Visual Arts teachers in New York City have implemented action research and unit plans that support the Connected Arts Network goal of serving every student by incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion and social-emotional learning practices in their standards-based arts instruction.
Explore this work below.
NYC Visual Arts teachers reflect on their work in NYC PS CAN including challenges and advice when building equity in their art classrooms.
Action Research Projects
Action research is an iterative process that responds to discoveries made along the way. Rather than a straight line, the process is a series of loops that start and end with reflection. Like students working in a formative assessment process, teachers implemented action research in their classrooms, documented, reflected upon, shared the results, planned improvements, and made revisions.
Action Research: Building understanding, and connections through a Huichol yarn painting study
Rachel Cabrera 2025 QN NYCPS CAN Action Plan. Facilitators.Final.pdfMy Wondering: Will providing space for written, spoken, and visual “translanguaging” allow my students to create deeper understanding, appreciation, and connections regarding their own identity and cultural traditions, and that of other artists and peers? Students shared aspects of their own traditional cultural practices with their peers, create connections between them and the Huichol masterworks, and develop a symbolic system to communicate this identity in a communal artwork.
Action Research: Peer Feedback Protocols
Beth Spektor NYCPS CAN Action Plan. Facilitators.Final.pptx (2) (1).pdfMy Wondering: Will the use of the Critical Response Process (CRP) help foster a sense of belonging by creating a classroom climate that is welcoming, allowing all students to feel that they can safely express their voice and openly share their thoughts, free of judgement?
Action Research Exploring the Value of Art
Nicole Zernone.pdfMy Wondering: How can we consider the ethical implications of global trade and cultural exchange, to prompt students to think critically about the role of art as a medium for ethical reflection?
Additional Action Research Plans
Musi Lisa A Kilic.pdfMy Wondering: I wonder if I have students create artwork that is focused on sharing their background, thoughts and ideas, will that encourage more community and investment in art making?
Courtney Garofalo.pdfMy Wondering: How can peer collaboration motivate students to want to compromise in the decision-making aspect of their creative process? Which masterworks/repertoire can I expose my students to to show that Art is collaborative by nature, so it can naturally be integrated into our own process as an Arts’ community?
NIAREN DISILVA.pdfMy Wondering: If I create a collaborative project then a project that includes compassion, would it help to improve the outcomes of student artwork and help students gain a better understanding of their identity and their peers’ identities and improve their relationship and responsible decision making skills.
These unit plans were developed by NYC PS CAN Visual Arts teachers to support the goal of serving every student by incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion and social-emotional learning practices in their standards-based arts instruction.
Unit: What's in a Name
Heather de Koning Foley and Mary ODonnell VA Unit Plan - Whats in a Name.pdfIn this elementary school visual arts unit students create a design of their name that represents their name and identity. Includes introduction slide deck, and examples of student work.
Blau and Martinez - Symbolic Still Life.pdfIn this elementary unit students learn what a still life is and about the symbolic use of objects in still life painting through art history. Students apply Principles of Design to create ( with a balanced composition and implied three dimensional space) a symbolic still life” that uses objects to represent either their identity or a social issue that is important to them. Includes a rubric.
Liso and Wielopolski - VA - Elem.pdfIn this early elementary school unit students study abstraction while analyzing the master artworks of traditional and contemporary artists. Students create an abstract piece of art that represents their feelings and emotions reflective of how they see themselves in the world. Tools and materials include: Sumi-e ink, and painting. Includes rubrics and examples.
Michael Young Food Truck.pdfThis high school visual art unit was inspired by the wondering: How can I design opportunities for students to learn more about themselves and their peers to foster a greater sense of belonging in our arts classroom? Includes rubrics, and student examples.
Jason Rodinelli CAN Unit Plan. SY 2023_2024 (2).docx (1).pdfIn this MS visual art unit Students will learn about the history, transformation, and removal of the Richmond, Virginia, Robert E. Lee Memorial by Black Lives Matter. They will learn how BLM led protests that were not just centered in anger but included actions of community building and joy. Students will design a memorial for the school yard that will communicate an uplifting message for generations to come
Denise Martinez - ASL Hands.pdfIn this unit students learn about the history of Sign Language in the USA and the experiences of deaf people in America with a culminating project where they create an image of at least three hands spelling out a word using the ASL alphabet. Includes rubric.
Michael_Young - VA - Identity - Expanding the Canon - _CAN_Unit HS - Michael Young.pdfThis high school mural design unit, Street Art as Expression of Identity and Social Change, was inspired by the wondering: How can I foster students’ voices within their communities and utilize art as a vehicle to express their vision?
Lidia Menniti - Cardboard Self-Portraits Middle School.pdfThis middle school visual art unit was inspired by the wondering: How does understanding the unique qualities of skin tones increase student’s connections with self and others while increasing social awareness? Includes student examples.
Beth Spector - Surrealism and Inner Worlds.pdfThis middle school visual arts unit was inspired by the wondering: How can I incorporate student’s cultural identities and honor the personal and social identities that they are beginning to form in the artwork they create and in the artwork we study as a class? Includes rubric, intro slide deck, and examples of student work.
Helen Pylarinos - VA - Still Life- HPylarinos2024 CAN unit plan template.docx - .pdfIn this upper elementary school visual art unit students build their still life sketching skills by arranging and drawing objects that have personal meaning for them.
DeKoningFoley_Rich_ODonnell - VA - Elem 4th.pdfUnit Plan: Debbie Rich, Heather de Koning Foley and Mary O’Donnell
In this upper elementary school visual arts unit students think deeply about their neighborhood and what it means to them. They brainstorm places and objects that could represent something in their community that is meaningful in their lives, and creating a mixed media collage or sculptural piece of one thing they feel they connect with.
Trophies of Power.docx - Zachary Lombardi.pdfThis 5th grade visual art unit was inspired by the wondering How can students develop high quality symbols to represent themselves, then take this toolkit and apply it to collaborative work? How can students combine their idea of self with others in their group to create a cohesive work of art that highlights and supports everyone’s individuality? Includes examples of student work.
“My teaching practice has grown, from developing better communication of expectations and more targeted assessments to evaluate students more meaningfully in their creative journeys; to creating a more engaging classroom where students feel seen and have a broader context for why we do what we do in the visual arts classroom.”
-High School Visual Arts Teacher
“I love seeing my students excited to see their own work, but last year I felt like they really felt seen by their peers. No longer was it just the adults that took interest in what they were creating, but now their peers were there listening to their ideas and offering suggestions.”
-Visual Arts Teacher
"Student voice has become such an essential part of our studio practice, I can’t even imagine making art in any other way!"
-Elementary Visual Arts Teacher
“The implementation and practices of our CAN work has allowed me to help my students to find their voice and develop a deeper sense of belonging. It has built a bond between classmates and created a community of students who want to better themselves. In addition, it provided strength and courage for students to express their unique identities with pride and respect from their peers.
-Middle School Visual Arts Educator
