Keeble 1 Childrens Drawing Analysis and Research Paper Jenna Keeble Art for Children: LTC 4240 Orange

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Keeble 2 Childrens Drawing Analysis and Research Paper As pre-service teachers, we are used to learning about childrens many developmental stages whether it is physically, emotionally, or cognitively, etc. However, we are also learning that it is beneficial for us to be familiar with the ways our students develop within each subject. Pertaining to artistic abilities specifically, Luehrman and Unrath (2006) said that, It is important for art teachers to understand how children develop artistically. This kind of knowledge is essential for choosing age-appropriate teaching strategies and content for the units and lessons that the art teacher develops (p. 6). In order to help with this understanding, our Art for Children class was assigned the task of analyzing one piece of childrens art and creating a credible research paper with our analytical evidence. This paper addresses one piece of childrens artwork, analyzes the area that the artist is in developmentally, and discusses the ways I will use my knowledge of artistic development in my future classroom. There is a specific step-by-step process that children develop through with their artistic abilities. This process is known as the Lowenfeldian Stages (Erickson and Young, 1996) and consists of these stages: The Scribbling Stage, The Preschematic Stage, The Schematic Stage, The Gang Age, The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage, and finally Adolescent Art (Brittain and Lowenfeld, 1970). In order to understand our students art, teachers must familiarize themselves with the stages of artistic development that children go through. The artwork included in this paper falls into The Gang Age. The Gang Age is also referred to as The Dawning Realism and typically applies to children between the ages of nine and twelve.

Keeble 3 The included drawing is of a standing girl with shoulder length hair, her right arm raised and left arm held out. She has a displeased look on her face and wears a fuzzy looking tube top and striped pants. She has jewelry or a possible tattoo on her left arm, and two large circles were drawn around; one her whole body, and two her lower body. Artistically, the child that created this picture has just come out of The Schematic Stage and is just beginning The Gang Age, most likely making this child close to nine years old. Because this drawing is of a girl, the qualities that place this work within The Gang Age can be seen most clearly through the Human Figure Representation aspects. As this subcategory states, this work no longer contains a rigid schema, there is a greater awareness of clothing detail, body parts (mostly) retain their meaning when separated, and there is greater stiffness of the figure (Brittain and Lowenfeld, 1970). This student has knowledge of the human body and is able to clearly represent it with accurate drawings of body parts such as legs, arms, torso, and head. However, this student is still developing in this area as some aspects such as the circular hand and overemphasized bicep are slightly unrealistic. Also following guidelines of The Gang Age, this student implemented detail of the girls clothing. The girl is wearing both pants and a shirt, each with their own texture and detail portraying some of the artists style preferences. As far as space representation, the student drew the girl by using realistically sized proportions. By understanding the developmental process our students will go through artistically, we will have the ability to cater to their needs and provide them with the necessary tools to grow and succeed. It will be important for us as teachers to

Keeble 4 remember that our students must practice their art in order to develop and improve. As teachers if we are comfortable and confident with both our skill and knowledge of artistic ability, we can transfer this to our students. Through us, students will have access and time to practice their artistic skill, they will gain the knowledge and skill of how to develop and proceed through the Lowenfeldian Stages, and will develop pride and confidence in their work. After working with many pre-service teachers studying childrens art, Luehrman and Unrath found that, The benefits of beginning with this foundation of understanding about childrens artistic and holistic development are diffused throughout the teacher preparation sequence, and manifest themselves in improved curriculum planning by these future teachers (Luehrman and Unrath, 2006). As we completed an assignment similar to this study, we should now have the ability to understand our students art and use this knowledge to better develop all areas of our curriculum.

Keeble 5 References Brittain, W.L. & V. Lowenfeld. (1970). Creative and Mental Growth. New York, NY. MacMillan Co. Pgs 474-479. Erickson, M., & Young, B. (1996). What every educator should (but maybe doesnt) know. School Arts, 96(2), 40-42. Luehrman, M., & Unrath, K. (2006). Making theories of childrens artistic development meaningful for pre-service teachers. Art Education, 59(3), 6-12.