Research Reflection; What's Done and What's Not

There is a lot of research per se on social learning theory: Vygotsky, Bandura, and Pajares. I should probably take it all the way back to Dewey. Some people might say Rorty and Heidegger, but I don't think I have that within me. There is also a good deal of research on students and self-efficacy, but mostly in the realm of athletics and music. I found two dissertations in progress about self-efficacy and the visual arts--one about creativity in general and one about the visual arts, both coming out of Australia. About redefinitions of creativity, there is also no dearth of articles: Zimmerman, Freedman, and Gardner. (I know I am supposed to be putting dates after these names, but forgive me, I am more or less thinking out loud.) I came across a new reference for Gardner in the past day or two and of course left it at school. (It seemed really good--about twenty-first century needs and learning, from his point of view of multiple intelligences.)

Now--as for perceived needs of twenty-first century learners--I like the work of Pat Bassett very much although his lectures don't seem to be in print--maybe it is okay to reference on-line lectures. I have found earlier print materials that points toward his current lecture circuit material. (He is the president of the National Association of Independent Schools, naturally a large figure in my world.) The new Gardner reference also leaned toward the need for affective skills in the twenty-first century.

As far as I have found out so far, there hasn't been a lot of writing connecting the three ideas to the art studio itself. Even the redefinitions of creativity don't address the feelings, moments, and opportunities of a working studio class. This is the first and second part of my thesis. The first part (in my mind at the moment) is a theoretical overlay of the three ideas and how they work together. The second part is either a true separate part, coming mainly from my classroom journal, or interspersed as working examples for the first part.

Now, the third part may be just my vanity. I want to try a creative-type writing of what goes on in the classroom, ostensibly from the viewpoint of the student working on a picture, and if she is realizing the larger life lessons as she is working. It is perhaps my vanity to try creative writing; it is perhaps vanity to think I am teaching larger life lessons. I haven't found much visual art-oriented "creative" writing; it seems to be more prevalent on the sociological fringes. Maybe I just haven't found it yet. But, as a dedicated teacher, I feel if you don't include the student's voice, the thesis is less true.

So--what other questions do I have? I work in an all-girls school--should I acknowledge that and research how girls learn differently from boys? Are they more amenable, if that is the right word, to social learning theory? Do they have an advantage in the "affective" world? (My thesis is not totally in the affective world, however--one of my major "needs" of twenty-first century learners is critical thinking.)

I know I should be adding all the citations I have mentioned in passing--but I don't have them right here, right now. I get the feeling all these smaller assignments are set up in such a way that if we really did them well, our thesis proposal would simply be a matter of putting them together. Alas, that is not me, or not my life, at the moment. It is catch-as catch-can. I will add all the citations in an edit--maybe tomorrow, or at worst, over Thanksgiving break.