Capstone Project Synopsis

Hello my name is Sara Conway Gurney, I am a Kindergarten

through 5th grade art teacher in Pinellas county FL. I have been
teaching for six years at the elementary level and have had the
opportunity to teach many ESE or Exceptional Student Education
classes. Currently I work at a school that is somewhat of an epicenter
for a sub-section of these ESE classes, entitled EBD or
Emotional/Behavioral Disability. Students who are eligible for
Emotional/Behavioral Disability exhibit consistent emotional or
behavioral responses that adversely affect performance in the
educational environment that cannot be attributed to age, culture,
gender, or ethnicity (Florida Department of Education, 2015). Some of
these behaviors include difficulty with transitions, focus, collaborating
or cooperating with peers, impulsiveness, and so on. At my school, we
have 3 full EBD units, with students mainstreaming into general
education classes during portions of the school day. Two of the three
EBD classes come to me without another class present. One of these
EBD classes is made up of four 4th -5th grade students, and is the class
that volunteered for my study.
I believe that students with exceptions often face unique challenges that
prevent them from being able to learn in a general education setting. Concurrently, they
can present unique hurdles for the art educator because of these challenges.

During the last four years of teaching art, I have been teaching a
portion of the curriculum using iPads. As I began using the digital art
curriculum with my E/BD classes, I noticed some positive changes in
the E/BD students abilities and behavior. I noticed less violent
outbursts from a particular student who is consistently violent. I
noticed students focusing for longer periods of time without being
interrupted by mistakes or social issues. I noticed students needing
less help from myself, or the teachers aide. These changes inspired
my choice of content for my Capstone Project.
While there have been great strides in Exceptional Student Education throughout
the past decades, unfortunately, Guay (2014) informs us that students with exceptional
needs still drop out of high school at twice the rate of students without exceptionalities
and enroll in higher education 50% less than students without exceptionalities. I think
that digital art education allows for creative learning opportunities that can be beneficial
for all students, but I think it can be especially advantageous for E/BD students for a
multitude of reasons that I will discuss.
In fact the 1990 reauthorized version of IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act), it states that technology can be an integral tool in the field of special
education. I believe there is a natural connection between special education and digital art
education.
Delacruz tells us that Digital technology is changing the cultures of the world and
consequently the way that many educators teach. Current technologies often shape
creative expression, which is of the utmost importance to art education (Delacruz, 2009).
This technological shift in our evolution informs the way that we should be designing and

implementing curriculum. That is why I decided to create a digital art curriculum that
benefits E/BD students.
In the digital art curriculum, I targeted skills and behaviors that were the most
needed amongst the students in the study. I learned about what these behaviors were by
locating and studying the IEPs (or Individual Education Plans) of my students,
collaborating with their classroom teacher, and using my own previous experiences with
the students to design the curriculum. During my study, my Research Questions were
modified as I realized that the most important aspects to consider were those involving
the behaviors that were keeping my students from learning, such as lack of focus,
challenges with transitions, cooperation with peers, etc. Also, the outcome of what would
happen during the curriculum of course, and lastly, the way that the creative process of
my students was affected by the curriculum or any behavior plans I used during the
digital art implementation.
Some of the literature that informed my study included that of Tricia Fuglestad
who has a website dedicated to iPads lessons at her elementary school located at
www.Drydenart.weebly.com. I was very inspired by her lessons, and her insights that she
denotes on her blog. She discusses helpful tools that are unique to the iPad that include
the capability to zoom, undo, work with layers, and so on (Fuglestad, 2012). These
capabilities can be especially important for students with exceptionalities because they
can make small issues like mistakes an easier fix than traditional art materials, thus
generating less of an emotional response from E/BD students.
Wiggins and Mctighe (2005) were very useful to me in creating my curriculum
using backward design because using it I was able to ensure that I targeted skills and
behaviors first, then identified evidence of success, and lastly, design the curriculum that
scaffolded students to the desired outcome.

