Managing the Art Room: Research Is Elementary

Several years ago, my assistant principal identified the category of student questioning as being a faculty-wide opportunity for improvement. I considered myself an excellent student questioner at the time. I was consistently patient about asking and framing questions to students that would lead to a core discovery during art lessons.

Over time, he continued to highlight bright spots occurring in various classrooms and discussed student questioning until the day a lightbulb suddenly appeared above my head.

What Is Student Questioning?
Student questioning refers to the way we engage students to ask their own questions, not how skillfully we question students. This is a critical component of traditional research that is happening in elementary art rooms everywhere. The Studio Habits of Mind engage learners to grapple with I see…, I notice…, and I wonder… to better understand the world through the context of the student’s individual experiences.

I see asks for a description of what the viewer observes. I notice requires the viewer to infer or connect prior knowledge with what is observed. I wonder invites a question related to the viewer’s own observations and inferences. What shifts this process into the realm of research is the teacher’s ability to create a culture in which students value the questions more than the answers. Where there are unanswered questions, there is an opportunity for learning; therefore, every learning experience should begin with a question and end with many more questions.

Sticky-Note Question Parking Lot
What does this look like in the elementary art room? I purchased several small cacti to add engagement to a third-grade still-life painting lesson. To paint the potted plants, students had to observe the cacti carefully and over time. Observation is one form of data collection.

On the window near where the cacti were stored, we started a “sticky-note question parking lot.” The window was accessible to students and the ledge was perfect for holding a basket of notes. Students would generate questions about the cacti in the form of I wonder statements.

At the end of each class, I would share some of the wonderings and encourage students to do some independent research. Some weeks, students would have discoveries to share. We would then move those wonderings to a different part of the window.
This set the tone in the art room for asking questions. I didn’t rewrite the unit, but I added an activity that could be embedded into all future lessons by modeling and making space for questioning. Students would get up, grab a sticky note, and write a wondering without disrupting class.

Students also began sharing wonderings during class discussions without prompting. The lesson didn’t change, but the engagement and culture of the classroom did. This strategy so successfully intensified student curiosity for cacti and how they grow that I extended the study to include a sculpture unit.

Reflections
I see research in the elementary art room. I notice that elementary art educators use the principles of questioning and data collection. I wonder what would happen if we named these strategies research and data collection while in process with students.
The only thing left to do is report what you discovered so that it can add to the collective knowledge of the field of art education. SchoolArts is a great place to share your successes and failures so that our field as a whole can learn from your work. Poof—a researcher is born!

How does research live in your art room? Please share your research stories from the classroom on the Art Research for All (ARA) Facebook Group, lead by members of the National Art Education Research Commission.