This manual presents an instrument designed for visual arts education research and as a screening and identification test for use in gifted/talented education for artistically talented students. The test consists of four items or tasks that call for a demonstration of different abilities and skills. Each completed drawing is assessed and assigned…

Until recently, little scholarly attention has been paid to the art found in children's books. This study describes a project with a fifth grade class in an effort to increase their ability to critique book illustrations. Ten slides from picture books were shown to one experimental and one control group. Students were asked to critique the…

This document consists of the two issues of the journal "Visual Arts in Research" published in 1994. This journal focuses on the theory and practice of visual arts education from educational, historical, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. Number 1 of this volume includes the following contributions: (1) "Zooming in on the Qualitative…

Reviews past studies of children's drawings and their relationship to academic ability. Discusses the use of Clark's Drawing Abilities Test with gifted and talented secondary students. Finds that the test can be used successfully to identify various ability levels among students. (CFR)

Reports on a study of seven preschool children engaged in drawing activities with traditional media (crayons, felt-tip pens, etc.) and a mouse-driven computer paintbox program. Finds that the same basic media-independent strategies are used when children try to establish a relationship between their mark-making actions and the resultant effects.…

This document consists of the two issues of the journal "Visual Arts Research" published in 1995. This journal focuses on the theory and practice of visual arts education from educational, historical, philosophical, and psychological perspectives. Number 1 of this volume includes the following contributions: (1) "Children's Sensitivity to…

Maintains that assessment in the arts often is avoided in the early childhood years because it appears to be incompatible with a child-centered philosophy. Asserts that reflective assessment procedures can inform early childhood teachers about instruction in arts education. (CFR)

Sixteen conference papers representing diverse topics concerning research in the arts and presented as part of the 1984 Arts and Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) program of the American Educational Research Association are presented in the second of two volumes. Papers presented include: "First Graders' Conversations about Art Making:…

Reviews research about young childrens' focusing on the ability to transform a perceived scene into another representation. Reports on a study of 109 children and 18 college-age students on their ability to mold a lump of clay into a three-dimensional figure. Finds that cognitive maturity alone does not automatically lead to competence. (CFR)

Responds to Claire Golumb's research on the cognitive development of young children's ability to create representations of reality using visual arts. Asserts that young children must find acceptable pictorial substitutes when producing representations. (CFR)

Recommends using learner-controlled instruction and student sketchbooks in the primary grades as a means of countering institutionalized and standardized expectations of young students' artwork. Maintains that, left to their own devices and gently encouraged, children will produce original, creative, and personal art. Describes examples from a…