Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ARTE 344
August 29, 2015
Facilitation Sheet #1
Title: Negotiating to Engagement: Creating an Art Curriculum with Eighth-Graders
Author(s): Alice C. Pennisi
Source/Date:
Pennisi, A. C. (2013). Negotiating to Engagement: Creating an Art Curriculum with Eighth
Graders. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, 54(2), 127-142.
Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):
In this article, Pennisi (2013) discusses a participatory action research project in which
she, as a researcher, and one art teacher are testing to see whether a negotiated curriculum will
help re-engage a group of eighth grade students. This research project will take place over a oneyear time span, in which the researcher will observe and interview both the teacher and students
to reflect upon how this new form of not teaching is working.
Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes):
After stepping into an eighth grade art lesson, it was clear to Pennisi (2013) that the
students were extremely disengaged. From just one observation, she was able to find three very
different students presenting three very different types of disengagement. One student, a young
girl who would typically be seen as more of a distraction than an active participant in the
classroom, equated her behavior to a longing for more autonomy in her class experiences.
Unfortunately, her behavior and feelings are common among middle schoolers today. As Pennisi
explains:
Just when adolescents desire more autonomy, purposeful action, and respect from the
adult world, beginning in middle school, schools become increasingly teacher-directed,
and student decision-making is curtailed rather than increased, causing most middle
school students to perceive their schools more negatively over time. (p. 130)
To counter the disengagement that both Pennisi and the teacher were perceiving, they
decided to initiate a participatory action research project over the course of the next year, with
the goal of re-engaging students in their art class. To do so, the teacher and Pennisi would coteach using a negotiated curriculum where the matierals of study and process of study would be
mutually decided by the students and teachers. There would be a sense of shared authority
between the teacher and students and the students would take party in more responsibility for
their learning. Pennisi would track the progress of the project through participant observation,
audio recording of class discussion and informal pedagogical talks with the teacher. There would
also be interviews taking place with the teacher and 6 students at the beginning, middle and end
of the year. The expectations for students would be to reflect visually through sketches, verbally
through discussion and in writing through artist statements. Art would shift from being a subject
to practice skills to an area of meaning making. As for the teacher, Penissi explains that their role
is to give advice only when asked, and through dialogue, encourage students to develop their