Can Art Integration Enhance Student Engagement in the Classroom?

Jaclyn Regina, Verrazzano Class of 2024, completed major in SLS (1-6)

For my research project, I wanted to focus on a topic that I was both passionate and knowledgeable about. As an SLS major with a special interest in art, I thought that researching information on the connection between art integration and student engagement would be interesting. I completed a literature review, analyzing texts that supported the question at hand. With the assistance of my mentor, Professor Cabral, I was able to learn a lot about art integration and its many connections to increased student engagement.

This assignment taught me a lot about both my specific topic and the process of creating an effective capstone. I learned a lot about how to properly research and where to find appropriate sources. Almost every source I used was from the CSI library. The education databases provided me with so much significant information that was very beneficial when researching and writing this essay. I was also able to improve my ability to cite sources and to defend claims. The ability to answer a research question by providing strong peer-reviewed sources is a very important skill to have.

Being able to expand my knowledge on a topic that is important to me has also been very impactful. As a future educator, I want to ensure that my students are supported and have a reason to come to school every single day. With the information I learned through the literature reviewed, I now know so many different aspects of teaching, as they connect to art integration and student engagement.

My essay follows 6 key themes including hands-on learning, social-emotional learning, use of new materials, different art forms, culture, and identity. Each of these themes work together to support how art integration can enhance student engagement in the general education elementary classroom. I was able to learn a lot through this experience and it was exciting to present my findings at the Undergraduate Research conference.

The Art of Mathematics Education

Kristiana Nicotra, Verrazzano Class of 2023, completed major in Mathematics Education (7-12)

When I first discussed my capstone idea with my advisor, I was thrilled to hear that I could incorporate artwork into my project. It was a welcome opportunity to weave one of my passions into a project which revolved around my college studies over the past four years.

Professor Alanna Gibbons gave me so much guidance over the years as I sought to learn more about what it takes to become a caring and effective math teacher, and I was grateful to have her as a mentor for my capstone. I chose to focus upon several of the pedagogical methods used by educators to counter “math anxiety” in the classroom: differentiation, purposeful planning, and academic equity.

In the process of developing and completing my project I was also working as a student teacher in a middle school on Staten Island. Delving more deeply into the methodologies that mathematics teachers utilize helped me to create a more positive learning environment for my own students as well.

For instance, I found intriguing ways to differentiate lessons for my students, such as highlighting the main points of lengthy word problems for those who may struggle a bit more with the content, while providing higher level questions for students who finish working more quickly to challenge themselves with.

As for purposeful practice, I always try to incorporate group work time so that students can talk through new ideas and work out problems with one another. They may gain a better understanding of the material, but they may also come to think more deeply about it, as well.

I have also been putting mathematics into meaningful contexts for the class as well, whether it be incorporating students into realistic mathematical scenarios within word problems or with popular video game characters. I have been receiving input from my classes about things to include in my lessons, and I am happy to carry out their requests so as to make the lessons more personal to them.

With regard to academic equity, I have made note of the diverse backgrounds of my students and incorporated information about their different cultures into lessons. Indeed, sharing a survey with my students about their backgrounds and interests helped me very much in learning more about them as individuals. Taking into account their situations and any struggles they may be having, I tailor my lessons and interventions so that I may best uphold all students to high expectations and help them to achieve these goals with strong support.

I feel that if I continued this research, my project could indeed be developed further through extended studies of different techniques used in teaching mathematics. For instance, there are a number of theories on the way in which students learn, including behaviorism, cognitive, constructivism, connectivism, and humanism. Delving deeper into these theories would certainly be enlightening for educators and learners alike, as they allow us to better understand and apply the ways that we as people learn best, whether we are helping others learn or learning something new ourselves.

I would also be interested in perhaps extending my research into how art can be used to help teach mathematics, as the two subjects share significant connections than may first meet the eye. Indeed, there are a number of potential routes my project could take if I were to branch out my research on mathematics education.

This project has definitely embodied the culmination of my academic and intellectual experience over my past four years in the Verrazzano Honors Program. It was wonderful getting to contribute my artistic interpretations of my research, as well. Not only did I have the opportunity to reflect on my learning as a mathematics education student, but to do so in a way that also incorporates a bit of myself into the project through my art.

The Inside Coming Out: The History of Psychology Through Art Movements

 Lorianna Fernandez, Verrazzano Class of 2022, completed major in Art and minor in Psychology 

 

The time creating my capstone was filled with long days, long nights, self-doubt, short bursts where I felt confident in my work, and a very hard lesson in the utilization of proper ventilation using oil paints and solvents.

This process really made it pertinent that I had to get into the mindset of an artist of a certain movement. It had to go a step beyond simply imitating, to get the structure and elements across. It helped me as an artist figure out my own personal style and see my commonalities among the paintings, as well as things I felt uncomfortable with or would not do in my own work. I also gained an even deeper understanding of how psychology affects art and how the two are so similar.

In my psychology and art classes, I am always shocked at the polarizing amount of people who are involved in studying both avenues, some in hopes to combine them as a career, so it was charming to see that they have always been closely tied to each other.

If this topic was going to be further researched, there could definitely be more art movements incorporated. There are thousands of niche art movements dating from the Renaissance to now, and a lot of significant events in the realm of psychology that could be discussed. There could be a much lengthier introspection of artists in each movement and investigating their own personal lives and how their art movement reflects that as well as the significant trends in psychology at their time. I feel like this would be a very interesting look into the artists that we are familiar with but also ones we have not heard of yet. This was overall a really interesting and personally stimulating project and I am happy about everything I could take away from it.

 

Anxiety and Art: Awareness in Self-Portraiture

 

 

Cynthia Sinodinos, Verrazzano Class of 2020, completed major in Photography & minor in Art History

I knew I had to take advantage of the Capstone project to make a meaningful work of art that would not only help myself but others as well. I wanted to take this opportunity to create something powerful with all the knowledge of art and photography that I have accumulated over my college career, and also to push myself out of my comfort zone.

By studying my own mind and body through self-portraiture, I explored the symptoms within myself to create them in visual form. I discovered that although our individual situations ultimately vary, our overall struggles remain indistinguishable: feeling like prisoners in our own bodies, feeling extremely limited by our thoughts and emotions, and feeling alone. It remains important to me that I encourage the spread of awareness, and to open conversations in hopes to blur these boundaries of isolation. As someone who experiences high anxiety and knows many who struggle as well, I have come to see the importance in sharing experiences. Throughout this process, I sought to push myself out of my comfort zone during each shooting session to exposed true vulnerability. As a result, my self-portraits materialized the uncomfortable isolated battle with anxiety. They revealed the beauty, fragility, and delicacy of femininity juxtaposed with the raw, brutal, unrefined restrictions anxiety holds over the mind and body.

My anxiety was elevated to new levels this past year and just as I felt I was finally at peace with myself and the world, the coronavirus pandemic stirred things up within me that I thought I had laid to rest. If there is anything I have learned from this project it is how important it is to remember who you are, how far you have come, and how much you have accomplished in moments of doubt and worry. It is important to remember that we have all the answers we need within ourselves but also that we are not alone in anything we do. I am extremely proud of this project and all it has taught me throughout its process. I hope to continue to express myself through self-portraiture and expand this project even further. I am excited to see where this project will take me in the future and hope it may bring some hope and insight to others.