Students with
Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities
in the Art Room
Jennifer Margrave
University of Central Florida
Introduction


The inclusion of students with
emotional/behavioral disabilities in the art
room presents new challenges and
opportunities for art teachers
There are various things teachers can do
to help students with this disability more
successful in class
Problem

Unfortunately, little research on students
with emotional/behavioral disabilities
directly address instruction in art
My Interest


As an exceptional student educator I have
worked with students with
emotional/behavioral disabilities
Some of these students enjoyed art, but
had difficulty with the transition into the
class and the amount of choice in the
classroom so they were not successful
Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore
known strategies teachers use with
students with emotional/behavioral
disabilities and apply them to the art
classroom
These are some characteristics teachers and preservice
teachers rated highly for students with
Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities in a survey done by Rizza
and Morrison
Poor self-concept
Unaware
Explosive
Has mood swings
Has poor self-control
Intermittent attendance
Is self-abusive
Is disruptive, acts out
Adults are angry with them
Seen as loners, dropouts, dopers, or air heads
Seen as dangerous and rebellious
Seen as weird, dumb
Rebellious
Peers see them as entertaining
Viewed as resistive
(Rizza & Morrison, 2003)
Possible Subcategories for Students
with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities




Behavioral/Defiance
Depression
Anxiety
Personality Disorders
(Rizza & Morrison, 2003)
Four Major Categories

Social skills instruction


Cooperative learning/peer tutoring


Depression, Anxiety, Behavioral/Defiance
Classroom management techniques


Behavioral/Defiance, Anxiety, Depression
Behavioral/Defiance, Anxiety
Promote positive self-image

Behavioral/Defiance, Depression, Anxiety, Personality Disorders
(Rizza & Morrison, 2003)
Social Skills Instruction



Gilles & Smith (2003) explain that without age
appropriate social skills students will fall behind
academically and will have difficulty making and
keeping friends
Special education teachers explicitly teach social
skills, and provide students practice
It is imperative that students get “real world”
practice with skills shortly after they are taught
Applying Social Skills Instruction to
the Art Room






Spending a small amount of time on social skills instruction can be very
beneficial
First identify skills that student/students needs assistance with from a list
(asking permission, sharing, accepting no, making decisions, following
instructions, offering to help someone, accepting consequences, beginning
conversation, and exercising self control).
Then choose skills in an order that will allow for practice in your instruction
 Introduce sharing when starting a new center
 Introduce following instructions when introducing a new art material
Introduce each skill at the beginning of a week to the whole class (5-10
mini-lesson)
Have all students practice the skill throughout the week and provide
positive feedback to students who use the skills
Continue the skill until mastered, and return to a skill if necessary
Colored Pencil Drawing by Paulette Haukaas
Paulette Haukaas, who has
an emotional disability,
stated “expressing myself
through art became a big
part of how I related to
the world around me. I
was - and am - quiet
most of the time, and my
art helps get my message
across. It is especially
helpful when I need to
show how I feel.”
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/registry/artist
detail.cfm?ArtistID=3678832
Peer Tutoring



Bowman-Perrott, Greenwood, & Tapia (2007)
suggest using peer tutoring with students with
emotional/behavioral disabilities
It is important, for these students, to allow them
an opportunity to be the tutor and the tutee
Some of the benefits include: practice with social
skills, one-to-one instruction, opportunities to
make errors without a large audience, and
increased time spent on academic behaviors
Applying Peer Tutoring to the Art Room

I believe students with emotional/behavioral disabilities
can benefit greatly from peer tutoring in the art room as
long as a few key rules are followed
•
•

When the student with the emotional/behavioral disability is
being tutored choose a student to tutor him/her who will not be
hurt if the student does not take criticism/suggestions well
When choosing the student for the student with the
emotional/behavioral disability to tutor make sure the student
truly needs assistance with the skill being taught
Do not force students with emotional/behavioral
disabilities to participate in peer tutoring on a particular
day if they feel like working alone
Cooperative Groups



Groves (2006) state cooperative groups
can be useful for students with
social/emotional disabilities when done in
a structured way
Assign roles to each member (time keeper,
material manager, recorder, etc.)
Have each child get a chance to do each
role
Applying Cooperative Groups to the Art Room




To avoid another transition during cooperative groups it’s
a good idea to always have students sit in groups with
assigned number or letter (that correspond to group
jobs)
Jobs that may be more applicable for art are time
keeper, material pick-up, clean-up, and team leader
The team leader could perform tasks that would vary
based on project (color mixing for painting or covering
surface evenly with ink for printmaking)
Even when students are doing individual projects,
instead of group work, students should perform job
functions that aren’t related to the creation of their
individual art work to keep routine
Painting by Deena Nash
Deena Nash, who has
an emotional
disability, uses “free
form” art to help
express her feelings.
She works with
ceramics,
printmaking, and
painting.
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/arti
sts/registry/artistdetail.cfm?Arti
stID=3678599
Classroom Management Techniques



The most effective classroom management techniques for students
with emotional/behavioral disabilities are individualized reward
systems and self-monitoring systems
Reward systems allow students to save up tokens, points, or tickets
that they earn for positive behavior and good class work. They then
hand in these tokens, points, or tickets for a reinforcer of their
choice
Self-monitoring systems have students monitor their own progress
at a selected skill at predetermined time intervals
(De I’Etoile, 2005)
Classroom Management in the Art Room

