AN ART THERAPY APPROACH TO BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

By: Ashley Morissette ED 7201 Dr. O’Connor Petruso Fall 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Introduction  Why Art Therapy?

 Pros and Cons  Statement of the Problem  Review of Related Literature  Current Instructional Strategies  Participants  Instruments  Hypothesis  References

INTRODUCTION

Art therapy is a growing field and has gained wide acceptance as a modality that uses the nonverbal language of art for

personal growth

,

insight

and

transformation

.

(Malchiodi,2007)

Art therapy has been used as a medium to assist students with special needs, physical and mental disabilities and students with behavioral problems such as ADHD and ODD.

WHY ART THERAPY?

Art therapy uses the creative process to help individuals:  resolve conflicts and problems  develop sense of self (Nisenson, 2008)  manage behavior  create new patterns of learning (Nisenson, 2008)  increase self-esteem and awareness

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

 Special education students with behavioral problems have trouble staying focused and on track.

 Behavioral management distracts from valuable instruction time.

 Some classroom environments do not nurture special education students needs.

 Majority of the subjects taught throughout the day tap into logical thinking skills and not enough time is spent on their senses and imagination.

 Art serves as a vehicle for developmental learning and can impacts the spirit and emotional response of a child.

 Arts instruction is a catalyst for creative expression, social development and can aid in problem solving.  Budget cuts have caused very little to no arts instruction.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

 Research indicates that the majority of children with emotional difficulties also have learning disabilities (Freilich & Shectman, 2010).  Play and artistic expression are commonly used in therapeutic and educational settings (Bagilishya, Drapeau, Heusch, Lacroix, & Rousseau, 2005).  Many studies (Adu-Agyem, 2009; Bagilishya et al., 2005; Dorff & Pochedley, 2008; Dunn-Snow, 1999; Naumburg, 2001) have investigated the link between art making in the classroom setting and increased self esteem.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

 Art therapy practices facilitate in connecting children’s expression of emotion and serve as a vehicle for non-verbal communication (Adu Agyem, 2009; Mason, Steedy, & Thorman, 2008)  Art and music therapy are a mirror into the personality. (Nisenson, 2008)  Children whose emotional health is strained can benefit from art therapy through the intervention of play work and creative arts. (Dunn-Snow, 1999; (Frost, 2005)

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (CONT’D)

 It is critical for all students, including those who are atypically developing such as those with autism, to have access to an art experience at school.( Furniss, 2009; Buenaflor, 2008)  Art therapy as a component to social skills training may increase the willingness of children to participate because art is an activity that they find acceptable. ( Epp, 2008; Naumburg, 2001)  Art therapy allows children to solve problems visually and offers a non-threatening way to deal with rejection. (Freilich, R., & Shectman, Z., 2010)

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (CONT’D)

 Art has the potential to assist special needs children in communicating with others and to obtain confidence in their own ideas. (Balke, 1997; Germain, 2008)  By allowing students more freedom and accountability when making art in the classroom, teachers can promote self-worth as an artist and foster self-esteem at the same time. (Rufo, 2011; Viza, 2005; Taylor, 2005 )  Some of the most commonly mentioned benefits of art therapy are self-esteem, self-expression, problem solving, and conflict resolution (Bagilishya et al., 2005).

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

PARTICIPANTS

A group of students from P.S. X- a low income urban school in East New York, Brooklyn. The population is 43% African American, 25% Asian and 21% Hispanic. The participants will be first-grade students who have demonstrated a

lack of focus

,

behavioral problems

,

and/or

underdeveloped social skills.

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX D

D ear Par ent /Guardian, I am c urrently a g r aduate st udent i n Bro oklyn C o l lege’s C hi l dhood E ducation M aster ’s pro gram. I am c o nducting a r esearc h st udy o n t he benefits o f i nfusing ar t r el ated ac t ivities i nto M at h l esso ns, i n o r der to i nc r ease t he st udents’ o n -t ask behav i or. I am r equest ing yo ur per mission to use yo ur c hi ld’s dat a fo r my r esearc h st udy. A l l i nst ruction w i ll t ake pl ac e i n yo ur c hi ld’s r eg ular c l assroom and t hey w i ll be r ec eiving t he sam e o bjectives as t he r est o f t he c l ass. T hi s st udy w i ll al so al l ow yo ur c hi ld to g ai n ex posure to ar t s i nst ruction. suppor t.

