2014

Catherine Geagan
K00119194
CURRICULUM ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
A study involving the creation of folklore tales based on imaginative interpretations of the
environment.
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Contents
List of illustrations ..................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2
Rationale for teacher research .................................................................................................. 2
Aims, scope and research methods of the project ................................................................... 4
Teacher research aims ............................................................................................................... 4
Research methods employed .................................................................................................... 6
Description of project activities ................................................................................................ 9
Critical evaluation of outcomes of project .............................................................................. 14
Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 18
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 20

List of illustrations
Fig.13
Fig.27
Fig.38
Fig.48
Fig.5...9
Fig.6.10
Fig.7.11
Fig.8.11
Fig.9.11
Fig.10.11
Fig.11.12
Fig.12....12
Fig.13.13
Fig.14.14
Fig.15.15
Fig.16.15
Fig.17.15
Fig.18.17

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Introduction

Placeislatitudinalandlongitudinalwiththemapofapersonslife.Itistemporal
andspatial,personalandpolitical.Alayeredlocationrepletewithhumanhistories
andmemories/itisaboutconnections,whatsurroundsit,whatformedit,what
happenedthere,andwhatwillhappenthere.(Grunewald & Smith, 2010).

This research project documents the implementation of innovative
curriculum in art and design. The project is underpinned by the use of methods of
action research, investigated from the perspective of a student teacher. It documents
secondary school students creation of a new folklore story through the relatively
new medium of digital media. There are two overall intended outcomes of this
research project. The first is to develop my pedagogical practice through the
introduction of new digital technologies into the art and design classroom. The
second is to examine the influence of digital media on the creative processes of
students in an educational context. This action research project examines an
approach for teaching students to imaginatively investigate the history of the
environment they live in through new and innovative technologies.
Rationale for teacher research

Creative and professional development through innovative practice.
As an artist, I already had an awareness of the increasing influence of
digital media in art practices today (Kuan Chung, 2011). Because of this, I was glad of
the opportunity to make work using digital media in a studio workshop with
experienced digital media practitioner Michael Fortune. The work presented to us
during this workshop was based on relationships of people to their local environment.
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This led me to research Irish Folklore tales, as they incorporate both people and places
into their narratives (McGarry, 1996). This prompted me to create a short animation
based on a pivotal scene within the tale of the Children of Lir. Using knowledge and
experiences developed in the studio workshop, I was able to then confidently design a
learning experience for students where they would engage with digital technologies.

Fig.1. Storyboards made for a short animation during digital media workshop.

The second driving force behind my teacher research was to develop my
teaching practice through engagement with innovative curriculum in art. Digital media
practices in art and design classrooms have been described as one of the most decisive
and far-reaching dimensions of education in the new century. Because of this, it has
been of vital importance to me when considering my future career as a teacher to begin
to engage with digital media in the art and design classroom as soon as possible. It was
important to me to approach the implementation of an innovative scheme of work in
a manner that would document and affect the process as effectively as possible. The
practice of action research is described by Jean McNiff as an enquiry conducted by the
self into the self (McNiff, 2002). This process of actively researching both my own
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teaching as well as the learning that occurred in the lessons throughout this project
was central to my development as a teacher.
Aims, scope and research methods of the project

This project was undertaken over the course of five weeks. It was planned
to span a total of ten hours teaching time. However, due to unexpected circumstances
that was extended to eleven hours twenty minutes. The setting for the project was in
a co-ed school of approximately 700 pupils, located on the outskirts of a medium sized
town. The student group which this project was designed for was a second year class
group of fifteen students. The facilities available for this project within the art room in
the school were limited to one computer and one overhead projector. Because of this,
I made the decision to make use of a digital SLR camera and tripod which I had in my
own possession. As the school computers were in a separate room which needed to be
booked for use weeks in advance, I took on the task of editing the digital media work.
To ease the editing challenges that would inevitably arise from having just one set of
camera equipment, I obtained a number of memory cards for each group of students
use throughout the project. In this way, the series of images for each animation would
be contained within one memory card and could be brought directly into the editing
software.
Teacher research aims

