TRB 3

The evidence piece I have chosen to demonstrate my ability to fulfill the requirements detailed in TRB 3 is my final synthesis paper, representing the Arts-based Self-Study Action Research Project I completed for EDPB512: Teaching in Your Secondary Specialty in March 2019. The critical question I explored through this process was: How can I use visual journaling—through daily art practice—as a tool to support my individual commitment to and balanced self-confidence around, both art making and teaching art making. Specifically, through teaching visual arts and digital media. 

This self-study project grew out of an interest in exploring ways of supporting the needs of secondary students with respect to self-esteem which is at risk of declining during this developmental stage. In my experience, I have noticed a direct connection between self-esteem and identity. This opinion gained through personal observation and experience was somewhat supported through content covered in one of my post-baccalaureate education program courses—EDPB 503: Child & Youth Development. This course introduced me to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development which includes four stages of cognitive development: the Sensorimotor Stage; the Preoperational Stage; the Concrete Operational Stage; and the Formal Operational Stage. My interest in self-esteem and its possible relationship to identity connects directly with Piaget’s ideas described in the Formal Operational Stage, which occurs from age twelve, on. During this stage, Piaget proposes that we “form a deeper understanding of our own identity.” He also puts forth that, “our new sense for our identity now also creates egocentric thoughts and some start to see an imaginary audience watching them all the time.” (Sprouts, 2018) 

Experiencing a heightened sense of self and a focus on how others see us seems to correspond with the following quote regarding self-esteem.

“There are several factors that influence self-esteem. These include the following:

Age: Self-esteem tends to grow steadily until middle school when the transition of moving from the familiar environment of elementary school to a new setting confronts children with new demands. Self-esteem either continues to grow after this period or begins to decrease.

Gender: Girls tend to be more susceptible to having low self-esteem than boys, perhaps because of increased social pressure that emphasizes appearance more than intelligence or athletic ability.

Socioeconomic status: Researchers have found that children from higher-income families usually have a better sense of self-esteem in the mid- to late-adolescence years.

Body image: Especially true for teens but also important for younger children, body image is evaluated within the context of media images from television, movies, and advertising that often portray girls as thin, beautiful, and with perfect complexion. Boys are portrayed as muscular, very good looking, and tall. Girls who are overweight and boys who are thin or short often have low self-esteem because they compare themselves against these cultural and narrow standards.” (Advameg, Inc., 2019)

The confirmation that self-esteem issues are particularly important to secondary school students compelled me to undertake my self-study with respect to supporting self-esteem as a way to discover effective methods and approaches to supporting students’ self-esteem in the classroom.

The research I conducted on my topic revealed a fair amount of scholarship and research directly related to my critical question. The paper that I presented to members of my EDPB512: Teaching in Your Secondary Specialty class was a MA Thesis Proposal by Clarissa Todd-Adekanye, titled Visual Journaling for (Self) Education. In Todd-Adekanye’s (2017) Summary she writes,

“This research study showed that students grew in confidence through visual journaling and discussions, regarding self-esteem and self-discovery in the classroom. Art making is a tool that can serve as an opportunity to express true thoughts at difficult stages in life. Visual journaling helped students to process their way of thinking towards themselves.

This study also examined the impact of visual journaling in art education as a way for self-reflection and (self) education. By supporting expression through creativity, students were able to identify their areas of improvement and build. Through open dialogue and visual journaling, this study confirmed the importance of art paired with text and how it affects student’s capacity to thrive.

My data indicates that when students are supported to create, think critically and reflect on their learning or past experiences through dialogue with ones (sic) self, development and connection takes place.” (C. Todd-Adekanye, 2017.) p.50 

My personal experience of creating a visual journal to provide a forum for self-reflection, self-learning and exploring self-esteem was a valuable process in understanding how students might feel when asked to undergo such a venture. I experienced feelings of anxiety around sharing my daily practice of drawing and journaling. The process also demonstrated my ability to work through problems through the process of self-reflection. Daily journaling brought up many new ideas and emotions and overall I found it helped me to build self-confidence in my abilities as an educator. My personal experience has given me a greater understanding of the needs students might have around a project like this.

As an educator trying to implement visual journaling in order to support students building positive self-esteem in the classroom, I need to be aware of my students’ response to this process. For instance, students might feel reluctant to commit their true feelings and ideas to paper and when they do they might want to keep their contributions completely private. Likewise, students might require support around some of the emotions or issues that come up through exploring their feelings and ideas. I feel this self-study project allowed me to test out the process before introducing it to students to better prepare me for how they might respond to it. As an educator this project helped me to better understand and find ways of applying knowledge of student growth and development as described in TRB 3. My commitment to learning about how children develop as learners and as social beings is reflected in this project. My participation in the project as a learner helped me to develop an understanding of individual learning differences and special needs of potential students. This process likewise increased my knowledge base around effective methods of supporting students in the classroom in terms of approaches to curriculum, instruction, assessment and classroom management. 

Self-reflective practice helps educators improve, grow, discover and apply their best knowledge to all aspects of teaching, for the benefit of their students. I feel this evidence piece fully demonstrates my ability as an educator to understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development as described in TRB 3.