Abstract:
Developmental dyslexia is a learning disability caused by neurological differences in language processing, affecting approximately 5-10% of the U.S. populations’ ability to speak, read and write. Because of this difficulty with text, different forms of language representation, such as visual art-making, may provide students with dyslexia the opportunity to communicate their ideas and express themselves in educational settings. Positive outcomes for those with dyslexia include healthy social relationships and emotional development from childhood through adulthood, which can be observed through identity construction, genre interests, artistic dialogs, and the sense of authorship. Narratives are a way of thinking about experience through …show more content…
These constructions are a primary way in which we make sense out of lived experience and interview studies are the most effective in accessing narrative stories (Searle, 1995; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2003; Crabtree & Miller, 1999). Through storytelling participants give insights into their perceptions, which allows the researcher to understand their lived experiences (Lather, 1992; Robottom & Hart, 1993). In the past, narrative approaches have been used to study the dyslexic educational experience. For example, Burns and Bell consider how dyslexic educators use narrative resources to negotiate their professional identity (Burns & Bell, 2011). Tobias-Green also studied identity construction of dyslexic college students in relationship to text and visual art, finding a tendency toward embarrassment, exclusion, and lack of control with writing (Tobias-Green, 2014). Yet, these studies are few and far between, with many gaps that could aid educators in better understanding their dyslexic students. Currently, there is no literature that attempts to understand the narrative construction of dyslexic graduate art students and how they make meaning of their educational experience between different representational modes, such as art-making and writing. This article gives an account of the meaning-making process between writing and art-making for five dyslexic graduate art students, considering their identity construction, genre interests, artistic dialogs in a social context, and the sense of authorship. This research will help educators better understand the experiences and psychosocial needs of dyslexic students as they develop through higher
Developmental dyslexia is a learning disability caused by neurological differences in language processing, affecting approximately 5-10% of the U.S. populations’ ability to speak, read and write. Because of this difficulty with text, different forms of language representation, such as visual art-making, may provide students with dyslexia the opportunity to communicate their ideas and express themselves in educational settings. Positive outcomes for those with dyslexia include healthy social relationships and emotional development from childhood through adulthood, which can be observed through identity construction, genre interests, artistic dialogs, and the sense of authorship. Narratives are a way of thinking about experience through …show more content…
These constructions are a primary way in which we make sense out of lived experience and interview studies are the most effective in accessing narrative stories (Searle, 1995; Stake, 1995; Yin, 2003; Crabtree & Miller, 1999). Through storytelling participants give insights into their perceptions, which allows the researcher to understand their lived experiences (Lather, 1992; Robottom & Hart, 1993). In the past, narrative approaches have been used to study the dyslexic educational experience. For example, Burns and Bell consider how dyslexic educators use narrative resources to negotiate their professional identity (Burns & Bell, 2011). Tobias-Green also studied identity construction of dyslexic college students in relationship to text and visual art, finding a tendency toward embarrassment, exclusion, and lack of control with writing (Tobias-Green, 2014). Yet, these studies are few and far between, with many gaps that could aid educators in better understanding their dyslexic students. Currently, there is no literature that attempts to understand the narrative construction of dyslexic graduate art students and how they make meaning of their educational experience between different representational modes, such as art-making and writing. This article gives an account of the meaning-making process between writing and art-making for five dyslexic graduate art students, considering their identity construction, genre interests, artistic dialogs in a social context, and the sense of authorship. This research will help educators better understand the experiences and psychosocial needs of dyslexic students as they develop through higher