Figure 1
Analyzing a Child's Art Development
Running Head: CHILD’S DRAWING RESEARCH PAPER
A Clear Picture: Analyzing and Researching A Child’s Drawing
Evan Leanne Elbein
University of Missouri: Columbia
Introduction
A child’s developmental stage in art is an important and valuable piece of information that every classroom teacher should be made aware of and should be able to accurately determine. An educator who discerns and understands each student’s individual developmental stage in art is then able to provide a more enriching learning environment to students. Armed with this valuable information, a teacher can more closely monitor student’s progress, is able to learn more about their students as individuals (likes, interests, thoughts, feelings, ideas, life in and out of school), and is perhaps more capable of planning and designing more effective, innovative, progressive and personally relevant lessons. “With this knowledge base they are better able to choose age-appropriate teaching and assessment strategies that will help them develop the whole potential of every child” (Luehrman and Unrath, 2006, p. 7).
According to Luehrman and Unrath (2006), theory is essentially the concept that there are defined stages of art development that every child progresses through. These stages consist of distinct, identifiable characteristics and are typically found amongst broad age ranges and large groups of children. These stages explain how the majority of children will pass through a specific sequence of art development. However, it is important to note that these stages of development are merely generalizations that are only meant to describe tendencies. These concepts are not to be interpreted rigidly. The proper interpretation of these stages means referencing them as a general and adjustable guide. They are not necessarily the authority on what to expect from a specific child whom is of a particular age. However, they are likely to be beneficial to instructors when used with other tools. This particular assignment requires that the Preservice teacher pick a piece of child art (Figure 1) and to then describe and analyze said art based on the theories of children’s art development. The child art is submitted anonymously and the Preservice teacher has no contextual information to reference such as age, gender, race or social development.
Description and Analysis
The art selected for use in this assignment (Figure 1) certainly appears to be of a fairly advanced stage. Figure 1 is drawing which depicts a person with long, dark, straight hair, a sizable forehead and a slight smile on their face. The person depicted in the drawing is wearing a t-shirt with multiple peace sign symbols on it. He/she has her eyes closed, defined eyebrows and appears to have placed their hands in the pockets of their pants. The background of this piece of artwork has been very neatly and deliberately shaded. It is a bit difficult to precisely conclude but there also appears to be some sort of animal (perhaps either a fox or an owl) sketch included within the shading technique utilized in the background of Figure 1 (located in the bottom left corner).
It was challenging to determine precisely which developmental art stage this particular piece best represents. There are incorporated elements indicative of The Gang Age, as described by Brittain and Lowenfeld (1970), such as awareness of detail, attempts to show depth, awareness of clothing detail and of The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage, also described by Brittain and Lowenfeld (1970), such as personal meaning incorporated into objects/events, awareness of depth and correct proportion. However, the summary chart for Gang specifically says “no understanding of shade and shadow” while Figure 1’s background is entirely shaded and uses shadowing technique. Because of that compiled information, it can be concluded that the appropriate stage for this drawing is early Pseudo-Naturalistic.
From the content of Figure 1, it can be concluded that this particular child is likely between the ages of twelve and fourteen. According to information provided in the Luehrman and Unrath article, this student is likely in the Artistic Challenges Stage (ages 14-17). In this stage, children often consider “realistic” drawings as what is good in art. This stage in a child’s development as an artist is extremely crucial because of the demanding need to develop and hone skill. If this need fails to be met or is not diffused by a realization that art is far broader than realism, the preadolescent may lose interest in art and abandon it completely. This makes the quality of instruction that occurs during this stage all the more critical. Because this student included two relating symbols (animal and person), it may be beneficial to instruct this student by encouraging them to become aware of spatial relationships between themselves and an object or between two objects. Instruction at this stage should also be rooted in positive feedback and a disposition of acceptance as the child at this stage of development is likely experiencing a great need to develop their artistic talents. This positive and encouraging feedback will hopefully inspire and nurture a love of art in students in this stage of development. Lastly, the instructor should expose the student in the Artistic Challenges Stage to many pieces of non-realism art, which may help the student recognize and hopefully accept that realism is not the only genre of art that is considered good.
