Shifting paradigms in environmental research methods through the visual arts

Abstract

Arts-based research offers a potentially valuable approach for students trained in the positivist tradition of environmental issues to expand their repertoire. This article traces the experience of students in an undergraduate course that examines the US food system through immersive photography, using arts-based research as the core methodological theme of exploration and inquiry. The research approach to assessing student growth and integration of this model builds on both quantitative and qualitative designs, offering a triangulated look at interdisciplinarity. The article contemplates the ways in which situated learning through visual immersion helps students construct new ways of understanding the world around them. Further, this research promotes opportunities for research-grounded paradigm shifts with the help of supportive environments, scaffolding embodied knowledge through creative experience.