An Action Research Study on Using Elegant Tasks for Primary One Pupils to Learn Art

This action research study explored the use of Elegant Tasks for 30Primary One pupils from a typical public school in Singapore to learn art. According toSandra Kay, an Elegant Task is an open-ended-problem approach that serves to elicit“creative thoughts” and “elegant” or “aesthetically meaningful” solutions from pupils.Apart from making the teaching of art interesting, the use of Elegant Tasks helps toamuse the pupils into developing an awareness of his or her own style of thinkingincluding its strong points as well as its weaknesses. Qualitative data were collectedthrough focus group discussions. The findings from this study showed that pupils likethe adoption of Elegant Tasks in their art lessons as they were given enough room toexplore materials, make new discoveries, and work collaboratively in groups. Besides,this approach has also developed a strong sense of ownership and pride in their artworksas witnessed from pupils’ presentation of their artworks at the end of each Elegant Tasktopic