REFLECTIVE

WRITING
in the art room

kari lomax

Classroom Community
Within my first few
months of teaching, I
realized that many of
my students were
struggling with
reading and writing,
and that there was a
need to incorporate
literacy in all subject
areas at my building.

I need to encourage students to

think creatively.
How can I incorporate literacy
in my classroom
while encouraging creativity?

-inquiry notebook

What happens when

reflective writing is
incorporated into
eighth grade art?

I decided to implement
reflective writing into my
classroom to help students
create goals for their
artwork, brainstorm new
ideas, and reflect upon their
process for each art project.
I felt this would scaffold
students to write as they
reflected over their art
making in a safe, positive
classroom environment.

Introduction
"As I set out a pile of old books
on the first day of my eighth grade
art class, students were confused
with the materials, yet eager to
create. I explained to them
that these old books would be
repurposed to create

personal art journals."

"How are we
going to draw in
the books with
words
everywhere?"

Art Journals

"Can I look inside of

yours?"

"What will
we put
inside the
books?"

"Do we get to take them

home? Can I keep it?"

"Can we draw
inside? Can I
splatter
paint?"

e
n
o
s
s
a
l
c
l
l
a
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n
o
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t
s
on one in

18 students

Research Class

8th

semester
long class

9 males
9 females

My Research Goals
Encourage Mindset
Incorporate self-reflection and self-assessment
Goal setting/ Connect goals to artwork
Implement reading & writing
Build relationships & classroom community

S
E
M
THE

Literature

What is Metacognition and Reflective Writing?

Metacognition or thinking about thinking involves the awareness
and regulation of thinking processes (Amelia, El-Hindi)

The Benefits of Metacognition

As students begin to think about their thinking, they begin to grasp
the relationship between art and the world around them (Andrews)

Self-Assessment and Reflective Writing Strategies

McDonald and Dominguez (2009) concluded that students can consider the
following: What is something I discovered for the first time? What did I find
that surprised me? What happened reminds me of What am I wondering
about now?

Methodology - Theory
According to psychologist
John Flavell and the
Metacognition Theory,
metacognition is the ability
of one to manage and
monitor the input, storage,
search, and retrieval of the
contents of their own
memory.
I wanted students to use their metamemory
(Flavell) to organize their thoughts, search
for ideas, and think about their thinking. Using
journals, students would use metacognitive
strategies to be actively monitoring their
personal artistic process.

Methodology - Sub questions

How can I scaffold students to help
them engage in making meaningful
artwork?
In what ways is writing linked to
students metacognitive thinking
process?
What happens when (a) art journals,
(b) co-created rubrics, and (c) art
criticism reflections are
incorporated?

How can students "think about their thinking"?

Focus Students

Methodology
Art Journals

STRA
TEGIE
S

Scoring Guides & Rubrics

Student Interviews
Teaching Journal/Modeling
Student Surveys: My Art Experience
& Process Survey
Exit Tickets
Student Work Samples

Examples of Strategies

Data Analysis
obstacles presented

road blocks

Emerging Themes...
Writing imprecise goals/Not artistic choices
Seeing reflection as being in the past/Fixed Mindset
Struggling with the writing component of Reflective Writing

Data Analysis - Findings

CONNECTING

GOALS

Students goals were broad, and

were not always specific or
personal to them.
Student's goals:
to have a hidden image and
to draw a successful image
to get an A+, be creative and
draw something nice
The goals that students are writing
are not meaningful to their artwork.
They are concerned about finishing on
time, trying their best, or being
creative. What does that even look
like? (Inquiry Journal, February 8th).

Fixing Goals
T
C
U
D
O
R
P
.
S
V
S
S
E
PROC
Revisited Goal Setting:
Students explained how goals
are written for something to
look forward to.
Art goals in the classroom are
created to strive for
something and accomplish
new things.

Second Project: Color Wheel

I started interviewing students
to get them thinking about
their artistic process.
I asked the students "Are you
aware of your decision
making?" and "Describe your
process."
Students could apply their
goals to the decision making
by explaining why they were
making artistic choices.