Reward systems can be a good classroom management tool for the
whole class
•
•
•

For example, a teacher may pass out tickets during the week when
he/she sees examples of behaviors like following directions or
cooperating with others
Then, one Fridays students could have an opportunity to trade in their
ticket for a reward of their choice (art supplies, class privileges, choice
of partner, etc.)
This can also be paired with the social skills lesson of the week by
giving everyone one ticket at the beginning of the week that must be
passed out to another student who displayed that weeks skill (have
students put their name on the tickets in a different color so you know
they don’t try to keep theirs)
Self monitoring of behavior would only be done for students who
need it, and would be private
•
If a student needed help with self control every ten minutes they could
mark on a chart inside their desk whether they did a list of things (kept
hands and feet to self, used kind words, etc.)
Painting by Jamie Young
Jamie, who has an
emotional
disability, enjoys
art and writing
poetry. He
explains art is a
way to “occupy
his mind.”
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/ar
tists/registry/artistdetail.cfm?
ArtistID=3679250
Promote Positive Self-Image
through Art





Hunter and Jones (2006) explain that students with
emotional/behavioral disabilities need more praise than
the average student. If you provide them the attention
they crave when they are doing the right thing, they
often won’t feel the need to act out
Displaying student works promotes a positive self-image
and a serious work ethic
Peer tutoring, which was mentioned earlier, also helps
improve self-image
Make your class less “scary” by walking student through
the steps of your lesson (stop the cycle of failure)
If the student has difficulty making choices, choosing
topics, etc. provide student with a short list of ideas to
choose from
The following slide is a checklist for
art teachers to be used during preplanning if they have students with
emotional/behavioral disabilities
So You Have a Student With an
Emotional/Behavioral Disability in You Art
Class…Now What?
_____ I have rules and consequences posted.
_____ I have a plan for encouraging positive communication (cooperative
groups, peer tutoring, etc.).
_____ I have clear routines for use of materials, lining up, etc.
_____ I have identified students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (EBDs),
and reviewed their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Behavioral
Intervention Plans (BIPs).
_____ I have created self-monitoring systems for any students who may need
them.
_____ I have a positive reward system for all students.
_____ I have several social skills lessons planned.
_____ I have lists of possible topics available to all students for lessons in
which topic is not given by the teacher.
_____ My lesson plans are clear, and if multiple steps are required of students
verbal, pictorial, and written instructions are given.
How to Fill Out Self Monitoring
Systems


At a certain interval in time (every 10, 15
or 20 minutes) have students fill out their
self monitoring system
You can either have the child check each
box if they did or did not perform the task
(younger children) or have them rate
themselves on a scale (1-5)
Self Monitoring System for Students with Trouble
with Self Control
Time
I kept my
hands to my
self
I used kind
words
I stayed in
my area
9:10
9:20
9:30
9:40
9:50
Self Monitoring System for Students with
Anxiety
Time
I used
calming
strategies
when
needed
I remained
focused on
my art
I interacted
with others
if
appropriate
9:10
9:20
9:30
9:40
9:50
Charting Data



For some students it may be helpful to
have students monitor their progress over
time using a graph
To do this students would total their
“points” received on their self monitoring
system at the end of each art period
They would then chart their progress for
that day before leaving
Charting Example
14
12
10
8
Total (out of
15)
6
4
2
0
M
T
W
R
F
M
T
W
R
F
Conclusions
It is useful for art teachers to try to apply special education
research about students with emotional/behavioral
disabilities to the art room.
Still, more research that is directed specifically at art
education for students with emotional/behavioral
disabilities is needed.
Areas of research that I think would be especially helpful
are
-how to best manage art supplies/materials
-which types of art projects could be most beneficial for specific
symptoms of students with EBDs
-whether there are any particular types of mentoring/cooperative
groups that are proven to be effective
References
Bowman-Perrott, L. J., Greenwood, C. R., & Tapia, Y. (2007). The Efficacy of CWPT Used
in Secondary Alternative School Classrooms with Small Teacher/Pupil Ratios and
Students with Emotional and Behavior Disorders, Education and Treatment of
Children, 30 (3), 65-87.
De I’Etoile, S. K. (2005). Teaching Music to Special Learners: Children with Disruptive
Behavior Disorders. Music Educators Journal, 91 (5), 37-43.
Gilles, D. L. & Smith, S. W. (2003). Using Key Instructional Elements to Systematically
Promote Social Skill Generalization for Students with Challenging Behavior.
Intervention in School and Clinic, 37 (1), 30-37.
Groves, J. E. (2006). Art as a Behavior Modification Tool. Multicultural Education, 13 (4),
55-7.
Haukaas, P. M. (2003). Tranquil Light. Retrieved from
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/registry/artistdetail.cfm?ArtistID=3678832
Hunter, A. D., & Johns, B. H. (2006). Students with Emotional and/or Behavior Disorders.
In B. Gerber & D. Guay (Eds.), Reaching and Teaching Students with Special Needs
through Art (pp.43-60). Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Nash, D. (1998). Mango Light. Retrieved from
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/registry/artistdetail.cfm?ArtistID=3678599
Rizza, M. & Morrison, W. (2003). Uncovering Stereotypes and Identifying Characteristics
of Gifted Students and Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities. Reoper
Review, 25 (2), 73-77.
Young, J. (2006). Water Lillies. Retrieved from
http://www.vsarts.org/prebuilt/artists/registry/artistdetail.cfm?ArtistID=3679250