The thesis is an auto-ethnographic study of the author's journey to use puppetry arts as a mode of personal expression. It documents the process of developing; rehearsing; building puppets, props and stage; and performing a puppet performance. The thesis also includes primary source research obtained from an interview with professional puppeteer, Monica Leo, of Eulenspiegel Puppets. The author also describes and reflects upon her experiences teaching an enrichment course on puppetry arts to elementary students. The research highlights ways that puppetry arts can affect students' learning and reflects on its place within the field of art education.

This thesis describes two lithographic techniques that may be used to introduce black and white lithography to beginning art students. Aluminum plate and paper lithography are two relatively low cost and safe lithographic methods suitable for schools with limited budgets and limited space. It is recommended that the instructor interested in teaching the two processes described in this thesis have some previous experience in lithography.

All too often, the “I can’t draw” sentiment is believed by both the frustrated adolescent and adult alike. This is especially evident within the school environment. This paper aims to discuss how visual art --specifically drawing-- is structured, formed and expressed as a type of language, similar to a verbal, written, or physical one. This may give hope to even the most reluctant drawer that they can learn how to draw, opening another means of communication. An individual attains fluency when they are adept at drawing through the use of expression, technical, and observational skills, through practice and motivation, and through instruction. Also in this paper, I will discuss my findings from classroom action research demonstrating how adolescents and adults became more fluent.

The writer has had experience as a supervisor of music at the elementary and secondary levels. This experience combined with the development of courses to suit the program for an elementary teacher training institution provided the background for the development of this project. The problem, as it appeared to the writer, was that in spite of valiant efforts on the part of music supervisors and art teachers’ elementary students did not comprehend music or art as an aesthetic whole. The methods in use, in most Maine schools, presented the arts as a technical skill to be mastered by the student rather than as a fine art to be first understood and then, in later grades, mastered. Investigation showed that some institutions of higher learning were combining the arts in college programs. Further search indicated an attempt on the part of some secondary and junior high teachers to combine the arts in their teaching. No evidence could be found however, that there was any effort to prepare teachers to deal with this concept at the elementary level. It seemed that this combining of the arts in the elementary grades was the most desirable approach. With this premise as a base the program of preparing an allied arts teacher for elementary grades was developed. Methods and Procedures A survey of the offerings in the area of fine arts was made by studying programs in seventy colleges and universities engaged in teacher preparation. The Music Educators National Conference publications were reviewed to determine what research had been done in the area of that combined arts. Letters were written to members of the National Association for the Humanities in Education to determine what work was being done in the field. Correspondence, review of research, and personal interviews with educators and administrators provided the direction for the study. A survey of the fifty state departments of education which resulted in forty replies pointed up the need for such a teacher preparation program. When the need for the program had been established writer proceeded to collect a bibliography that included music education, art education and general education as well as philosophical observations on the fine arts. The organization and collection of this material was accomplished in the period of two years. Summary The program was presented to the administration, Academic Affairs Committee, Faculty Council and the Dean of Academic Affairs of the University of Maine, Fort Kent, in November of 1970. With full campus approval and on the basis of the surveys the program was presented to the University Chancellor early in 1971. In March 1971 the Chancellor approved the program and the University of Maine board of trustees, at their April meeting, endorsed the course of studies for the Fort Kent campus. The program was put into operation in the fall semester of 1971 and has some eleven students involved in all or part of the allied arts concentration.

In this study I present case studies of the art classes at three private schools in the Midwest. The schools include a Catholic school, a Mennonite school and a Transcendental Meditation school. In the study I spent time observing art classes at each school for eighteen weeks totaling an average of thirty hours in each school. At the schools I observed the art classes and interviewed the art teachers, administrators and students in order to be able to describe the history and philosophy of each school as well as the art teaching and learning that occur in the art classes. The purpose of the study is not to determine which school is best or if they are better than public schools, but to present descriptions of art classes in nontraditional settings. Accomplishing this inquiry presented the possibility of drawing out unique or innovative teaching practices that could be implemented in any art classroom to improve the quality of education.

Many studies of children's learning in Art education have focused on the young child working in two-dimensional processes. This study examined ways in which emerging-adolescents worked three dimensionally with clay. The purpose of the study was to discover whether the introduction of adult models of three-dimensional form would affect the way the child perceived and constructed threedimensional form. These models were presented as perceptual frames of reference related to the problem confronting the child. The development of perceptual differentiation skills and perceptual, manipulative and conceptual modes of learning underpin this investigation. Four intact classrooms of 12 year olds were studied and the results were examined by a panel of judges. A rating scale devised by the author was applied to each model. The scale was designed to measure five aspects of three-dimensional form. Results indicated that three-dimensional art works made by adults do affect aspects of the way children approach visual problem solving. Implications for the use of such frames of reference in the art classroom and indications of associated motivational and attitudinal changes are presented in the study.

Colour mixing is fundamental to learning to paint. Students in visual art classes in secondary schools face problems in manipulating paint and discriminating colour. The kinds of base paints to be presented to students could be an important factor in learning about colour relationships and pigments. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Year 7 students generating colour mixes with paint using a triad of magenta, cyan and yellow were able to mix and discriminate more colours than if they used a triad of red(scarlet red), blue (ultramarine light) and yellow (lemon yellow) which is a base triad commonly used in schools. The Weddell Colour Discrimination Test was developed for use in this study which was a test that involved colour mixing with paint. The study used quasi-experimental designs for both a pilot study and a main study. Results indicated a significant difference in the ability to mix paint advantage of groups that used cyan , magenta and yellow. Implications for the use of particular colour triads in art classrooms and methods of teaching colour theory have emerged from this study. The Weddell Colour Discrimination test instrument developed in this study could be useful as both a diagnostic tool and a teaching tool as well as a data gathering method for further research.

AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN THE ART EDUCATION CURRICULUM By Terri L. Suraco Under the Direction of Melody Milbrandt ABSTRACT This study investigates how interdisciplinary lessons are taught in an art education classroom. The teaching strategies used are: Integrated models, the use of "Big Ideas" (Jacobs, 1989, 2003), the use of constructivist methods (Freedman, 2003; Brooks and Brooks, 1999; Milbrandt, 2004), and the use of essential question inquiry (Erickson, 1998; Mallery, 2000) and teacher collaboration (Jacobs, 2005; Erickson, 1998; NAEA, 2005). I am the only participant in an autoethnographical study. In the Literature Review: Why arts integration is important is explored. Positives and negatives of teaching integrated disciplines are addressed. I include four units from my interdisciplinary curriculum in art education and observations with teaching reflections from the units taught in elementary and middle school. The models that are described are: Parallel Disciplines, Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary, and Integrated (Jacobs, 1989, 2005: Mallery, 2000;). The study results reveal how interdisciplinary teaching can be implemented in an art education classroom. IDEX WORDS: Thesis, Interdisciplinary, Integrated, Art Education, Big Ideas

This is an arts-based research study on the effects of applying extensive and diverse sketching techniques to the development of a cohesive body of work, which reflects the significant and meaningful events of the artist-researcher’s life. The research techniques employed and studied consist of looking at historical exemplars, sketching, reflecting, critiquing, and revising. The results of the research were then reflected upon and applied to the field of art education in an attempt to discover the benefits for both teaching and learning in kindergarten through 12th grade curriculums.

This arts-based study discusses using the horror film and monsters as a means of exploring the personification of fear in contemporary society. The paper incorporates the viewing and dissection of horror films into an artistic process to explore fears in order to further artistic expression. It additionally shows how this process can be used in an art classroom within the context of contemporary art to empower students and facilitate art criticism discussions.