Graphic Intensity: An Intensive Study of Graphic Design in the K-1 through K-12 setting

This abstract examines the advantages and barriers to the teaching of graphic design in K-12 setting. The purpose of this study is to discover some of the advantages of teaching graphic design within the k-12 setting which would enhances students' flexible thinking skills, promotes self-directed learning and assessment, and develops students' interpersonal and communication skills, and cultivates responsible citizens applies learning to students' everyday lives. (Deasy, 2008) (Davies, 2008) To conduct this research, the following search engines had to be used: EBSCO Host and Meta Search, which were two search engines that can be found on the UWM Library Homepage site. During the course of the research, the following search words that were used were: “art” and “k-12”, “k-12” and “art”, “graphic design” and “k-12”, “visual art" and "integration", “graphic design” and “integration” The only restrictions on the searches were that they had to be from the past fifteen years. After collecting the literature, come to find out the better method of using “k-12” and “art” produced the most of the literature that was collected which happened to be the most helpful but also, shows how Graphic Design falls under “art” versus its own category when being sought out for within the search parameters of “graphic design” and “k-12” which produced one direct search result. Upon finding the particular article that would be sufficient for the research within those search results, the articles was read in conjunction with the advantages as well as barriers and were presented as such throughout the literature review. Introduction Recent advances in technology, technology has become more accessible to the classroom. Technology can open up doors for children to engage their young, developing brains with new art forms such as Graphic Design. Learning about art helps children think critically (Isabella Stewart Museum, 2008) the integration of visual art into the K12 curriculum has been discussed over the past ten years. Unfortunately, despite the technological advances in the integration of graphic arts into the curriculum of American schools is met with a number of challenges such as cost, Therefore, the objective of this literature review was to examine the advantages and barriers of integrating Graphic Design into the K-12 curriculum. In particular, research involving methods used to implement Graphic Design into the classroom will be reviewed in addition to barrier related social and geographic location will also be examined as well.