Nikkanochee
Oil on Canvas
1860
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In watching the video of the students and
myself VTSing, I noticed their engagement was very high. The students were eager to share their
observations, as I tried to “spread-out” calling on them within the group of many
raised hands. The students noticed that
the figure was Native American, and they did an excellent job of finding many
details i.e. the shield, the long braded hair, the arrows and quiver, the clenched
fist, the sash around the waist, and the many feathers throughout the
painting.
The comments the students gave where quite
impressive, and all of the thinking skills that VTS fosters where present in
the discussion: observation, drawing conclusions, evidential reasoning, revising, and
elaborating. There was some
disagreement on whether the young warrior depicted was a boy or a girl, on the
meaning behind his clenched fist, and whether the object he was carrying was a
shield or target. I feel that the
students where challenged by each other’s answers, and they learned how to
disagree with each other while managing respect. All of this made for a rich discussion, which
VTS allows and encourages.
The discussion itself felt charged with the students
seeking understanding, and I was more comfortable as they got “deeper” into examining
the painting. Their enthusiasm allowed
me to facilitate in a calmer way, which benefited me in paraphrasing the
students’ comments. Also, the VTS
website has been a helpful resource for me in managing this process. For example, I felt more prepared in
correcting a student for commenting out of turn. My ease at dealing with this student, and its
subsequent effect on him and the group surprised me. In asking him to raise his hand and wait to
be called on before answering, it helped to confirm a boundary that I had
established at the beginning of the discussion.
I do need to work on memorizing the VTS
guidelines that I share with the students.
I’ve been relying on a note card and I would like to get away from that.
I want to internalize the guidelines, so
that I can state them with ease. I will spend time practicing them this week,
so that the boundaries will be more clear and direct. I am interested in seeing how this effects our
next VTS discussion.
This was a great discussion and your growing confidence as a VTS facilitator is allowing you to notice nuances within the students' journey of discovery. You said of your redirection of the student who spoke out of turn, "My ease at dealing with this student, and its subsequent effect on him and the group surprised me. In asking him to raise his hand and wait to be called on before answering, it helped to confirm a boundary that I had established at the beginning of the discussion." That's proof that you not only redirected, but perceived its impact on the individual and the function of both the introduction and graceful redirection within the process. Kudos! Evidence of your growth is also evidence in your final statement regarding your interest in seeing if a smooth and practiced introduction may impact the discussion next time. You are clearly recognizing Eisner's statement in his article, "What Education Can Learn from the Arts' - that nuance matters. What you know as an artist is manifesting itself now in your teaching with VTS!
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