Data Analysis - Findings

After the second

project, I discovered
how my students
believed that
reflection was in the
past and completed,
therefore they had a
fixed mindset
towards their work.
Students wanted to
get things right the
first time and were
afraid to make
mistakes.

GROWTH
VS. FIXED

Today a focus student explained her

process. "I choose things that I like. I
practiced to help with the details so I
didn't mess up.
-Inquiry Journal, March 9th

Exit Tweets
"reflection is going over what youve
already done and improving it or
(thinking) about things you couldve
done."
The exit tweet provided
immediate feedback for on
how I could better meet the
needs of all of my students
in the class. The students
explained how they liked the
idea of tweeting something
to me and that they would
appreciate having a reply to
their tweet.

Growth Mindset Survey

"I'm not creative. I can't draw."

"I can't do this."
"I messed up, I want to start
over."
"Will do you this for me?"
"I don't want to try this."
"They are so much better than
me."

"I'm on the right track!"

"I can try my best."
"This is going to take some time."
"Mistakes help me learn."
"What can I do to make this even
better?"
"I'm going to ask for help."
"I won't give up."

Growth Mindset Survey

Results
Fixed: 45%
down to 15%
Growth: 55%
increased to
85%

I finally feel the presence of growth mindset beginning to settle into my

classroom. Hearing the students talk to one another about their artwork
and showing perseverance is happening. -Inquiry Journal April 14.

Mindset Examples

Data Analysis -Findings

WRITING
IN REFLECTIVE WRITING

My class could
reflect verbally
through interviews,
surveys, and class
discussions, but had
a hard time writing
down their thoughts
in class.
Complained about
writing in art class.

My Art Experience Survey

Although some students

didn't enjoy writing in art
class, they found being
interviewed helped them
receive feedback.

Implemented Metacognition
Top 3 Choices:
I'm thinking
I'm wondering
I just learned

Student
Reflection

"What is art?
Why is art
important?"

Growth from
January to
March

One Page Portfolios

"How I make my art is unique. Ive enjoyed this class because we were
taught different ways to make art that is useful and effective.
Different techniques I learned were to make my lines light and gentle so theyre
easy to erase. I also learned that I just go straight into drawing, and I dont
really plan out my art." -Student Reflection

Intrepretation - Outcomes
Implementing growth mindset in my art
room encouraged students to be more
mindful of their thoughts and
encouraged their creative process and
making mistakes. As the semester
concluded, my class became
more aware of their successes and felt
proud of their creations.

Implications & Limitations

I would advise to implement reflective writing the first day with the students as
incorporating writing into the art classroom is not always the first thing that
students think of when they come to our class. It is crucial to welcome students
thoughts and encourage their creativity through art making and writing.

Philosopher John
Dewey explains that
we do not learn from
our experiences
unless we reflect
upon them. As
students are
experiencing
reflection, teachers
should take the time
to reflect upon their
practices, as well.

Where I fit in the

Literature + Art
Community
Semester long class instead
of entire year

Research Reflection
Implementing journals and reflective writing
made me as a teacher and a researcher more
reflective about my own teaching practices.

The power of growth mindset

Growth mindset empowered my students to
persevere through reflective writing, even
though they had never written in their art
classes before.

One page portfolios takeaway

The Future
If I continued with my study, I would incorporate...
More opportunities for students to respond
to ideas within their art journals.
Study how providing journal prompts at the
beginning of each class would impact
students.
Allow students time to free write before each
project.

After action research I will...

Continue implementing and experimenting

reflective writing strategies.
Encourage growth mindset.
Provide feedback and more opportunities.
Reflect upon my own practices.

Fellows Experience
My time as a teaching fellow has
held me accountable for
reflecting upon my encounters
that occurred daily. Spending
time in my own classroom, and
going to class twice a week made
everything more relevant and
applicable as I was learning how
to become a reflective teacher.

This Year's Successes

Mentor Teachers
3 Fellows within the building
2nd Art Teacher
Classroom Management
Art Electives
Collaboration
My Students

"I have learned how

nothing truly prepares to
you be a teacher until
you step foot in the
classroom on day one
and start learning for
yourself."

Student Art Journals

Color Wheel

9 squares that
represent me

Shading Illusion
Symbols

QUESTIONS
thank you!