COE Faculty Profile

Karen Cummings
Art Education Coordinator
Division of Teaching And Learning

Email: cummingska@umsl.edu
Office: 206 Fine Arts Bldg
Phone: 314-516-7288

Education & Experience
Karen Cummings received her B.F.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Art Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Before coming to UMSL in 2006, she was a secondary art educator for eleven years at a public school in central Illinois. At the secondary setting, Dr. Cummings was responsible for teaching all studio art courses, developing and implementing innovative art curriculum, developing a school-wide visual art assessment, and developing a graphic design course. Her dissertation research focused on improving adolescent attitudes and behaviors in the art classroom and understanding the influences of relationships on classroom experiences.

Teaching & Research
Dr. Cummings is the Art Education Coordinator at UMSL. Her teaching responsibilities include instructing art education courses and the supervision of pre-service art educators during their internship and student teaching practicum. She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Art and Art History and the Division of Teaching and Learning at UM-Saint Louis.

Recent Paper Presentations

• ���Inspire, Engage, Motivate: Developing A Meaningful Curriculum for Secondary Art Students.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Minneapolis: April 2009.
• ���Conjunctions-Ubjects, Subjects, Place (CUSP): Exploring issues of Community & Identity.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Minneapolis: April 2009.
• ���Webs, windows, and reflections: Experiences in a secondary art classroom.��� National Art Education Association Convention, New Orleans: March 2008.
• ���Meaningful experiences and caring communities in the art classroom.��� National Art Education Association Convention, New Orleans: March 2008.
• ���Classroom dynamics + meaningful interactions = powerful art experiences.��� National Art Education Association Convention, New York: March 2007.
• ���Classroom interactions: Changes in attitudes and behaviors.��� National Art Education Association Convention, New York: March 2007.                 
• ���Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Adolescents use of Journals.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Chicago: March 2006.
• ���Attitude, Motivation, Self-Identity: The Potential of Visual Culture Art Education.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Boston: March 2005.
• ���The 3P���s of Visual Culture Art Education: Practicality, Pitfalls, and Potential.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Boston: March 2005.
• ���Body Marks: The Aesthetics of Skin.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Denver: April 2004.
• ���Art, Multi-Culture, & Critical Inquiry.��� National Art Education Association Convention, Minneapolis: April 2003.
• ���Social Theory in Action.��� Art Education Association Convention, Minneapolis: April 2003.

Recent Publications

• Cummings, K. (2009). Getting A���Head of Stereotypes: Speaking Out Against Images in Popular Culture. Curriculum Materials. Teacher Education Project: Best Practices in Civic Education: A K-12 Toolkit.
• Cummings, K. (2007). Webs, windows, and reflections: Experiences in a secondary art classroom. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007). AAT 3290213.
• Cummings, K. (2006) A Journey of Change in P. Duncum (Ed.) Visual Culture in the Art Class: Case Studies (pp. 89-98), Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.

• Action Research
• Adolescence
• Arts Education
• At-Risk Students
• Attitude
• Classroom Research
• Curriculum
• Learning Environments
• Media
• Motivation
• Professional Development
• Retention
• School/Teacher Effectiveness
• Self-Concept
• Student Behavior/Attitude
• Student Teaching
• Teacher Education/Development