My Experience With The Visual Arts

A widely observed behavior in students is their decrease in motivation. Many will label students as being ‘lazy’ or ‘careless’ with their work when in reality multiple factors are influencing their motivation to do well in school. Two kinds of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, are the primary influences on how students behave in school. Intrinsic motivation is very important because it is what makes students want to learn more because the reward is self-satisfaction and enjoyment in the tasks they are doing. If a student is more motivated by extrinsic motives it means they are working by external pressures or constraints such as grades. These students will tend to show more signs of extrinsic motivation, which in turn decreases intrinsic motivation. This decrease in intrinsic motivation is what sets many students apart from their seemingly more successful peers. In a study done by Henderlong and Lepper in 2002, it was shown that too much focus on extrinsic values leads to an overall decrease to perform in school because the intrinsic motivation has decreased. This also shows that intrinsic motivation is in fact what leads to students being motivated in school and in the classroom. Overall, intrinsic motivation is crucial to student wellness in terms of behavior, academics, and emotional wellbeing. Authoritative figures in the classroom such as teachers have the most influence on student motivation whether they are aware of it or not. This being said teachers

When I was younger, I started with making collages, and as I grew older and developed a better eye for shape and detail I started drawing with graphite, colored pencil, illustration markers, and pastel. About three years ago, I became really interested in painting, which is the main medium I use. I use art as a way to express myself and illustrate my best memories the way that I see them. Using specific color schemes and symbols to represent my best memories helps bring me right back to that place when I look back at piece that I’ve finished. Art is my way of remembering the best moments in my

Extrinsic Motivation is when you engage yourself in a particular activity, in order to earn a reward or avoid a punishment of a sort. Various activities apply to this source of motivation; these include: studying, because you want to achieve a high mark, and competing in competitions to earn money or help support a noble cause.

Even through childhood, I had never been very interested in school. I have always been more concerned and focused elsewhere. I have always had a passion for art, especially music. These are subjects I know about thoroughly well. I think passion plays an important role in the quality of your work. I never felt strongly about math or english, but exceeded in art, science, and social sciences, like psychology and sociology. I believe these concepts work together. Even though science, psychology, and sociology are considered academic subjects, I can relate them all together. These kinds of subjects allow you to expand your mind past just facts and words in a book. I use my own experiences to relate and to observe. I find interest in subjects where I can learn from others and learn from myself. Books can hold a lot of information, but the human brain can consume information that can be translated into actions. A human brain can create and think beyond a world that is strictly black and white. A human being possesses feelings and experiences. Street-smarts are produced by experience. During elementary school, I had a lot of exposure to hostility from teachers because of my lack of interest in the academics. This always made me feel discouraged. All throughout this time, I felt as if my lack of academic interest meant my natural creativity had no impact or a negative impact on my success. I

Motivation is an important aspect of everyday life. "Researchers have consistently found that an approach based on extrinsic rewards and consequences actually reduces children's intrinsic motivation to learn" (Solley). Motivation is lost due to the pressure

When a person establishes the idea that they can’t do something, that is what usually sets them up for their own downfall. Anyone can do anything and everyone has their own artistic, athletic, technical etc. ability. Dweck states, “But when it comes to artistic ability, it seems more like a God- given gift ” (67). Anything that is considered god-given in the term of a person’s personality is exaggeration at best. It all goes back to putting your time and effort in it. If you don’t put your mind into your passion then you’ll just be sitting in a dead space for the rest of your life.

From as young as I can remember I have always been fascinated with bright colors and creating sculptural objects. I lived in a townhouse in North Little Rock with my parents up until second grade. My mother was a nurse and my father worked in a target warehouse. We had a decent amount of money but lived paycheck to paycheck at times. When my parents got a divorce I turned towards art to cope with my emotions but to feel free. I was very young when I started practicing art but could never put into words what it did for me until now.

Growing up, I was frequently complimented for my outstanding interest in art. My parents say that I would sit and

I joined my church's choir and learned how to play guitar in the summer of seventh grade. The experience was nothing short of fantastic. However, near the end of summer, I quit guitar playing and my church choir to focus more on school. Today I don't even know which chord is which note. I always had a knack for dancing, yet you would never see me building upon the skills I have. before I knew it, my fire for dancing grew dimmer and dimmer. Nowadays my "dance moves" are just simple steps that end in awkward movements because I do not know how to flow. Art was something I looked forward to doing during my free time but like the rest of the aforementioned activities, I simply packed it up and put it in the closet, never again seeing the light of day. I suppose my intelligence is something I am known for, but I my personality does not agree.

As I continue through my third year of my Art History Major, I find not only my knowledge but also my mind expanding into a broader range of relevance to my career and life goals. Art History is the study of social, economic, religious and political components, which shape history through aesthetics. Studying the environment and events that influence the artworks produced throughout history has drawn me to the history of Christianity and its effects on First Nations peoples in Canada. I come from a multicultural family where I share Beaver Lake Cree heritage from my Father and Catholicism from my Mother. The contrast between these two belief systems has brought my interest to understand events that occur and have taken place to those who I have met, and also their ancestors.

Art and I did not agree during elementary school, and I often refused to participate in the periods in the day devoted to coloring. Fourth grade came and there were no art requirements in my sad school in North Carolina, so instead of art, I was actually able to choose more physical activities and put art out of my life right up until sixth grade. I signed up to participate in Orchestra because for some reason my sixth grade mind thought the banjo would be an

I think that I have an excellent balance of academic and artistic skills. Since 7th grade, I have taken an art class. This class creates a soothing break from my academic classes that improves my inventiveness. I try to express my creative side through my art work. Through several art projects, I get to expand and explore my artistic ability. Art, to me, is a form of communication. It communicates my thoughts and imagination in ways school, grades, and scores cannot. It is a complex matter and is not easy to fully clarify. Furthermore, outside of art class, I use my creativity for art projects in other classes. I try to incorporate it into a majority of my classes. Additionally, I have an interest in art that is demonstrated through extracurricular

For our article review I chose the article Creating Meaningful Art Experiences With Assistive Technology for Students with Physical, Visual, Severe, and Multiple disabilities. One of the authors is Mary Beth Coleman who is an assistant professor in the special education department at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The other author is Elizabeth Stephanie Cramer who works as a clinical assistant professor and coordinator of art education at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The article addresses the use of assistive technology in the art classroom and why it is necessary for students with disabilities. It is obvious upon reading the article that the authors thoroughly researched the subject which can be backed up by their references

I support extrinsic motivation because I have seen it work well in the lower grades of the school I currently work in. By giving the children a goal to reach by the end of the day for good behavior, class participation and effort, I have seen a motivated class not just willing to learn, but to be proud in the work they have accomplished that day. Using both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be very valuable in the classroom. Offering my classroom an extrinsic motivation, for example, an extra recess at the end of the day can be a great motivator. Also encouraging my students for the effort they have put in day to day and showing them how it will help them outside the classroom can also be a great motivator. In our textbook Kingdom Living In Your Classroom (2008, pg. 120) it talks about this saying, “When students can relate course content to their

Although I am ultimately going down a path of science, I have spent the last twelve or so years honing my skills within the humanities. I started drawing when I was five and worked to improve my artistic talents since then. Every time I have seen a change in my artwork, I become proud of my evolution. I was proud of my stick figures, I was proud of my portraits with misshaped eyes and I am proud of my artwork now. I will be continuously proud of my growth as an artist. I am my favorite artist because I know the experience my creations, I know of the amount of time I spent while working on my children, and I know of the experiments and risks I took. The arts is a significant extracurricular activity for me because of my progression and development.