Conclusion
As our culture and the world at large grows more and more advanced and dynamic, well-rounded citizens are expected to be able to discern information from a multitude of contexts. An emphasis on visual literacy is becoming as critical as textual literacy in today’s classrooms. This is in an effort to prepare students for the increasingly in-demand skills and knowledge within the current and future workforce. “They’ll need to do what workers abroad cannot do equally well for much less money- using R-Directed abilities such as forging relationships rather than executing transactions, tackling novel challenges instead of solving routine problems, and synthesizing the big picture rather than analyzing a simple component” (Pink, 2005, p. 39-40).
As a future elementary educator who is dedicated and passionate about helping students reach educational and personal success, the research required to craft this paper was extremely beneficial and valuable. The ability to quickly and accurately draw conclusions about student’s art and to now posses the ability to properly place students in the appropriate developmental stage based on the art they create is hugely critical in helping to develop the whole potential of every child. Art samples are perhaps not always given the credit that they rightly deserve when it comes to being viewed as a useful and viable resource for teachers to implement in the classroom. However, the evidence gathered for use in this paper clearly demonstrates that art is a vital teaching instrument that in some cases may provide the most clear indication of what student’s know, what they may struggle with and what they may be experiencing on a personal level. Teachers can be better prepared to create a learning environment that supports, nurtures and challenges students by utilizing student’s art in order to learn more about them. Preparing to embark on the turbulent waters of the teaching profession is both nerve-wracking and so exciting. This relevant information will make that transition all the more smooth for future and current teachers alike.
References
Brittain, W. L. & Lowenfeld, V. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York, NY: Macmillan Co., 22-25, 474-479.
Luehrman, M. & Unrath, K. (2006) Making theories of children’s artistic developments meaninful for preservice teachers. Art Education, 6-12
Pink, D. (2005). A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books
A Clear Picture: Analyzing and Researching A Child’s Drawing
Evan Leanne Elbein
University of Missouri: Columbia
Introduction
A child’s developmental stage in art is an important and valuable piece of information that every classroom teacher should be made aware of and should be able to accurately determine. An educator who discerns and understands each student’s individual developmental stage in art is then able to provide a more enriching learning environment to students. Armed with this valuable information, a teacher can more closely monitor student’s progress, is able to learn more about their students as individuals (likes, interests, thoughts, feelings, ideas, life in and out of school), and is perhaps more capable of planning and designing more effective, innovative, progressive and personally relevant lessons. “With this knowledge base they are better able to choose age-appropriate teaching and assessment strategies that will help them develop the whole potential of every child” (Luehrman and Unrath, 2006, p. 7).
According to Luehrman and Unrath (2006), theory is essentially the concept that there are defined stages of art development that every child progresses through. These stages consist of distinct, identifiable characteristics and are typically found amongst broad age ranges and large groups of children. These stages explain how the majority of children will pass through a specific sequence of art development. However, it is important to note that these stages of development are merely generalizations that are only meant to describe tendencies. These concepts are not to be interpreted rigidly. The proper interpretation of these stages means referencing them as a general and adjustable guide. They are not necessarily the authority on what to expect from a specific child whom is of a particular age. However, they are likely to be beneficial to instructors when used with other tools. This particular assignment requires that the Preservice teacher pick a piece of child art (Figure 1) and to then describe and analyze said art based on the theories of children’s art development. The child art is submitted anonymously and the Preservice teacher has no contextual information to reference such as age, gender, race or social development.