Gerber and Fedorenko (2014) were influential in stressing the importance of the
art teacher to build collaborative relationships with special needs classroom teachers. I
was able to collaborate with the E/BD classroom teacher, before, during, and after my
study. This was really helpful in determining what areas of the curriculum were most
successful, and what parts if the curriculum could use some work.
My study required IRB approval because it included human subjects, or the
students involved in my study. They voluntarily participated in the study, and their
parents signed permission slips for the study as well. I also asked the E/BD teacher and
teachers aide to sign a permission slip so I could include their feedback in the study as
well. All the people involved in the study filled out a survey at some point or points
during the study.
Harrisons (2001) article helped me to design the questions on the survey,
suggesting questions such as, Is there evidence of improvement or decline? [If so,] what
might have caused the changes? What questions do these data raise? Are these results
consistent with other achievement data? Are there alternative explanations for these
results? By what criteria are we evaluating student work? (para 5). I used these
questions not only to develop the survey for the E/BD teacher, but also to help me reflect
on the observational field notes that I took and better understand what unfolded.
Sells and Ellis (1951) discuss the value of direct recording of student behavior,
noting that it creates quantitative data for analysis (p.432). The observational field
notes and survey/questionnaires provided me with the most quantifiable data that can be
analyzed per the goal of the lesson. For example, I observed and noted the instances that
students exhibited negative behaviors in each lesson from the beginning to the end of the
study. The frequency of instances decreased substantially after I implemented a more
rigid behavior plan, decreasing from three to five times per class to about one to two

times per class. I also noted that no student ever lost his iPad during the study, which
provides me with information regarding behavior changes and the desire to keep making
art on the iPad.
As I stated previously, I gathered data from observational field
notes, student post survey, and E/BD teacher and teacher aid surveys
during the curriculum implementation. The student survey was filled
out as the study was coming to an end. The students were asked
questions such as:
1. What do you like about making art on the iPad?
2. What do you dislike about making art on the iPad?
3. If you encountered an error on the iPad, what did you do to fix it?
4. If you encounter a mistake while making art with actual materials, what did you do
to fix it?
5. What is the difference between fixing mistakes on the iPad, versus fixing mistakes
with actual art materials?
The E/BD teacher and teachers aide were asked survey questions before during
and after the study. These questions included:
1. What are some characteristics that your students exhibit that may hinder their
ability to learn?
2. In what way are you addressing these characteristics?
3. Have you used the iPads in art class as an incentive for students exhibit
positive behavior choices in your classroom?
4. Have you noticed any changes in student behavior or motivation to learn,
from the beginning of this study to the end of this study?
5. Do you have any suggestions or comments for the art teacher regarding this
study?
During my analysis of the data I took, I was able to reflect on the observational
field notes that I took, citing the frequency of behaviors that were targeted, and compare
them with the feedback I received from the surveys. I also reflected on the behavior plan
that I implemented during the study, which I will discuss further.

The students provided me with helpful information on their post

survey, for example, all of the students in the study agreed that they enjoyed making
art on the iPad, they would like to use the iPads to make art in the future, and they would
be willing to earn iPad art time with positive behavior choices in their regular classroom
[survey response]. When asked what is the difference between, fixing mistakes on the
iPad, and fixing mistakes with actual art materials? the students responded, dont have
to erase with an eraser and its easier [survey response].
The E/BD teacher noted improvement in the areas of, collaboration motivation to
learn with peers, and especially, self/peer reflection. She also noted the iPads in art class
have been used as an incentive in our classroom. The students have looked forward to art
class weekly so that they can use the iPads [survey response]. During the study I noted
similar observations and using them was able to modify my curriculum to better serve the
students.
The teachers aide noted that the time allotted for each lesson could have
increased, which aligned with an observation that made also, and I was able to modify the
curriculum to a lot for more work time for the kids.
During my project, I thought that I would develop a curriculum that challenged
the students, but help them to develop desired behaviors. One of the behaviors that I
targeted in the beginning of the study was collaboration with peers. During the lesson
students were to work together to plan and create an animation with a partner. The lesson
began with information about animations including how they are created with a team of
animators, then a demonstration, and after that the students were to begin using one ipad
per group that they would switch back and forth. I noticed one group in particular that
had a lot of difficulty with every stage of the project. The students couldnt agree on a
character, then after they agreed on a cupcake they couldnt agree on how to draw it,

