A description and comparisonof the technical and aesthetic decisions of participants in three beginning microcomputer graphics courses

In this participant observation study, the author reports the technical and aesthetic decisions of participants in three beginning microcomputer graphics summer classes: one class for gifted adolescents and two classes for art teachers. The instructor's emphasis on design principles improved the beginners' compositions, from primarily symmetrical arrangements to more enlarged, patterned, focused, asymmetrical, and expressive ones. A misconception among teachers is that if they give gifted students special materials and equipment, they will create art. Suggestions for developing different strategies to advance students design and technical abilities are offered.