| Middle school students are faced with challenges and experiences every day that make them question their identity and purpose. Utilizing journaling and storytelling in the middle school art classroom creates an opportunity for students to be exposed to meaningful art experiences. This mixed methods, action research study set out to discover the benefits of middle school students creating autobiographical visual journals and artwork, to discover if visual journaling aids students in creating more self-reflective artwork and if students increased the use of their sketchbook as a result of visual journaling. A series of art lessons were implemented that focused on telling one's self-identity and experiences. After completing the art lessons many benefits emerged, such as the students' ability to understand how their artwork helps them to understand themselves better and students saw an increased use of their sketchbook. As a result of the art lessons, students started an inner dialogue. |
