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Katelyn Toussaint
Annotated Bibliography

What are people writing about in research literature related to brain-based education with at-risk
populations?
When researching my topic, I used the key terms that we were asked to list earlier in the semester.
After going to the library website and typing in these terms, it was challenging for me to sift through the
many articles and journals available. Fortunately, I was successful in finding some articles related to my
topic, but not many specifics. Total, I printed seven articles that relate to my research topic and will help
me organize my thoughts.
Four of these articles I have used before for a previous class (AE 408). These articles discuss the
importance of art education with at risk populations. Even though these articles are not specifically
talking about brain-based interventions, they can be used as an aid to see how the art classroom in itself
caters not only to at-risk youth, but all kinds of learners. With my current job, I can see how the arts help,
but having an outsiders view on the topic from research literature will help enhance my action-research
project. With these, I will be able to make connections with what art projects help specific parts of the
brain for tuning. Depending on the case, at-risk youth have different parts of their brains that are
underdeveloped for a number of reasons. Different art-making techniques can help fulfill the needs of the
brain that were not satisfied during development years before (usually due to trauma). These articles can
act as the glue to my action research project.
Two articles found for research relate directly to Dr. Bruce Perry and his Neurosequential Model
of Therapeutics (NMT). I chose to use these articles because the NMT is the guide to use when choosing
a proper brain-based intervention. For example, not all students need a rocking chair at their desk rather
than a regular desk chair. Rocking chairs benefit those students who have experienced neglect and need a
repetitive activity to satisfy the needs that were not given to them as an infant (development of the
brainstem/dienceph). The NMT aids in targeting which sections of the brain needs the most tuning. With
this information, I can apply the NMT model to my own students and decide which fidgets work best for
my classes. Using these articles as examples, there are many writings done by Perry regarding studying
child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens.
The last article brings the two subtopics listed above (at-risk populations and art/ NMT and brain
development) into one super-article! This article entitled Whole Brain Learning: The Fine Arts with
Students at Risk explains how the arts can help brain development in at-risk populations. I wish that I
could have found more articles like this since it directly relates to my action-research project. Since the
study of the brain (especially for at-risk children) is fairly recent, I am not surprised that there are not
more articles related to this.

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Katelyn Toussaint

What subtopics would I place my articles in?

The seven articles I chose would fit nicely into three subtopics. Including

At-Risk Populations and Art

- New NEA Research Report Shows Potential Benefits of Arts Education for At-Risk Youth
(2012)
- At-Risk Youth and the Creative Process (2012)
- At Risk and In-Need: Reaching Juvenile Offenders Through Art (2005)
- Motivating Urban Youth: Honoring Experiences of Adolescents (2012)
Brain Development and NMT
- The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics: An Interview with Bruce Perry (2012)
- Examining Child Maltreatment Through a Neurodevelopmental Lens: Clinical Applications
of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (2009)
Brain Development and Art-Making for At-Risk Youth
- Whole Brain Learning: The Fine Arts with Students at Risk (2006)

What is missing from the literature?

As stated earlier, I was able to find articles that relate to my topic indirectly. What is missing is
the information that explains what art-making techniques help at-risk students best in developing the parts
of their brain that need the most tuning. There are many articles that express the high importance of the
arts for at-risk populations, but they do not explain how art class helps specifically. Another way of
wording this idea is that how art can be used as a fidget in addition to the other classroom techniques
used (rocking chairs, stress balls, thinking/thera-putty, etc). Since I am an art teacher myself, I would like
to research more of brain development in the art room. There are many articles available with surrounding
ideas geared toward my topic, but no specifics. I guess this is where I come into the picture!

How my project fits in the world of research literature:

My project fits into this world of literature research in a couple of ways. Focusing on arts
education and the topic of brain-based tactics will provide fellow educators with the information of what
art projects work best for at-risk populations. Also, I did not find any readings on using the NMT within
the art classroom. Since at-risk populations are the ones using the NMT and the art classroom is seen as a
strong exercise for these students, why no combine both and research more in this area? I now see my
project as benefiting both myself and others working for these populations.
Also, in thinking about our area where the arts are slowly being eliminated in city schools, my
research could help convince others the importance of the arts in Philadelphia. Many students in the city
are at-risk and need an artistic outlet. With the articles that I have read combined with my own
independent research, I have the potential to benefit many students, teachers, families, and communities
by presenting my ideas to the public.

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Katelyn Toussaint

One aspect of my article research that I have found to be the most challenging was the wording of
the readings. Especially the readings on the NMT and the sections of the brain, I found that as a teacher I
am not trained to be able to translate these readings with ease! I went to school to be a teacher and artist,
not a neurologist. My project has the potential to fit into the world of research literature if I can translate
my findings for all kinds of learners. Simplifying my findings and relating them to real-world experiences
can make my research easier to understand and apply in any situation.

Reflection
Researching these articles and applying them to my project has helped me organize my thoughts
and truly think about what I want people to retain from my findings. I now know that I would like to have
my findings available for anyone to see but now I have to consider how I would like to present my
work. Self-published book? Prezi Presentation? YouTube video? I hope that throughout the next couple of
weeks I will be able to figure out what works best for my selected audience.

Works Cited
Cummings, K. (2012). Motivating urban youth: Honoring the experiences of adolescents. Art
Education, 65(6), 18-24.
Gifford, S. (2012). New NEA research report shoes potential benefits of arts education for at-risk
youth. National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved from
http://arts.gov/news/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-artseducation-risk-youth
Kreger-Silverman, L. (2012). At-risk youth and the creative process. Visual Space Resource
Center. Retrieved from
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Risk_Youth_Creative/
MacKinnon, L. (2012). The neurosequential model of therapeutics: An interview with bruce perry. The
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 33(3), 210-218.
Perry, B. (2009). Examining child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens: Clinical applications
of the neurosequential model of therapeutics. Journal of loss and trauma,14, 240-255.
Respress, T. & Lutfi, G. (2006). Whole brain learning: The fine arts with students at risk. Reclaiming
Children and Youth, 15(1), 24-31.
Venable, B. B.(2005). At-risk and in-need: Reaching juvenile offenders through art. Art
Education, 58(4), 48-53.