An examination of digital drawing experiences in Turkish miniature art within 6th grade visual arts lessons

The primary aim of this study is to explore the integration of traditional Turkish miniature art with digital art and investigate how these experiences can be incorporated into the 6th-grade visual arts curriculum. Using the qualitative research method of action research, this study evaluates the contributions of this innovative approach to students' artistic skills, creativity, and engagement in the subject. During the research process, teaching activities were observed, data collected were analyzed, and improvements were made throughout the process. A course content was designed to combine the historical context, detailed craftsmanship, and unique style of traditional miniature art with digital drawing technologies, aiming to equip students with both artistic and technical skills. The study addresses questions such as how the historical background, characteristics, compositional structure, and color usage of miniature art can be reproduced in a digital environment and how this traditional art can be sustained using contemporary technologies. This research presents a comprehensive analysis of how digital drawing experiences contribute to the artistic development, creative thinking skills, and technical competencies of 6th-grade students. Students were given the opportunity to experience miniature art first through traditional methods and then with digital tools, and the effects of both methods on the students were observed. Based on these observations, the positive and negative impacts of digital drawing technologies on students were identified, and the evolution of traditional art forms in digital environments was examined. The findings reveal that digital drawing technologies increased students' interest in visual arts classes, enabled them to express their creative potential more freely, and made traditional art forms more appealing to this age group when taught with modern methods. Furthermore, the use of digital drawing tools was found to rapidly enhance students' technical skills and boost their confidence during the process. This approach, which bridges digital drawing with traditional miniature art, supports students' holistic development by equipping them with both artistic and technological skills. Transferring Turkish miniature art to digital platforms allows students to both learn about historical art forms and reinterpret them using modern tools. This thesis offers a unique contribution to both art education and technology integration. In the digital age, teaching traditional arts and passing them on to new generations is addressed in this study, bringing a new perspective to visual arts education and providing suggestions for the future of art education. Keywords: Miniature, Digital, Technology, Traditional Art