By: Ashley MorissetteED 7201Dr. O’Connor-PetrusoFall 2011

AN ART THERAPY APPROACH TO

BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION

IntroductionWhy Art Therapy?Pros and ConsStatement of the ProblemReview of Related LiteratureCurrent Instructional StrategiesParticipantsInstruments HypothesisReferences

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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.

INTRODUCTION

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

WHY ART THERAPY?

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.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

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

 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).

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (CONT’D)

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

SAMPLE ART INTEGRATED MATH ACTIVITIES

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.

PARTICIPANTS

Dear Parent/Guardian,I am current ly a graduate student in Brooklyn Col lege’s Chi ldhood Education Master’s program. I am conducting a research study on the benefits of infus ing art re lated act iv i t ies into Math lessons, in order to increase the students’ on-task behavior. I am request ing your permiss ion to use your chi ld’s data for my research study. Al l instruct ion wi l l take place in your chi ld’s regular c lassroom and they wi l l be receiv ing the same object ives as the rest of the c lass. This study wi l l a lso a l low your chi ld to gain exposure to arts instruct ion. Al l results for this study wi l l be reported as a group study and therefore, the part ic ipant’s names and information wi l l be anonymous. I great ly appreciate your support. Sincerely,Ashley Morissette  

I g ive my chi ld__________________________________________ permiss ion to be a part ic ipant in this research study.  Parent’s Signature:___________________________________ Date:____________________

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX D

Sample ofBehavioral Checklist

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX D

 

Dear ____________________ ,

I am current ly a graduate student in Brook lyn Co l lege’s Chi ldhood Educat ion Master ’s program. I am conduct ing a research s tudy on the benefits o f in fus ing art re lated act iv i t ies into Math lessons, in order to increase the students ’ on-task behav ior. I am request ing your permiss ion to use your s tudent ’s data for my research study. I w i l l in fuse art - integrated tasks in to your ex is t ing lesson p lans dur ing the math b lock o f your day. Instruct ion wi l l take p lace 3 t imes a week , over a 6-week per iod . A l l instruct ion wi l l take p lace in your c lassroom and the students wi l l be rece iv ing the same ob ject ives as the res t o f the c lass . I w i l l measure students ’ progress by request ing your part ic ipat ion in a quest ionnai re regard ing s tudents ’ behaviors , pre and post intervent ion. A l l resu l ts for th is s tudy wi l l be reported as a group study and therefore, the part ic ipant ’s names and in format ion wi l l be anonymous . I great ly apprec iate your support . I f you have any quest ions p lease fee l f ree to contact me. Ash ley.mor issette@gmai l .com or 305.439.7622.  S incere ly ,Ash ley Mor issette

I , __________________________________________ g ive my permiss ion to be a part ic ipant in th is research study.  Teacher ’s S ignature:___________________________________ Date:____________________

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX B

Dear Pr inc ipa l ____________________ _ ,

I am current ly a graduate s tudent i n B rook lyn Co l l ege ’s Ch i ldhood Educat ion Master ’ s program. I am conduct ing a research s tudy on the benefits o f in fus ing a r t re la ted ac t iv i t i es in to Math lessons , in order to increase the s tudents ’ on - task behav ior. Th i s s tudy requ i res an intervent i on to be implemented in a rea l c lassroom set t ing. I am request ing your permiss ion to use se lect fir s t grade s tudent ’ s da ta for my research s tudy. I w i l l i n fuse a r t - in tegra ted tasks in to the teacher ’s ex i s t ing lesson p lans dur ing the math b lock o f the day. Inst ruc t ion wi l l take p lace 3 t imes a week , over a 6 -week pe r iod. A l l i ns t ruc t ion w i l l take p lace in the ch i ld ’ s regu la r c lass room and the s tudents w i l l be rece iv ing the same ob jec t ives as the res t o f the c lass . I w i l l measure s tudents ’ progress by request ing the teacher ’ s par t ic ipa t ion in a ques t ionna i re regard ing s tudents ’ behav iors , p re and post in te rvent ion. A l l resu l t s fo r th i s s tudy w i l l be repor ted as a g roup s tudy and there fore , the par t i c ipant ’ s names and in format ion w i l l be anonymous . I great ly apprec ia te your suppor t . I f you have any ques t ions p lease fee l f ree to contac t me. Ash ley.mor i sset te@gmai l .com or 305 .439 .7622 .  S incere ly ,Ash ley Mor i sset te  

I , _ _ ___ __ __ __ _______________________________ g ive my permiss ion to be a par t i c ipant in th i s research s tudy. Pr inc ipa l ’ s S ignature :___________________________________ Date :____________________

INSTRUMENTS: APPENDIX C

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.

HYPOTHESIS

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(2005). Evaluat ion of a classroom program of creative expression

workshops for refugee and immigrant chi ldren. Journal of Chi ld Psychology & Psychiatry, 46 (2) 180-185. doi: 10.1111/j .1469-7610.2004.00344.x Balke, E. (1997). Play and the arts: The importance of the “unimportant.”

Childhood Education, 73 (6), 355. Buenaflor, J . (2008). Does including art make a difference? Momentum,

39 (2), 8-9. Derby, J . (2011) Disabi l i ty studies and art education. Studies in Art

Education: A Journal of Issues and Research, (52)3, 94-111. Dorff, J . & Pochedley, E. (2008). The power of col laboration: Two teachers

working together for their students’ success. Delta Kappa Gamma Bul letin, 75(1), 18-22. Dunn-Snow, P. (1999). A school inclusion approach: Evaluating embedded

assessment within the context of mult icultural group art

experiences. Delta Kappa Gamma Bul letin . 66(1), 41-50. Epp, K.M. (2008). Outcome-based evaluat ion of a social ski l ls program

usingart therapy and group therapy for chi ldren on the autism

spectrum. Children & Schools, 30 (1), 27-36.

REFERENCES

Frei l ich, R. , & Shectman, Z. (2010) . The contr ibut ion of art therapy to the social , emot ional , and academic adjustment of chi ldren with learning disabi l i t ies . The Arts in Psychotherapy, 37 (2010), 97-105. Frost , J .L . (2005). Lessons from disasters: P lay, work, and the creat ive arts.

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sett ing for chi ldren with attent ion deficits ut i l iz ing the express ive therapies. American Journal of Art Therapy , 38 (2) , 40-50.

Henley, D. (1998b). Art therapy in a socia l izat ion program for chi ldren with attent ion deficit hyperact iv ity disorder . American Journal of Art Therapy , 37(1) , 2-11.

Mason, C. , Steedly, K. & Thorman, M. (2008) . Impact of arts integrat ion on voice,

choice, and access. Teacher Education & Special Educat ion 31 (1) , 36-46. Naumburg, M. (2001). Spontaneous art in education and psychotherapy.

American Journal of Art Therapy, 40 (1) 47-64. Nisenson, K. (2008) . Arts for heal ing: The importance of integrated music

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