Visual Arts:

Teacher-Researcher
Portfolio
By: Rachel Hsieh (PJ 261)
Table of contents
Entry 1, Entry 4,
01 Option 1 02 Option 1
Initial Beginnings Story Mapping in
& Positionality Art Education

Entry 5,
03 Option 1
Evidence-Based
Practice &
Educational Research
 01
Place-Based Learning & Teaching
Experiences
 My Story with Art Education

From my experience as a student in Visual Arts, I have positive memories of participating in art
activities at school and at home. I always enjoyed drawing, colouring, and making cards which
are still my art habits for self-care. As a young child who was quiet and introverted, it was
fulfilling to articulate what I was feeling or thinking visually and by doing so, I grew into truly
appreciating beauty and creativity in the world around me.

Particularly as I participated in art class in older grades, I was greatly inspired by the teachers I
had who were extremely talented in art. With my grade 8 teacher, I explored art in various
cross-curricular contexts and experimented with various materials such as using clay,
printmaking, etc. As I continued in high school, although I enjoyed learning about more
sophisticated techniques and created art products on a larger-scale, I could not continue any art
credits due to the specialized academic program I was in. Despite this, I have integrated avenues
of creativity through working with children in summer camp settings and in my current pursuit of
teaching, which has inspired me to be confident with leading children into creating meaningful
art through their education.
(*Images are examples of art pieces / materials that I have made, used, and coloured to create art*)

*Sample work of a colour wheel worksheet (matching colour names to visual colours) (left
photo) and colour mixing learning station I supervised for the students where they could
create secondary colours and experiment with paint (right photo)*
*Sample artwork
of student using
Kandinsky Circle
Art in their
drawings*
*Classroom display of all
student artwork with
various shape selections
and descriptions of their
unique creature creations*
My Story with Art Education
(con’t)
A key teaching experience in Visual Arts education was during my last in-person
practicum with kindergarten students! After observing how much these students
loved drawing and creating using various colours, I implemented a lesson on
mixing colours that included a visual demonstration of the colour wheel and a
learning station where students could mix paint for themselves! Due to the
positive feedback from the students, I continued my art lessons with teaching the
students about Kandinsky Circle Art. This was one of the first times that I was truly
able to see how “Curriculum emerged out of unique situations, conversations, and
specific interactions with students, providing new routes of exploration for
student- and new-teacher engagement alike” (Powell & Lajevic, 2011, p. 49). This
lesson also correlated with how students were learning about shapes in math, so
it was a great opportunity for a cross-curricular connection. Students learned
about the history of Kandinsky and how they could take common round objects
and get creative with all the sizes and / or colours in their art pieces! Lastly, my
favourite art lesson was allowing students to create Shape Creatures. This lesson
was inspired by how the students would create puppets and monsters out of
pieces of paper. By acting upon this, I was able to embody the idea of curricular
relationality with my students between curriculum subjects and valuing student
interests (Powell & Lajevic, 2011). Students created a character, animal, or object
of their choice from shape templates. I was so proud of the students' creation and
was able to display them in the classroom to commemorate all that they learned.
In all, these lived experiences shape my attitude when it comes to learning and
teaching art in academic settings, specifically the value of maximizing place-based
pedagogy in art education.
 References

Powell, K., & Lajevic, L. (2011). Emergent places in preservice art teaching: Lived

curriculum, relationality, and embodied knowledge. Studies in Art Education,

53(1), 35-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2011.11518851

 02
Embodied Learning
& Stories in Outdoor
Spaces
 My Story Map Adventure
For my story map experience, I chose to walk through my neighbourhood park where I grew up playing and visiting regularly, which is
called David Hamilton Park. My walk began by going through the newly built splash pad and playground in front of what was previously
a single arena (which has now been extended to another arena and gym facility). This area symbolizes the deep immersion of
community as children and families are welcome to interact with one another and with natural elements of nature, including water. The
effort in building this new playground fits the growing population of children and new families in the area, primarily how “the city is
constantly being made and remade by those who move, trade, and live within it” (Miles & Libersat, 2016, p. 343), as this park is located
between two schools. Next, I walked by the commemoration plaque on this rock in honour of David Hamilton, who was the first
commissioner of the parks and recreation department in Richmond Hill. I recall seeing this plaque many times throughout my
childhood; now I can be grateful for his long standing influence he has made to my local community.
My Story Map Adventure (con’t)
Furthermore, I took the long-paved path that leads to my elementary
school, that is surrounded by another newly renovated park and sporting
facilities. Whenever I walk on this path, I always feel nostalgic because
this was the primary way to and from my school via walking, whether it
was with my parents, friends, or by myself. It was a pleasant experience
seeing other families and children enjoying the space that I frequently
occupied and how the urban development has improved to make the
school-home connection more tangible, particularly in the midst of
unprecedented times.
 My Story Map Adventure (con’t)
For the nature exploration portion of my walk, I went through a nearby trail called Beaver Woodland. As I reached one end of the
trail, I read this sign about the ongoing forest restoration project. When I researched Beaver Woodland, I learned that a
community partnership with TD Bank in 2017 took place in which 600 trees and shrubs were planted along the trail (TD Tree
Days, 2017). However, shortly after, a significant amount of ash trees was killed by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) (Richmond Hill).
My local region has committed until 2022 to restore the forest back to full health by removing dead trees, conducting herbicide
treatment, planting new trees, and monitoring the environmental progress (Richmond Hill). In learning this, I am better informed
about my city’s contributions to environmental efforts and care.

