Drawing on the right side of the brain: a voxel-based morphometry analysis of observational drawing

Structural brain differences in relation to expertise have been demonstrated in a number of domains including visual perception, spatial navigation, complex motor skills and musical ability. However no studies have assessed the structural differences associated with representational skills in visual art. As training artists are inclined to be a heterogeneous group in terms of their subject matter and chosen media, it was of interest to investigate whether there would be any consistent changes in neural structure in response to increasing representational drawing skill. In the current study a cohort of 44 graduate and post-graduate art students and non-art students completed drawing tasks. Scores on these tasks were then correlated with the regional grey and white matter volume in cortical and subcortical structures. An increase in grey matter density in the left anterior cerebellum and the right medial frontal gyrus was observed in relation to observational drawing ability, whereas artistic training (art students vs. non-art students) was correlated with increased grey matter density in the right precuneus. This suggests that observational drawing ability relates to changes in structures pertaining to fine motor control and procedural memory, and that artistic training in addition is associated with enhancement of structures pertaining to visual imagery. The findings corroborate the findings of small-scale fMRI studies and provide insights into the properties of the developing artistic brain

Drawing on the right side of the brain: a voxel-based morphometry analysis of observational drawing

Structural brain differences in relation to expertise have been demonstrated in a number of domains including visual perception, spatial navigation, complex motor skills and musical ability. However no studies have assessed the structural differences associated with representational skills in visual art. As training artists are inclined to be a heterogeneous group in terms of their subject matter and chosen media, it was of interest to investigate whether there would be any consistent changes in neural structure in response to increasing representational drawing skill. In the current study a cohort of 44 graduate and post-graduate art students and non-art students completed drawing tasks. Scores on these tasks were then correlated with the regional grey and white matter volume in cortical and subcortical structures. An increase in grey matter density in the left anterior cerebellum and the right medial frontal gyrus was observed in relation to observational drawing ability, whereas artistic training (art students vs. non-art students) was correlated with increased grey matter density in the right precuneus. This suggests that observational drawing ability relates to changes in structures pertaining to fine motor control and procedural memory, and that artistic training in addition is associated with enhancement of structures pertaining to visual imagery. The findings corroborate the findings of small-scale fMRI studies and provide insights into the properties of the developing artistic brain

Impacting Science Observation Skills Through Drawing Training

The research addressed was, how does drawing training impact the observational abilities of students? The list of motivating factors for this capstone includes students exhibiting a lack of ability to sit still and observe details of the world around them as well as exhibiting a lack of ability to design and communicate through drawings used in engineering. The author teaches art and science and has experienced these deficiencies. The author used an in-class project currently in the curriculum as the basis for the research. This project involved observing a reptile habitat as a subject for drawing. Betty Edwards’ book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (1999) was a key influence and resource for analyzing and supporting the impact drawing training has on observational skills in science class, but also in being a more complete observer of the world these students live

Desenho feito palavra - John Ruskin, Kimon Nicolaïdes & Betty Edwards: três momentos essenciais do desenho

A comunicação proposta é parte integrante da tese de doutoramento em curso sob o nome : Alegorias - Projecto didático original de desenho e animação em realidade virtual. Ela compreende parte da sustentação teórica da investigação, que se relaciona com a vertente didáctica e prática do desenho, na sua dimensão artística, observando o caso de três dos principais autores estudados na tese supra-citada, naquelas que foram as suas propostas pedagógicas de ensino do desenho. Reflectimos sobre a relevância que estes tiveram na proliferação do desenho tendo como ponto de partida as obras “The elements of drawing” de John Ruskin (1857), “The natural way to draw” de Kimon Nicolaïdes (1941), “Drawing on the right side of the brain” de Betty Edwards (1979).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An Ethnographically Informed Case Study of an Art Teacher Using Right Brain Drawing Instruction.

