Discusses attempts to correct perceptions of scientists and science among fourth-grade students. Efforts to advance the view that girls and people from various ethnic backgrounds could become scientists met with some success. After they were presented with information on a range of scientists, students drew pictures of scientists that were more…

Discusses the history and reasons for community-based mural art in North America. Describes the steps involved in a community-based mural project for students in which they work in groups to develop a mural theme and a sketch of the mural, paint the mural, document the process, and then present the mural to the class. (CMK)

Describes two sixth-grade lessons on the work of M. C. Escher: (1) the first lesson instructs students on tessellations, or tiles that interlock in a repeated pattern; (2) the second lesson explores Escher's drawings of transitions from two- to three-dimensional space. (DSK)

Examined the mechanisms of peer influences on fifth-grade children's drawings. Observed the socio-collaborative processes by which children influence each other's artistic styles; found gender differences in content, technical quality, and meaning. (JPB)

Conclusions derived from drawing research indicate that young children can be trained to see and respond to the distinctions of their observation and that these distinctions can enrich their drawing experiences. These distinctions include spatial information obtained from observation. Three basic factors influence young children's spatial…

Drawing tests are often used to provide confirmatory and supporting evidence of intelligence or intellectual functioning. The relationship between scores on these types of instruments and academic achievement was studied among graduate students seeking degrees in education. The sample consisted of 125 graduate students in education (93 women and…

A study examined the character, expressive qualities, and attitudes toward art (performing and visual) activities of handicapped Canadian adolescents (N=30) to determine how well current teaching of the arts meets the needs and expectations of these students. A review of literature on arts activities and exceptional students contributed to the…

In order to construct a plan drawing test for emotionally disturbed children, 1,250 children from 6 to 15 years old were asked to draw plans of their houses. Forty items in this cross-sectional sample illustrate a regular and rapid increase with age from the purely vertical pictures of houses at 6 years to the mainly horizontal representations at…

This secondary school curriculum guide is written in outline form to simplify the planning of a design-oriented art program. For each of 15 design units, a step-by-step set of instructions is given. Each unit is presented in three stages, each of which is a complete lesson in design. Materials and tools necessary for lesson preparation, motivation…

The case study of Nadia, an autistic child, documents the phenomenally accurate drawings she made. Nadia's precocious drawing capacity raises questions about the drawing hypothesis adhered to by F. Goodenough and D. B. Harris and Gestalt theories of perception and representation. The argument is made that Nadia drew realistically because she…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports data about levels of educational achievement of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds in several learning areas, including art, music, literature, reading, mathematics and science. Within each age group, females' and males' levels of art achievement were compared, and sex differences were contrasted with…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of drawing training on the paired-associate learning of lower- and middle-class kindergarten-age children where learning materials consisted of simultaneously presented pictures, successively presented pictures, or successively presented aural nouns. Subjects were 84 kindergarten children, half from two Title…

The need for visual presentation in classes for the mentally retarded is presented, and projector operation and maintenance are described. Transparency production and design are considered, and teaching with the overhead projector is discussed. (JD)

Included in the manual on art are suggestions concerning growth through a good classroom climate, orderly arrangements, displays, and a good visual experience; a view of development through art, concept differentiation, motor and sensory skills, self fulfillment and thought processes, and art as therapy; and the art program itself. The program…

A summary of published reports of the evolution of the "Draw-A-Classroom" Test developed by the Toronto Board of Education is presented along with an extension of the previous literature reviews, an extensive bibliography, and a critical commentary on the test itself. Children's drawings of their classroom are evaluated as a form of…