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Visual Art Teachers’ Ranges of Understanding and Classroom Practices of Assessment for Student Learning In Visual Art Education

Lutz, Constance A

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2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Art Education.
The purpose of this qualitative research study was to gain comprehension of visual art teachers’ ranges of understanding about and classroom practices in assessment for student learning in art education. Twelve art teachers from traditional public schools; teaching in elementary, middle, or high schools; from three school districts from three states in the United States participated in this study. The setting for the study was their art education classrooms. This study was constructed around individual, guided, and semi-structured interviews with the art teachers. These interviews were supported by multiple sources of information including pre-site visit questionnaires, artifacts, and field notes from one-day observations within the art teacher’s classroom. The interview and pre-site visit questionnaire protocols were developed through field-tests with over 50 art teachers. The analytical framework for interpretation was developed around feminist principles of assessment (Shapiro, 1992). Aligned to this framework were assessment practices from the literature in visual art education: Wilson (1992); Beattie (1997a); National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (2000, 2001); Dorn, Madeja, and Sabol (2004); and National Art Education Association (2009a). This framework had two themes: Student-Centered Assessment and Assessment as a Professional Practice of the Art Teacher. Analytical coding was used in the analysis the units of data of the research sub-questions questions. Findings included a range of awareness of assessment practice, different purposes of art teacher comments to students, a progression of including the student in assessment towards role of the student in shared power, and influences of school district support. For those art teachers who both had a greater awareness of their assessment practices and used a wider variety of assessment tools for information for improving student learning, connections were found to their amount of professional development in assessment, inclusion in school-wide assessment practices, and use of an up-to-date art curriculum guide. Conversely, the art teachers who were unaware or uncertain of their assessment practices and had not been provided professional development or a current art curriculum guide, used fewer assessment strategies to inform their practice, did not utilize the assessment tools correctly or completely, and often equated assessment with grading. It was found when the art teachers focused on improving their students’ art product, they used a limited range of assessment strategies, issued directives on how to fix artwork without checking for student understanding, and their students produced similar looking artwork. When the art teachers’ focus centered on their students’ learning skills and knowledge in art, they applied a larger variety of assessment strategies, including student self-assessment, checked understanding before providing comments to support learning, and their students created more individualized looking artwork. Art teachers’ assessment practices were either supported or hindered by decisions made by those in power external to the art classroom was found. Art teachers from districts that provided professional development and a current art curriculum guide used more of the best practices of assessment in art education and focused on student learning in art.
Christine Ballengee Morris (Committee Chair)
Michael Parsons (Advisor)
Deborah Smith-Shank (Committee Member)
Karen Hutzel (Committee Member)
512 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lutz, C. A. (2014). Visual Art Teachers’ Ranges of Understanding and Classroom Practices of Assessment for Student Learning In Visual Art Education [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397567104

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lutz, Constance. Visual Art Teachers’ Ranges of Understanding and Classroom Practices of Assessment for Student Learning In Visual Art Education. 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397567104.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lutz, Constance. "Visual Art Teachers’ Ranges of Understanding and Classroom Practices of Assessment for Student Learning In Visual Art Education." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1397567104

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)