The first and central purpose of this study was to identify and describe one high school art teacher\u27s basis for incorporating into the curriculum right-brain drawing instruction based on Edwards\u27 (1989) book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. The second was to provide art educators with preliminary information about the right-brain theory\u27s popularity that might assist them in future research on a larger scale. Computer searches of ERIC and PSYCH INFO were conducted to locate related research findings dealing with hemispheric function. The empirical findings were analyzed and compared to rationales for employing right-brain teaching strategies. The research methodology was descriptive and was referred to as an ethnographically informed case study. Data collection involved observations over a period of 9 months during the 1992-93 school year. Documentation included taped interviews, researcher\u27s journals, and photographs. Two informal informant interviews were conducted. In addition, a survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of right-brain drawing instruction among a group of secondary art educators. Reviewed research supported this study\u27s assumption that artistic abilities require both hemispheres and did not support right-brain concepts advocated in Edwards\u27 (1989) book. It was concluded that the presentation of drawing techniques in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Edwards, 1989) first attracted Ms. Bates\u27 attention. From the research findings, it was determined that Ms. Bates used the right-brain theory to (a) maintain classroom control, (b) motivate students, (c) give structure to class, (d) give students confidence, and (e) give students confidence in her as a teacher. She also used right-brain drawing instruction because it (a) contained sequenced exercises, (b) was grounded in what she thought was research, (c) was easy to apply in the classroom, (d) was accessible, (e) easy to understand, (f) produced improvements in student artwork, and (g) put into words techniques she wanted to teach the students. A limited survey indicated that 53 of the 69 survey respondents used some form of right-brain drawing instruction in their current curricula. This study was designed to be the first step in initiating further research into the popularity of the right-brain theory

An Investigation of Developmentally Appropriate Methods in Teaching Drawing

This is an investigation sought to identify developmentally appropriate teaching methods in drawing instruction. This study assessed the different methods in teaching the fundamentals of drawing to two groups of 5th grade classes at Our Lady of Las Vegas School in Las Vegas, Nevada. The control group was taught by the drawing methods presented by Edwards (1979), while the experimental group was taught employing standard methods. Their drawing skills were assessed using a rubric that measured their success in the following four dimensions of drawing: perspective, proportion, value and composition. The study utilized the pretest-posttest control group design (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005) with 33 students comprising the control group and 29 students comprising the experimental group. Major recommendations included (a) applying a rubric to assess objectively the drawing samples of fifth grade students, and (b) providing additional time and expertise to validate the outcomes

Histórias do Ensino do Desenho

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,1 copilados e editados dos manuscritos originais por Jean Paul Richter são evidências cabais de que para Leonardo o desenho era fundamental em todas as suas múltiplas atividades.Contudo nos dias atuais há um desinteresse enorme por pesquisas que esclareçam a importância do desenho para profissionais projetistas, para o cotidiano das pessoas, para o desenvolvimento da cognição e na educação para as Artes, para o Design, para a Arquitetura.Até mesmo o desenho da criança tão estudado até a década de 80 tem sido esquecido. De Luquet (1913) a Claire Golumb (1992)3 muita pesquisa confiável foi produzida sobre a evolução do desenho livre da criança, mas o que se escreve e se vende hoje são meras receitas para aprender a desenhar, entre elas o livro Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook (1998)4.Os exercícios que Betty Edwards propõe neste livro produzem bons resultados por serem desinibidores da expressão, mas cientificamente nenhuma pesquisa demonstrou que realmente ativam o lado direito do cérebro

Art for the Home-Schooled Student: A Document Analysis of Art Curricula Commonly Used by Georgia Home-Schoolers

The purpose of this study was both to determine the most popular art curricula used by home-schooled students in Georgia and also to access whether or not these curricula align with State and National Standards for art education as well as current trends in the field. This research was approached from a document analysis standpoint and individual curriculum documents were examined and evaluated. Seven curricula/teaching resources were identified as the most popular in the state of Georgia and these were evaluated individually to identify themes, which were then compared to themes present in the National and State Standards for art education. While there was some overlap in themes from the curricula examined and the State and National Standards, it was determined that on the whole the curricula made no concerted effort to adhere to these standards

Brain-Based Learning: The Neurological Findings About the Human Brain that Every Teacher Should Know to be Effective

The purpose of this paper is to present the main neurological findings about the human brain that provide the basis for brain-based learning, and that represent a narrow field of cognitive science as a whole. The findings that are described were made primarily by neuroscientists who studied the structure and functions of the nervous system with the purpose of correcting abnormalities. Only recently have neuroscientists begun studying the brain-based learning processes of normal students in detail (Fenker, et al., 2008; Jonides, et al., 2008; Kellman, & Massey, 2010; and Swanbrow, 2011). The neurological findings about the human brain were used by researchers such as Hart (1975, 1983), Caine & Caine (1990, 1991), Cain et al. (2009), Jensen (2008), and Medina (2008) to develop brain-based learning strategies that promote learning in accordance with the way the brain is naturally designed to learn.brain-based learning, learning process, declarative memory, flow, optimal learning, guided-experience learning