Enid Zimmerman

Reconceptualizing the Role of Creativity in Art Education Theory and Practice.

Reconceptualizing contemporary notions about creativity in visual arts education should be an important issue in art education today. Currently, creativity may not be a primary focus at National Art Education Association conferences or in its publications. There are recent indications that art education is a site where creativity can be developed and nurtured for all students with emphasis on both individual processes and cultural practices. It is advocated that through critical analysis of concepts related to art education and creativity that research and practice can be developed to cultivate creative education for all art students. Topics discussed in this article, related to reconsidering creativity, include the history of creativity in art education, definitions of creativity, assessment of creative processes, dispositional factors and creative individuals, cultural variability and creativity, and educational interventions that promote student creativity.

Identifying Artistically Talented Students in Four Rural Communities in the United States

Project ARTS was designed as a research and development project to identify high-ability, artistically talented third graders from four different ethnic backgrounds in seven rural schools and to implement differentiated arts programs for them. Locally designed identification measures, developed by teachers and community members, were found to be appropriate by teachers and staff if several different measures were used. In research about identification of students for Project ARTS, scores on the Torrance Tests of Creativity, Clarks Drawing Abilities Test, and state achievement tests were found to be correlated. Except at one site, gender was not found to be a significant variable on these tests. It was recommended that local measures, the CDAT, and achievement tests be used to identify artistically talented students in rural communities with populations similar to those in Project ARTS.

Views of Self, Family Background, and School: Interviews with Artistically Talented Students.

Twenty IU Summer Arts Institute students, ages 13 through 17, were interviewed to learn more about their perceptions of their early art talent, adult and peer encouragement, position in their families, future expectations, interest in drawing, living environments, familiarity with artists, schooling, and art ability. Results of these interviews were compared with findings by Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, Bloom, Chetelat, Taylor, and Guskin, Zimmerman, Okolo, and Peng. Similarities and differences were found between results of this study and findings by these researchers.

Factors influencing the graphic development of a talented young artist

Abstract: The focus of this case study was on the graphic development of a highly talented art student. Retrospective accounts and reactions to his spontaneous artwork done from preschool until he was in the tenth grade were used. The ability to depict the world realistically was viewed as only one indicator of artistic talent. It was concluded that effects of family background, cultural influences, skill mastery, and personal dispositional factors all contributed to the form and content of this students artistic development.

Tending the special spark: Accelerated and enriched curricula for highly talented art students

In this article, recommendations are set forth for educating highly able artistically talented students at the proposed science and art high school in Israel, derived from Stanleys and other models in the education of academically gifted students. Consideration is given to areas of student identification and characteristics, teacher selection and strategies, curriculum content, and educational arrangements and settings and how practices of acceleration and enrichment relate to these areas.

Toward a new conception of talent in the visual arts

The concept of artistic talent is examined by countering several popular misconceptions about students with superior abilities. A new conception of artistic talent is presented in which parallels are drawn between the representation of the concept of intelligence on a normal distribution and representation of talent in art on a naive to sophisticated continuum.

Rembrandt to Rembrandt: A case study of a memorable painting teacher of artistically talented 13 to 16 year‐old students

In this case study characteristics are analyzed and described of a memorable painting teacher of artistically talented 13 to 16 year‐old students in a two‐week, summer painting course. Content, comparative, and time sampling analyses were utilized to aid in understanding curriculum concerns, teaching content, individual and group critiques, and classroom management. Dominant characteristics of this teachers instruction were his emphasis on art skills and concepts, knowledge about his subject, empathy with his students, directive methods of teaching, and his ability to make the class challenging and interesting through humor and story telling. Generalization from this study provide a model of a successful teacher of artistically talented students that can be accepted or refuted when compared with other studies of teachers of artistically talented students.

I Don't Want to Sit in the Corner Cutting Out Valentines: Leadership Roles for Teachers of Talented Art Students

Two research studies which focus on the process and results of educating teachers of high ability schools, communities, and beyond are presented. One study involved focus groups of 1994 participants University, the other included a survey sent to all A framework based on a content analysis of the data in these two studies has applicability to other inservice education programs for teachers of talented art students. Knowledge of subject matter content, pedagogy, building self-esteem, and allowing choices can lead teachers of artistically talented students, who have leadership potential, to collaborate with others. Teachers can become empowered to make changes in their private and professional lives that eventually result in communities of caring professionals able to assume leadership roles.

An Analysis of Current Research in Studies in Art Education and the International Journal of Education Through Art

In this article, we present an analysis of current art education research published from 2014–2016 in Studies in Art Education and the International Journal of Education Through Art. Focus is on the state of art education research and the National Art Education Association Research Commission’s Research Agenda. We use comparison charts to highlight critical elements of research studies in these two journals. We conclude that both journals present timely and relevant art education research, and we suggest more specific information be integrated into research reports so readers and researchers know more about how inquiries were conducted. Gaps that exist in the literature could be filled with a more balanced reporting of descriptive, experimental, theoretical/paradigm, historical, and philosophical research. More inquiry also is needed that addresses significant topics, through use of rigorous methods, that might inform future development of an articulate policy and practice in art education.

“Everyone Needs an Art Education”: Developing Leadership through Positive Attitudes Toward Art Methods Courses

33 Research about K-6 generalists, elementary, preservice majors in teacher education programs often emphasizes students1 who are resistant to art methods courses, although Galbraith (1991) and Gibson (2003) found some elementary majors held positive views about art methods courses. In addition, instructors who are frustrated by students who respond negatively to these methods courses often seek advice about how to have their students adopt positive attitudes (Galbraith, 1995). In a previous study we conducted with another researcher (Lackey, Manifold, & Zimmerman, 2007), some elementary majors were found to be unreceptive, yet others held positive views about art methods classes. This previous study suggested that developing leadership among those who hold positive views might be a means of nurturing constructive responses from those who do not. In this article, we report results of a study we conducted using focus-group student discussions and focused interviews with instructors of art methods courses for elementary majors at universities in five sites around the United States. We determined that The Empowerment/ Leadership for Art Education (Leadership Model) developed by Thurber and Zimmerman (1997, 2002) would be appropriate to develop strategies for implementing positive change to counter the resistance that students and instructors sometimes demonstrate toward these courses. This Leadership Model2 is constructed on a feminist framework that has been successfully used in a variety of contexts that support building reflection and empowerment through interactions among groups of people working toward common goals. We created an interview protocol that focused on beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, experiences, and circumstances of students and instructors in respect to these Developing Leadership Through Positive Attitudes Toward Art Methods Courses