Description and Analysis
The art selected for use in this assignment (Figure 1) certainly appears to be of a fairly advanced stage. Figure 1 is drawing which depicts a person with long, dark, straight hair, a sizable forehead and a slight smile on their face. The person depicted in the drawing is wearing a t-shirt with multiple peace sign symbols on it. He/she has her eyes closed, defined eyebrows and appears to have placed their hands in the pockets of their pants. The background of this piece of artwork has been very neatly and deliberately shaded. It is a bit difficult to precisely conclude but there also appears to be some sort of animal (perhaps either a fox or an owl) sketch included within the shading technique utilized in the background of Figure 1 (located in the bottom left corner).
It was challenging to determine precisely which developmental art stage this particular piece best represents. There are incorporated elements indicative of The Gang Age, as described by Brittain and Lowenfeld (1970), such as awareness of detail, attempts to show depth, awareness of clothing detail and of The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage, also described by Brittain and Lowenfeld (1970), such as personal meaning incorporated into objects/events, awareness of depth and correct proportion. However, the summary chart for Gang specifically says “no understanding of shade and shadow” while Figure 1’s background is entirely shaded and uses shadowing technique. Because of that compiled information, it can be concluded that the appropriate stage for this drawing is early Pseudo-Naturalistic.
From the content of Figure 1, it can be concluded that this particular child is likely between the ages of twelve and fourteen. According to information provided in the Luehrman and Unrath article, this student is likely in the Artistic Challenges Stage (ages 14-17). In this stage, children often consider “realistic” drawings as what is good in art. This stage in a child’s development as an artist is extremely crucial because of the demanding need to develop and hone skill. If this need fails to be met or is not diffused by a realization that art is far broader than realism, the preadolescent may lose interest in art and abandon it completely. This makes the quality of instruction that occurs during this stage all the more critical. Because this student included two relating symbols (animal and person), it may be beneficial to instruct this student by encouraging them to become aware of spatial relationships between themselves and an object or between two objects. Instruction at this stage should also be rooted in positive feedback and a disposition of acceptance as the child at this stage of development is likely experiencing a great need to develop their artistic talents. This positive and encouraging feedback will hopefully inspire and nurture a love of art in students in this stage of development. Lastly, the instructor should expose the student in the Artistic Challenges Stage to many pieces of non-realism art, which may help the student recognize and hopefully accept that realism is not the only genre of art that is considered good.
Conclusion
As our culture and the world at large grows more and more advanced and dynamic, well-rounded citizens are expected to be able to discern information from a multitude of contexts. An emphasis on visual literacy is becoming as critical as textual literacy in today’s classrooms. This is in an effort to prepare students for the increasingly in-demand skills and knowledge within the current and future workforce. “They’ll need to do what workers abroad cannot do equally well for much less money- using R-Directed abilities such as forging relationships rather than executing transactions, tackling novel challenges instead of solving routine problems, and synthesizing the big picture rather than analyzing a simple component” (Pink, 2005, p. 39-40).
As a future elementary educator who is dedicated and passionate about helping students reach educational and personal success, the research required to craft this paper was extremely beneficial and valuable. The ability to quickly and accurately draw conclusions about student’s art and to now posses the ability to properly place students in the appropriate developmental stage based on the art they create is hugely critical in helping to develop the whole potential of every child. Art samples are perhaps not always given the credit that they rightly deserve when it comes to being viewed as a useful and viable resource for teachers to implement in the classroom. However, the evidence gathered for use in this paper clearly demonstrates that art is a vital teaching instrument that in some cases may provide the most clear indication of what student’s know, what they may struggle with and what they may be experiencing on a personal level. Teachers can be better prepared to create a learning environment that supports, nurtures and challenges students by utilizing student’s art in order to learn more about them. Preparing to embark on the turbulent waters of the teaching profession is both nerve-wracking and so exciting. This relevant information will make that transition all the more smooth for future and current teachers alike.
References
Brittain, W. L. & Lowenfeld, V. (1970). Creative and mental growth. New York, NY: Macmillan Co., 22-25, 474-479.
Luehrman, M. & Unrath, K. (2006) Making theories of children’s artistic developments meaninful for preservice teachers. Art Education, 6-12
Pink, D. (2005). A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books