| This master thesis will describe the emergent effects of an education program through an interpretive case study approach in order to influence curriculum effectiveness. This research is important in currant educational settings because mandated curriculum content decrease the available classroom instruction time to foster creative and emotional experiences in the mainstream classroom (Clements and Frank Wachowiak, 2006). As instructional emphasis is placed on achievement in the math, sciences, and literary components of education, traditional educational pursuits such as civic education, emotional growth, and creative expression have become a secondary educational goal. The studied objective was to analyze a creative arts curriculum that combined researched instructional methods in order to teach foundation skills in creative expression and intra and interpersonal communication skills, therefore incorporating two important elements of teaching into a whole-child approach for creative art instruction. Also documented are some teaching methods that foster peer and community communication that impact the metacognitive awareness of such student growth and the application to other real-world settings. This study proposes that, by incorporating emotional and aesthetic elements of expression into a creative arts curriculum, the students will be able to develop both their creative skills and their meta-cognitive awareness of intra and interpersonal communication within a designated educational space. |