To investigate the implementation of innovative curriculum
To investigate the specific pedagogical approach of facilitating group-work
among students.
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To implement and evaluate methods of both research gathering and research
evaluation.
To compose a source of valuable reference material for my use as a newly
qualified teacher.
Recent research has suggested that the integration of digital media
technologies into the art and design classroom is of increasing importance; An
independent, inquiring mind can be developed when one develops creative digital
understanding (Black & Browning, 2011). By merging the traditional art practice of
drawing in chalk pastel and the digital medium of stop motion animation, it was
intended that students would engage with digital media in an organic manner that
builds on their pre-requisite experience with traditional art materials. A specific
pedagogical focus which I had for this research project was linked to the size of the
class group and the resources available. With fifteen students and one camera, I divided
the class into three groups of five students. Group-work at its most effective can be
described as when students learn; in a context where peers could help one another
and realise their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of others (Bennett &
Dunne, 1994). With this in mind, lessons were planned to encourage students to work
as a group, as opposed to in a group (Bennett & Dunne, 1994).
Over the course of this project, one of my aims was to test out as many
different methods of gathering information as possible. It was my intent to collect as
wide a spectrum of student responses and ideas in relation to the work they were
creating as I could. Through implementing various research methods, it was my
intention to evaluate the potential successes and faults of each method for use in
future research. I was aware that the more varied my research approach, the more
accurate my findings at the conclusion of the project were likely to be. Through
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undertaking this small scale action research project, it is my intention that this project
will become a valuable point of reference for all future action research I will undertake
as a newly qualified teacher.
Research methods employed

Recorded Student questioning and discussion sessions
Student questionnaire
Creative writing assignments
Keeping a research/memo diary
Questioning and discussion were vital aspects of lessons throughout this
research project. Questions were designed to specifically facilitate students inquiry
into the work they were making, using Carmen, Armstrongs Model for Inquiry in Art as
a basis for tailoring questions to ask students at different stages of the project
(Armstrong, 1986). At the conclusion of the project, questioning was also implemented
in the form of a student questionnaire. This was done with the aim of encouraging
students to broadly evaluate the project by making suggestions on aspects of it to
change and/or keep the same in a repeat. In addition, certain questions were designed
to check for students understanding of the concepts embedded within the project
(Fig.2). Students understanding of the cross-curricular element of the project was also
investigated through a creative writing assignment.



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Describe one similarity between a folklore tale you looked at and the tale that your
group made.
If you were to make another stop motion animation what one thing would you do
differently?
Fig.2. Two questions from student questionnaire

Through making notes and describing events of lessons no later than a few
hours after each lesson, I was able to immediately reflect on the development of the
project and plan for future lessons. Very early into this practice, I found that I was able
to better interpret the research through compiling a series of short memos written on
post-it notes throughout the lesson. The action of writing memos has been described
by action researchers as a successful method of automatically reflecting on events
that allows for differentiation between purely descriptive sentences and valuable
observation (Altrichter, Posch, & Somekh, 1993). Through making short notes I was able
to cut and merge observations together as well as making quick diagrams to gain insight
into how the project was developing and plan for future development.
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Fig. 3. Post-lesson elaborating on memos written on post-it notes during lesson.











Fig. 4. Quick sketch in research diary for experimental layout of classroom during stop-motion
animation lessons.

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Description of project activities

Prior to going to the school, I researched a number of illustrators and
animators who have made work in similar ways. It was my intention that students
would see the work of these artists and gain insight into what the animation would look
like upon completion (Fig.6). Also, the significance of storyboards to film production
was introduced in order to spark and retain students interest in this aspect of the
project (Fig.5).








