ERIC Number: EJ1074978
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: N/A
Using Art to Assess Environmental Education Outcomes
Flowers, Ami A.; Carroll, John P.; Green, Gary T.; Larson, Lincoln R.
Environmental Education Research, v21 n6 p846-864 2015
Construction of developmentally appropriate tools for assessing the environmental attitudes and awareness of young learners has proven to be challenging. Art-based assessments that encourage creativity and accommodate different modes of expression may be a particularly useful complement to conventional tools (e.g. surveys), but their efficacy and feasibility across diverse contexts has not been adequately explored. To examine the potential utility of integrating art into evaluations of environmental education outcomes, we adapted an existing drawing prompt and corresponding grading rubric to assess the environmental attitudes and awareness of children (ages 6-12) at summer camps in Athens, GA, USA (n = 285). We then compared children's drawings with scores on a more typical survey instrument that measured similar outcomes, the Children Environmental Perception's Scale. Results showed that a drawing prompt was a practical and unique learner-centered tool for measuring distinct components of environmental attitudes and awareness. Findings also revealed different response patterns across the two instruments, highlighting the value of using multiple approaches (e.g. art-based and survey-based) to assess cognitive and affective aspects of children's environmental orientations.
Descriptors: Environmental Education, Art, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Art Expression, Creativity, Outcomes of Education, Program Evaluation, Resident Camp Programs, Summer Programs, Freehand Drawing, Prompting, Student Attitudes, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Student Centered Curriculum, Mixed Methods Research, Cognitive Processes, Feasibility Studies, Usability, Rating Scales, Likert Scales, Student Evaluation, Factor Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A