<p>Attempting to discover the utility of the Semantic Differential in determining learner needs and preferences at the outset of a 9-week beginner art-appreciation class, the researcher surveyed her students&rsquo; affective responses to 30 portraits. Over a one-year period, thirty-two at-risk young adults completed the survey using 16 bi-polar adjective pairs (good: bad | beautiful: ugly, etc.) to indicate how they felt about each portrait. The respondents had one minute to rate each portrait or thirty minutes total. Supported by research on the cross-cultural validity of the survey tool, the universal relevance of portraiture alongside curriculum, cognitive and visual culture theory, the student responses reveal that (1) the survey mechanism itself is useful to the art educator; and (2) there is a wealth of information on student preferences in terms of style, media, and subject. </p><p> Responses to the portraits reveal near total engagement with the process as well as interesting patterns and divergences: in one example, two portraits created 1,000 years apart were ranked &ldquo;positively&rdquo; by all respondents. Other examples reveal a complexity of responses across media and style as well as race, gender and age of subject. </p><p> While it has yet to be demonstrated whether the survey results can be generalizable across a population of similarly-situated individuals, the researcher believes the real value may lie in the survey&rsquo;s use in creating a dialogue based on immediate information about student preferences; where, within a community, students can mine the degree to which they have been influenced by their material culture. The dialogue will serve as a safe jumping off point to explore their identity and their role in society through discussion, art production and interpretation. </p>

This researcher examined the relationship between visual arts programs and creative thinking skills of high school students taking a foundations of music course and an introductory visual art course. A gap existed in the current literature concerning visual art experience and creativity among high school students. This study was based upon the theories of Eisner, Gardner, and Csikszentmihalyi concerning creativity and art experiences. This researcher used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design. A convenience sample of 2 high school fine arts classes was comprised of 1 visual art class and 1 foundations of music class, giving a sample of 50 high school students. The visual art class was the treatment group that received visual art instruction. The foundations of music class was the control group that received no visual art instruction. Pre and post assessments were measured using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) after 1 term of instruction. Data analysis using the t-test showed that a statistically significant increase was found in creative thinking skills among high school students with visual art experience. The findings could help educational stakeholders to improve visual art curriculum and to seek funding for visual art programs. The findings will lead to social change in high school art curricula as documented in the current literature to a deeper understanding of the importance of teaching subjects that encourage creative thinking at the high school level. Social change implications include: (a) increased funding for visual art curriculum that will lead to positive social change by enhancing student creativity; (b) encouraging further research on the importance of creativity skills among high school students; and (c) increasing community awareness of the necessity of creative thinking in the global economy and the value of visual art experience in helping students gain creativity skills.