The 1999 BFA Graduating Class: Department of Visual Arts

One of the Highlights of our academic year is the exhibition of the works of the graduating class in our visual arts degree program. Of course it is very Satisfying to see such an unambiguous evidence of accomplishments of our students.But i also find the exhibition invariably inspiring because of the works themselves,which stimulate us to see again as children, with wide-eyed curiosity and wonder, without the need to explain or reduce, with delight, with horror, with recognition. In enabling us to see again in this way, the students have learned a very demanding craft and educated themselves inthe history, vocabulary and syntax of visual expression.

The 2001 BFA Graduating Class Department of Visual Arts

One of the highlights of Grenfells annual Convocation is the exhibition of the works of the graduating class in visual arts. The exhibition gives us a priviledged glimpse into the accomplishments of our students as these have emerged directly out of their studies. By their nature, most other disciplines do not afford such a view. In a sense, then, the exhibition of works by our visual arts students represents by analogy what can be achieved in four years of intensive university study under the guidance of dedicated professionals, no matter what the field of endeavour. These particular students began with a natural ability to see and to imagine.During tha past four years, they have been challenged to build on that base talent and to develop and educate their visual imaginations. Significant creative development is never easy but the results can be inspiring. The works represent the accomplishments of all our students and provide a fresh energeticaesthetic framework within which to contemplate them.

The effects of audio cueing and an instructions, feedback and praise package on the distribution of teacher praise to students of differing on-task levels

In an audio cueing system, a teacher is presented with randomly spaced auditory signals via tape recorder or intercom. The teacher is instructed to praise a child who is on-task each time the cue is presented. In this study, a baseline was obtained on the teacher's praise rate and the children's on-task behaviour in a Grade 5 class of 37 students. Children were then divided into high, medium and low on-task groups. Followinq baseline, the teacher's praise rate and the children's on-task behaviour were observed under the following successively implemented conditions: (l) Audio Cueing 1: Audio cueing at a rate of 30 cues per hour was introduced into the classroom and remained in effect during subsequent conditions. A group of consistently low on-task children were delineated. (2) Audio Cueing Plus 'focus praise package': Instructions to direct two-thirds o£ the praise to children identified by the experimenter (consistently low on-task children), feedback and experimenter praise for meeting or surpassing the criterion distribution of praise ('focus praise package') were introduced. (3) Audio Cueing 2: The 'focus praise package' was removed. (4) Audio Cueing Plus 'increase praise package': Instructions to increase the rate of praise, feedback and experimenter praise for improved praise rates ('increase praise package') were introduced. The primary aims of the study were to determine the distribution of praise among hi~h, medium and low on-task children when audio cueinq was first introduced and to investigate the effect of the 'focus praise package' on the distribution of teacher praise. The teacher distributed her praise evenly among the hiqh, medium and low on-task groups during audio cueing 1. The effect of the 'focus praise package' was to increase the percentage of praise received by the consistently low on-task children. Other findings tended to suggest that audio cueing increased the teacher's praise rate. However, the teacher's praise rate unexpectedly decreased to a level considerably below the cued rate during audio cueing 2. The 'increase praise package' appeared to increase the teacher's praise rate above the audio cueing 2 level. The effect of an increased praise rate and two distributions of praise on on-task behaviour were considered. Significant increases in on-task behaviour were found in audio cueing 1 for the low on-task group, in the audio cueing plus 'focus praise package' condition for the entire class and the consistently low on-task group and in audio cueing 2 for the medium on-task group. Except for the high on-task children who did not change, the effects of the experimental manipulations on on-task behaviour were e quivocal. However, there were some indications that directing 67% of the praise to the consistently low on-task children was more effective for increasing this group's on-task behaviour than distributing praise equally among on-task groups.