In conclusion, this nature walk felt very meaningful as this place encapsulates the entirety of my years in elementary school. The
creation process evoked personal reflection as I begin to intertwine my view of the park from my childhood experience and my
new developing perspective as an educator and the generational changes / impact over time, helping me “make connections
with, on, and about the urban landscape” (Miles & Libersat, 2016, p. 343) with a story-mapping lens.
 References
Miles, A. P., & Libersat, J. U. (2016). ROAM: Walking, mapping, and play: Wanderings in

art and art education. Studies in Art Education, 57(4), 341-357.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2016.1204522

Richmond Hill. (n.d.). Emerald Ash Borer.

https://www.richmondhill.ca/en/find-or-learn-about/Emerald-Ash-Borer.aspx#Bea

ver-Woodland-Restoration-Project

TD Tree Days. (2017, September 17). Beaver Woodland. TD Canada Trust.

https://www.tdtreedays.com/en-ca/events/682-beaver-woodland
 03
Critical Inquiry Question & Resource
 My Topic of Inquiry
A topic of inquiry I have in Visual Arts Education pertains to
play-based art education, particularly transient art or loose parts
play (LPP). With prior experimentation online and research on LPP
from a special education lens, I wonder about the potential for
creative opportunities with hands-on materials for students and
teachers of all ages in spaces outside the traditional classroom.
And so, my inquiry question is:

To what extent can loose parts play (LPP) in immersive nature

environments / outdoor atmospheres be an ideal context for
students to create meaningful art?
 My Topic of Inquiry (con’t)

From the article “What’s in a dream? Natural elements, risk and loose parts in children’s dream playspace
drawings”, young children were shown images of a playspace and were asked to draw components of their
idealized version. All the children’s drawings were depicted to be outdoors and naturally included moving
elements, apparatus pertaining to play, animals, natural landmarks, role play toys, buildings, people in
close relationship to them, and depictions of positive emotions (Ward, 2018). This stood out to me as
students conveyed deeper meaning in ideal play artistically than through verbal descriptions. Particularly
with drawing, students presented aspects of varying significance through elements of art such as colour,
size, position, etc. The students naturally incorporated LPP through selecting various imaginative and
random elements of a playspace to co-exist together, not being constrained by where their creative ideas
led them. The unique nature of LPP is that it teaches children that they are visual artists who “are not
copying the world around them, they are engaged in a continual creation and recreation of their
environment” (Savva & Erakleous, 2018, p. 58). Furthermore, students consolidate their experience of art
since “Through their drawings, the children demonstrated that they know what they want and need”
(Ward, 2018, p. 40); and so, educators need to provide ways for students to convey their desires through
art and genuinely listen to what experiences they are inspired by to value their artistic expressions.
 My Topic of Inquiry (con’t)
The teaching resource I selected is a 4-part book series on Loose Parts by Lisa Daly and Miriam
Beloglovsky. These books contain hundreds of photographs of how loose parts play can be
used for infants and children, prioritizing factors such as health & safety, cultural sensitivity &
sustainability, and family engagement while learning (Redleaf Press). An excerpt from the first
book describes loose parts to be “alluring, beautiful, found objects and materials that children
can move, manipulate, control, and change while they play” (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015, para. 3).
In addition, this resource suggests many cross-curricular connections, including visual arts
where students can freely express their ideas and where educators can adapt an open art
studio format that is transferable in indoor and outdoor environments to maximize the use of
LPP anywhere (Daly & Beloglovsky, 2015). This book series helps me to envision the way that
my classroom can be a learning environment that emphasizes play not only for young
learners, but for teachers and adults to be inspired by visual arts.
(*Screenshots of an online version of loose parts play that I conducted with fellow teacher candidates in a **Artifact
seminar activity – group members answered the prompt on the slide by manipulating the objects Reference**
provided at the bottom of the page and adding other relevant images to express their ideas*)
 References
Daly, L. & Beloglovsky, M. (2015, June 2). Loose parts: Inspiring play in young children. Community

Playthings. https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2015/Loose-Parts

Redleaf Press. (n.d.). Loose parts set [4 books].

https://www.redleafpress.org/Loose-Parts-Set-4-books-P1616.aspx

Savva, A., & Erakleous, V. (2018). Play-based art activities in early years: Teachers’ thinking and practice.

International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(1), 56-74.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2017.1372272

Ward, K. (2018). What’s in a dream? Natural elements, risk and loose parts in children’s dream playspace

drawings. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 43(1), 34–42.

https://doi.org/10.23965/AJEC.43.1.04
 Thank you!

Digital Portfolio:
https://teacherrachelhsieh.weebly.com/