Fig. 5. Storyboard sequence from GonewiththeWind.
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Fig.6. Still frame from TheManWhoPlantedTrees by Frederic Back.

Stage one- ideas development and amalgamation of works
To begin the process or creating a narrative, students used a system of
character generation, where they selected at random a colour, number and a year.
They then sketched a character where their chosen number was the age, the year was
the time period and the colour was a visual definer of that character. This process
resulted in a wide variety of characters created by students (Fig.9). Next, each group of
students was taken outside into the school grounds one by one in order to promote
creative engagement with their immediate environment and in-group discussion.
Students sought out or imagined bodies of water as a starting point for observational
drawings of the school grounds. Students then worked together within their groups to
amalgamate their visual information on characters and backdrops and their written
information on action sentences to compose a basic folklore narrative for a short
animation


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Fig.7. Fig.8.







Fig. 9. Fig.10.


Figs 7-10: Development of a character from three students character ideas; with figure 10.
As the amalgamated character.




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Stage two- storyboarding
One of the most significant aspects of the project was students creation of
storyboards to visually outline the stages of their animation. Students initially confined
their work to the storyboard they were working on, and this stage was the most vital
for students to work together to make decisions about the visual aspects of their story.
Questioning and discussion sessions helped to encourage students to consider the
visual aspects of their story (Figs 11+12).
T: a magical river. How could we show that its magical?
S1: Sparkles?!
S3: Sparkles and glitter
T: Is it sparkling the whole time?
S3: Bubbles?!
T: And when he comes out as a villain, how could we show that its evil?
S2: He has a big moustache that curls around
S1: And a hat
Fig.11. Excerpt from questioning and discussion session with students






Fig.12. Storyboard discussed in question and answer session.



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Stage three- creation of animation and development of storyboards
By week three, all three groups began making their animation. A
comprehensive demonstration on the use of the camera equipment paved the way for
students to set up and dismantle the camera equipment at the start and end of each
lesson. Students used chalk pastel to draw out the backdrop of their animation and
then made a series of small alterations to the scene to animate characters and events
within that backdrop (Fig. 13.).















Fig. 13. Sequence of images showing the flow of water from a tap in students stop-motion
animation.
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As part of a creative writing homework assignment, all fifteen students
were asked to tell the tale of their story. They were instructed to use the five folklore
stories from the beginning of the project as a reference for the level of descriptive
language which is embedded within a folklore story. These individual stories were then
merged to create one story. Students highlighted what they deemed to be the most
descriptive sentences from each students story and then one student took on the
responsibility of writing the final story (Fig. 14).
On an old dusty shelf beside a window there was a strange looking glass bottle. The bottle
had never been opened! One day, a strong ray of sun came in through the window and the
water inside the bottle began to pop and fizz.
Fig.14. Excerpt from the story ThePotionofFormation.
Critical evaluation of outcomes of project

The first significant outcome of students this project was the amalgamation
of students characters, settings and descriptive sentences to create a folklore
narrative. The division of students stories into the three elements of character,
backdrop and event, was a success in that it allowed a crucial incident of group-work
to occur at the right stage. As no student had pre-formed a narrative using all three
elements until the lesson where they began to amalgamate their ideas, there was a
wide variety of students ideas integrated into the final story (Figs 15-17). However, the
size of the groups did present an issue with one out of the three groups, where students
struggled to come to a cohesive decision on their work where every member of the
groups work was included in some way. The impact of having groups of five was
described by one student as; everyone cant come to terms with ideas. Thus, the
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process of dividing out elements of the narrative and then bringing them back together
was a successful method of facilitating group-work. However, in one out of three
groups this stage of the work was hampered by the group size.







Fig.15. Fig.16.