whether it would be scary or not. Then the students had difficulty with letting the their
partner draw on the screen. Finally, after I intervened several times for behavior, the
students agreed on a cupcake that jumped off the walls, and flipped around.
After this lesson, I collaborated with the E/BD teacher who recommended that I
employ a stricter behavior plan, similar to what she uses in the classroom. So from then
on, my behavior plan consisted of one warning for undesired behaviors, and if the
behavior continued, the student would lose their iPad for the class.
There were many warnings that I gave over the course of the rest of the study, but
I found that students would change their behavior in order to avoid losing their iPads. I
found that even with a more rigid behavior plan, no student ever lost his iPad during the
study. While this behavior plan ensured that the students kept their iPads, I am not sure
that such a rigid behavior plan is conducive to the creative process or the
flow/development of ideas. This type of teaching is not my normal style and I found that
during the study, I questioned whether to continue such a rigid behavior plan, as I feared
the students would be reluctant to be creative and free with their artwork.
The findings revealed that students exhibited extrinsic motivation to keep their
iPads in order to continue to make art with them; however, inversely I saw an absence of
intrinsic desire to make art in place of the fear of losing their iPads. I do not believe that
this is the best practice in art education, because it may inhibit the students ability to
think creatively if they are hindered by the fear of a negative consequence.
Also, I believe that the motivation to use new technology in the art classroom may
vary from location to location. I believe that students who have more experience with
using iPads may find that they are not as excited or motivated about the iPads enough to
change any negative behaviors in order to use them.
Also, as technology evolves, I think some of the excitement surrounding the iPad
will eventually die out in place of the next big technology wave. The next big technology

gadget will eventually replace the iPads of today, and then students may not be inclined
to use the iPads anymore because of a loss of enthusiasm for the older technology.
An aspect to consider for future use of this curriculum is that of variations in
location, technology, and motivation may change the outcome of the curriculum. E/BD
students in different locations with different socio-economic backgrounds, or experience
with technology may exhibit different motivations with the iPad technology. Perhaps
students who use iPads at home frequently would not be as motivated to use the iPads in
a similar way that my study found. Further research is needed on this topic to examine it
more.
My recommendations for art educators are to design a balanced art curriculum
that includes both technology and traditional art. While digital technology in art
curriculum can be tremendously advantageous for E/BD students, a curriculum based
entirely on new technology would most likely leave out integral aspects of learning that
traditional art curriculum can teach E/BD students. My E/BD students were very
enthusiastic to have the opportunity to work with the iPads for an extended time frame
this year, but they are also very excited to move on to traditional ceramics, painting, and
drawing.
As for the behavioral aspect of my study, I have relaxed a bit more with my E/BD
students, using a less rigid behavioral plan, as to promote more creativity in my
classroom, but have learned a great deal from implementing it in my class. I believe that
like a balanced curriculum there can also be a balance with relaxed and more rigid
behavioral process. Naturally, I am more relaxed as an art educator, so the experience of
tightening my behavior plan has been a thought-provoking experience. The shift has
caused me to utilize both aspects in my classroom, when appropriate.

REFERENCES
Delacruz, E. M. (2009). Art education in the age of new media: Toward a global civil
society. Art Education, 62(5), 13-18.
Fuglestad, T. (2012, February 24). Why ipads? Ipads in art education. [weblog post].
Retrieved from: http://ipadsinart.weebly.com/
Florida Department of Education. (2015). Exceptional student education. ESE eligibility.
Retrieved from: http://www.fldoe.org/academics/exceptional-student-edu/eseeligibility
Gerber, S. A., & Fedorenko, J. (2014). Building collaborative partnerships. In Gerber, B.
L., & Guay, D. M. (Eds.), Reaching and teaching students with special needs
through art (pp. 161-176). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Sells, S. B. & Ellis, R. W. (1951). Observational procedures used in research: Review of
education research. Methods of Research and Appraisal in Education, 21(5), 432449.American Educational Research Association.
Wiggins, G. & J. McTighe (2005). Backward design. In G. Wiggins and J. McTighe,
Understanding by design (pp. 1-34). Alexandria, VA: ASCD