Understanding Domain Knowledge for Teaching: Higher-Order Thinking in Pre-Service Art Teacher Specialists

Abstract

This study investigates the higher-order thinking and subject matter understanding of pre-service art specialists. The relationship between art specialists' subject matter understanding and instructional choices is also examined. Individual case study research was conducted on 18 prospective art teachers from a large midwestern state university. The participant-volunteers were visual art or art education majors in the final stages of course-work. Qualitative data were triangulated from a series of oral interviews, lesson-planning activities, personal biographies, university transcripts, and self-reports. The data analysis revealed that only some pre-service art teachers exhibited the higher-order thinking or in-depth understanding expected of specialists in visual art. Most future art teachers displayed overly simplistic thinking, shallow understandings, and superficial domain knowledge. These findings suggest the content knowledge and art understandings possessed by pre-service art teacher specialists should not be taken for granted. Successful completion of required coursework does not guarantee higher-order thinking or deep understanding of the domain. Implications for teacher preparation are discussed.