Fig.17.
Figs 15-17; Amalgamation of character and observational drawing to create a narrative

The next critical outcome of the project results from simultaneously
integrating storyboarding and stop-motion animation into lessons. At various points
from week two onward, students went through cycles of evaluating the developing
animation, refining their storyboards and re-evaluating the animation. This was a cycle
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of events that influenced both the students creative process for the better,
encouraged group-work, and also facilitated classroom management with limited
resources as students worked in rotations with the camera.
As students worked, the chalk medium allowed for changes to be made
and mistakes to be erased with ease and so students took risks with taking lots of
images per stop-motion session, as they could see if they had made a wrong turn and
then erase it with minimal consequence. From my memos made directly after the
lesson, I equated this process to the comfort zone experienced in the digital media
workshop wherein the familiar technique provided a base to take risks from through
the digital media process. The only downfall to this medium was the time that was
needed to physically alter the scene. In particular, students who had planned for
alterations to be made to a cow within their animation grew frustrated with the
laborious nature of the process. Also, across the class, groups had to make adjustments
to the plot of their story due to a lack of time needed to complete them. The frustration
among students over having to do this was evident in their questionnaires; I would
choose a story was quicker to make changes to because it took a long time to move the
cow as it was a very detailed character. From this experience, the method of
researching into students responses through a questionnaire format proved to be an
insightful and valuable source of information.
As students project developed, an unanticipated outcome arose from the
provision of memory cards to each group. Students immediately took ownership over
the memory cards when given them, making folders in which to store them safely and
ensuring the careful transfer of them during lessons (Fig.18). On reflection, providing
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students with a small piece of camera equipment encouraged a mature and responsible
attitude towards treatment of the more valuable camera equipment throughout the
project. The final main finding relates to the manner in which students approached the
cross-curricular aspect of the project. Across the group, students made a concerted
effort to use rich descriptive language to tell their folklore story. It is possible that
students efforts to creatively write down their story stemmed from the amount of time
and long process that went into creating the story. From this, it can be suggested that
group-work and cross-curricular work can be successfully integrated into this kind of
creative work, but careful set-up is necessary.








Fig. 18. Paper folder made by students for storage of group memory card.


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Conclusions

To conclude, there were five main findings from this research project. The
first was that group-work among students was facilitated by a staggered approach to
working on elements of their narrative and evidence of this can be found in the
amalgamated works they produced. However, it is possible that the amalgamation
process would have run smoother if the group sizes had been reduced to four students
per group as opposed to five. Second, the use of storyboards was also a successful
method of facilitating group-work and in maintaining students motivation in a
classroom situation with limited resources. Third, the pastel medium allowed students
to work with a material they felt confident with, and thus were then open to using
digital media processes in the classroom. Therefore, it can be said that merging
traditional art practices with new technologies can be successfully done in this way.
However, the drawback to using this material was that it was time consuming and the
overall timeframe of the project simply was not long enough to accommodate the
process.
A fourth finding from this project was that providing students with small-
scale responsibility over equipment elicited a broader sense of responsibility and
student autonomy over the set-up and dismantling of more valuable camera
equipment. Finally, the creative writing assignments which students completed proved
to be a successful method of developing students work in a cross-curricular manner
that was organic and complemented their artwork.
The way in which art educators use and integrate technologies into the
classroom is crucial to stimulating students learning, their imaginations, and the
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creative process (Black & Browning, 2011) From undertaking this project, I have found
the integration of digital technologies into the art and design classroom to be both
exciting and challenging. In addition, the inclusion of action research methodologies
into my teaching practice has proved to be an educating experience for me as a student
teacher. This project has actively researched group-work, cross-curricular work, and
innovative curriculum in the art and design classroom. Peter Posch summarises action
research as a necessary development to assist teachers and schools in coping with
dynamic developments, divergent demands, and complex practical solutions (Posch,
1996) . In my experience of undertaking this action research project, I have found this
to be the case. Engaging with action research and reflecting on my teaching practice
has paved the way for the implementation of innovative curriculum and created of a
valuable source of information for use in my developing career as an Art and Design
Teacher.








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