A l l r esults fo r t hi s st udy w i ll be r epo r ted as a g ro up st udy and t her efore, t he par t icipant’s nam es and i nformation w i ll be ano ny mous. I g r eatly appr eciate yo ur S i ncerely, A shl ey M o r issette I g i ve my c hi ld__________________________________________ per mission to be a par t icipant i n t hi s r esearc h st udy. Par ent ’s S i g nature:___________________________________ D ate:____________________

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX D Sample of Behavioral Checklist

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX B

D ear _ _ _ _________________, I am c urrently a g r aduate st udent i n Bro oklyn C o l lege’s C hi l dhood E ducation M aster ’s pro gram. I am c o nducting a r esearc h st udy o n t he benefits o f i nfusing ar t r el ated ac t ivities i nto M at h l esso ns, i n o r der to i nc r ease t he st udents’ o n -t ask behav i or. I am r equest ing yo ur per mission to use yo ur st udent’s dat a fo r my r esearc h st udy. I w i ll i nfuse ar t -i ntegrated t asks i nto yo ur ex i sting l esso n pl ans dur ing t he m at h bl oc k of your day. Inst r uction w i ll t ake pl ace 3 t i mes a week , over a 6 -week per i od. A l l i nst ruction w i ll t ake pl ace i n yo ur c l assroom and t he st udents w i ll be r ec eiving t he sam e o bjectives as t he r est o f t he c l ass. I w i ll m easure st udents’ pro gress by r equesting yo ur par t icipation i n a quest ionnaire r eg ar ding st udents’ behav i or s, pr e and po st i nter vention. A l l r esults fo r t hi s st udy w i ll be r epo r ted as a g ro up st udy and t her efore, t he par t icipant’s nam es and i nformation w i ll be ano ny mous. I g r eatly appr eciate yo ur suppor t. If you have any quest ions pl ease feel fr ee to c ontact me. A shl [email protected]

o r 3 0 5 .4 39.76 22. S i ncerely, A shl ey M o r issette I, _ _ ________________________________________ g i ve my per mission to be a par t icipant i n t hi s r esearc h st udy. Teac her’s S i gnature:___________________________________ D ate:____________________

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX C

D e a r P r i n c i p a l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , I a m c u r r e n t l y a g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t i n B r o o k l y n C o l l e g e ’ s C h i l d h o o d E d u c a t i o n M a s t e r ’ s p r o g r a m . I a m c o n d u c t i n g a r e s e a r c h s t u d y o n t h e b e n e f i t s o f i n f u s i n g a r t r e l a t e d a c t i v i t i e s i n to M a t h l e s s o n s , i n o r d e r to i n c r e a s e t h e s t u d e n t s ’ o n - t a s k b e h a v i o r. T h i s s t u d y r e q u i r e s a n i n t e r v e n t i o n to b e i m p l e m e n t e d i n a r e a l c l a s s r o o m s e t t i n g . I a m r e q u e s t i n g yo u r p e r m i s s i o n to u s e s e l e c t f i r s t g r a d e s t u d e n t ’ s d a t a f o r my r e s e a r c h s t u d y. I w i l l i n f u s e a r t - i n t e g r a t e d t a s k s i n to t h e t e a c h e r ’ s e x i s t i n g l e s s o n p l a n s d u r i n g t h e m a t h b l o c k o f t h e d ay. I n s t r u c t i o n w i l l t a k e p l a c e 3 t i m e s a w e e k , o v e r a 6 - w e e k p e r i o d . A l l i n s t r u c t i o n w i l l t a k e p l a c e i n t h e c h i l d ’ s r e g u l a r c l a s s r o o m a n d t h e s t u d e n t s w i l l b e r e c e i v i n g t h e s a m e o b j e c t i v e s a s t h e r e s t o f t h e c l a s s . I w i l l m e a s u r e s t u d e n t s ’ p r o g r e s s b y r e q u e s t i n g t h e t e a c h e r ’ s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a q u e s t i o n n a i r e r e g a r d i n g s t u d e n t s ’ b e h a v i o r s , p r e a n d p o s t i n t e r v e n t i o n . A l l r e s u l t s f o r t h i s s t u d y w i l l b e r e p o r t e d a s a g r o u p s t u d y a n d t h e r e f o r e , t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ’ s n a m e s a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w i l l b e a n o ny m o u s . I g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a te yo u r s u p p o r t . I f yo u h a v e a ny q u e s t i o n s p l e a s e f e e l f r e e to c o n t a c t m e . A s h l ey. m o r i s s e t t e @ g m a i l . c o m o r 3 0 5 . 4 3 9 . 76 2 2 . S i n c e r e l y, A s h l ey M o r i s s e t t e I , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ g i v e my p e r m i s s i o n to b e a p a r t i c i p a n t i n t h i s r e s e a r c h s t u d y. P r i n c i p a l ’ s S i g n a t u r e : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D a t e : _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

HYPOTHESIS



HR1: By implementing art therapy practices to 15 first-grade students at PS X in Brooklyn, NY for 45 minutes a day, 3 days a week, over a 6 week period, students’ on-task behavior and positive social skills will increase.

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