2026 Theses Doctoral

Open-ended Inquiry in the Art Room: A Case Study of Six Student-Teachers and their Supervisor

Cohen-Small, Susan Ruth

This year-long case study explores how a select group of six student-teachers from a graduate program in art teacher education at a research university in the northeast U.S. used a model of good teaching that encompasses open-ended inquiry, to design and teach art lessons. Specifically, the study aimed to understand how the participating student-teachers experienced the potentials and limitations of teaching with an open-ended approach.

All six participants used their program-required lesson format to plan and teach lessons that incorporated open-ended questions, and to reflect on those lessons with their supervisor. Analysis of the findings revealed a central tension between artistic processes—which involve imagining and thinking in fluid, non-linear ways—and a reliance on scripted lesson plans and predetermined learning objectives. In the classroom, the participants confronted disparate, shifting dynamics. Maintaining an open stance often meant diverging from the fixed order of the lesson format. Navigating these tensions proved crucial to the formative work of the student-teachers.

Over the course of the two-semester study, the participants worked intentionally and purposefully to incorporate open-ended pedagogies into the constraints of the K-12 classroom. Gradually, working with their supervisor, the participating student-teachers shifted away from their lesson plans to become more flexible, responsive teachers. As they integrated a range of topics and relevant issues into their art lessons, the participants learned to be present and attentive to the ideas and interests of the students they teach.