Art Classroom, Kim, R.B.
- Visual Journals: Experimenting With Substance in a Studio Art Class, Stafford, L.
Art-Based Learning and Cognition
2003
- Students' Construction of Meaning Through Written Reflections on Artworks: A Case Study, Hanawalt, C.
2004
- Through the Eyes of Others: Art-Based Learning, Cognition and Empathy, Draina, N.
2007
- The Art of Constructing Learning in a High School Art Class, Hesser, J.
2008
- Deconstruct, Construct and Reconstruct: Defining What is Meaningful in a Middle School Art-Integration Unit of Study, Tichenor, A.
- "Am I Done Yet? Influence of Formative Peer-Assessment Strategies on Middle School Students' Reflections on Quality, Staub, H.
Development of Metaphoric Imagery in Adolescent Artwork
2002
- Portraits of Ophelia: Metaphors of Self in the Artworks of Two Adolescent Girls, Cook, C.
2005
- Metaphoric Journeys and Adolescent Art, Zacher, M.
Critical Response to Art and Visual Culture
2002
- "It's Just Scribbles on a Face": Fifth Graders' Reasons for Preference of 20th Century Artworks Viewed in a Museum Setting, Schmidt, B.
2006
- Reflections, Connections, and Relationships: The Role of the Critique in a High School Computer Imaging Course, Roach, B.
2008
- "Art Work that Really Wowed Me": Elementary Students' Response to Modern, Non-objective Sculpture in a Museum Setting, Haffer, N.
2009
- Rocks to Rocky-ba-Boulder: Using Collections in the Art Classroom, McGeehan, S.
2010
- A Space for Dialogue: Involving Students in the Art Exhibition, Archibald, A.
- Aesthetic Encounters: The Burger King Mask and the Carmen Miranda Doll in the Sculpture Classroom, Fisher, S.I.C.
2012
- Blogging, Zines, and Narratives: New Dialogues in Art History, Belleville, R.
- Initiating the Dialogue: Empowering Middle School Students to Recognize Their Everyday Relationships With Art, Zanskas, M. A.
Maps & Directions