Researcher

Research is important to an educators toolkit so that they can continue to better themselves throughout career. This section of my portfolio contains my case study on special educational needs, my research report and my reflective practice.

My research project asks: To what extent does structured sketchbook tasks and scaffolding assist students to thoroughly engage with the creative process and improve their student experience.
As I deeply value mental health and students' learning experience, I wanted to find out how I could have a positive impact on them. This is especially relevant today as students are reporting high levels of stress in the senior cycle (Smyth, McCoy and Banks, 2019). I found that using structure and scaffolding in the art room can be beneficial to students' experience, as they reported them having a positive impact on their stress, self efficacy and cognitive load.

I found that structure and scaffolding can improve the student experience (Lodewyk, Winne and Jamieson‐Noel, 2009) and can be used to support rather than hinder the creative process (Parker, 2005).


Lodewyk, K. R., Winne, P. H., & Jamieson‐Noel, D. L. (2009). Implications of task structure on self‐regulated learning and achievement. Educational Psychology, 29(1), 1–25. doi:10.1080/01443410802447023
Parker, J. (2005). A Consideration of the Relationship Between Creativity and Approaches to Learning in Art and Design. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 24(2), 186–198. doi:10.1111/j.1476-8070.2005.00439.x
Smyth, E., S. McCoy and J. Banks (2019). Student, teacher and parent perspectives on senior cycle education, ESRI Research Series 94, Dublin: ESRI, available at: https://doi.org/10.26504/rs94.pdf [Accessed: 10th March 2024]