Blog Topic #9: Teacher's Choice Proposal

I am working with nineteen 2^nd/3^rd grade art students, at an alternative school within the Columbia school district.  The class can be categorized as a group of high achievers, with some minor behavioral problems.  I have chosen a group of images that are accessible, captivating, show realism, along with elements of narrative:  

George Caleb Bingham
"Raftsmen Playing Cards"  1847
Oil on Canvas

Norman Rockwell
"Portrait of Norman Rockwell painting the Soda Jerk " 1953
Oil on Canvas

Wayne Thiebaud
"Hot Dog Stand"  2004-12
 Oil on Canvas

Ansel Adams"Female internees practicing calisthenics at Manzanar internment camp"  1943
photograph

Blog Topic #8: VTS to Date

• What do you think you are doing well?
• How have you grown since your first VTS experience w/ professional peers?
• Have there been any surprises for you so far?
• What do you still want to work on?

I think that I am doing well at listening to the students’ responses, and I sincerely try to understand what they are saying.  By not having a preconceived idea about what I think their comments should be, I am better able to hear what the students are actually saying.  My hope is that by attentively listening to them, the students will slow-down enough to be more present to the investigative dialogue that unfolds while VTS-ing.

I feel like I have grown so much in my confidence with using VTS, and the overall experience has been an engaging process for me.   In retrospect, my initial frustrations were normal.  I am reminded of how important it is to be patient while learning new things.  By doing VTS each week, I have learned so much from letting go of my need to do it perfectly.  I have learned to trust myself more, with encouragement from my teacher & peers, and from the structural base of VTS itself.

My biggest surprise with doing VTS is that I have been able to draw from my life experience, especially in regards to the idea of mindfulness.  Doing VTS with both children and adults has made me more aware of its importance.  Trying to incorporate mindfulness has allowed me to practice being in the present moment.  This is where the beauty of VTS’ simple yet profound nature unfolds for me.

I would like to become more confident in paraphrasing the students’ responses.  The text and VTS website state its importance in helping students to build vocabulary, and refine their thinking.  I also want to work on getting better at linking the students’ comments together, by constructing a scaffolding of ideas. This models for them how to construct meaning from their visual thinking.  I think that being more adept at both of these skills will help to foster the students’ growth in a more impactful way.

Blog #7: Why not tell?

Blog #7:  Why not tell?

The following quote from part 2 of the VTS July 19^th newsletter really resonates with me:  “We’re not seeking mistakes of course; we simply know that it’s natural to make them, and we wait to correct until such information won’t undermine self-confidence and joy in discovery.”  I feel that it is important to give our students the opportunity to learn in a way that is akin to serious play (a language they are already familiar.)  VTS builds on this idea by nurturing the students’ explorations in both direct and subtle ways.  I think that both the students and facilitator are playing a huge role in fostering this growth.

Another quote from the same article states, “We live with ‘mistakes’ because we know that any learning involves hurdles and miss-steps, most effectively overcome when one teaches one's self to handle them.”  VTS provides a safe container that allows for students to take healthy risks, by providing them the opportunity to share their own ideas within the group.  I feel that with practice the students naturally “pick-up” information from each other and the facilitator, and gain confidence and insight from this exchange.     

Both articles are rich with examples of how to defend VTS’ allowance of subjectivity in its early viewing stages. “…We feel that capacities to observe, think about what one sees, reflect on meanings, and consider various interpretations are basic to art viewing and the prerequisites for later learning. When these behaviors become habitual, then other operations quite naturally become interesting and accessible.”  I feel that being able to dialogue about an image helps the students discover that art inherently holds meaning.  By internalizing the VTS process, the students begin to build a relationship with art on their own terms. I realize that this may not be a sufficient answer for an administrator who does not see the value in art to begin with, but I feel that it could be the beginning of a conversation on VTS’ intrinsic nature in developing the whole student, whether the right answer is given or not. 

Blog #6: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning

Frank W. Wilkin

Nikkanochee

Oil on Canvas

1860

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.

Blog Topic #5: Portrait of Possibility

I am choosing a student for whom I think VTS will be both a help and a challenge.  I am going to call this boy “Charlie”.  I noticed during a VTS session that Charlie has a difficult time with sitting still, speaking out of turn, and accepting differing comments from other students.  His teacher described him to me as possibly having a form of Asperger’s Syndrome.  I am familiar with Asperger’s, but I did some general investigating on the web to refresh my memory.

I found on several medical sites that there is no prescribed treatment, and there is not much data on the effectiveness of any one intervention in particular.  Also, the main symptom is having a very difficult time in navigating social situations.  After reading this information about Asperger’s, I feel that VTS may be very challenging for Charlie.  My hope is that repeated exposure to VTS  - especially the order of the questions – will help him to find familiarity within its overall structure.  Since children with Asperger’s have a difficult time with change, this may eventually have a calming effect on Charlie.

In moving forward, I think it will be important for me to continue to establish the “rules” of VTS with him.  For example, reminding Charlie that he needs to raise his hand before he shares his comments.  Learning this boundary may help him to feel calmer, and aid in his being able to listen to others respond without being overly defensive.  Charlie is definitely a challenging student, but I feel that if I stick with the VTS format (and staying firm and calm), this process just might have a therapeutic effect on him.

Blog Topic #4: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning

The 2^nd/3^rd grade students were very engaged in the VTS Lesson 1 discussion of “Sky and Water I by M.C. Escher, 1938.  This was evident to me because most all of the students raised their hands, and eagerly shared their observations during our discussion.  The young visual thinkers noticed:  the details of the fish at the bottom of the image were more detailed than the ones above it, how the birds and fish seemed to interlock in the center of the picture plain, and that the fish and birds where held together in a diamond or square shape depending on how you tilted your head to look at the image.

I believe the students where hitting on Stage II thinking because their observations where more Constructive than Accountive in nature.  Abigail Housen describes this in Art Viewing and Aesthetic Development, by stating that “viewers set about building a framework for looking at art, using the most accessible tools at hand:  their perceptions, their knowledge of the natural world, and the values of their social and moral world.  Observations have a concrete, know reference point.”  (Chapter 21, Housen)

Student seemed to be focused and I was surprised by how many of them wanted to share their observations.  I think that they where beginning to understand the big idea of art means, because they did not question the placement of the birds and fish in Escher’s print.  Also, one of the students responded that it was really about “one fish” in the water and “one bird” in the sky, hinting at the artist’s intention, (also a Stage II attribute.)

The VTS discussion felt successful to me, even though my execution was not perfect.  I tried to coach myself on staying calm and in the moment, trying not to worry about making mistakes.  There was a few times when I couldn’t hear a student’s comment, or understand their responses.  The children new to come forward and point out what they where trying to communicate.  I learned from the experience that by staying calm, the students stayed engaged and were still eager to offer their interpretations.  I noticed after the discussion that I had omitted what makes you say that (?) and also forgot to add, Can you find more (?) not on purpose, but due to my lack of experience. 

As I move forward with VTS, I feel that it’s important for me to build off of what I’m doing well, and not be overly critical of myself.   I truly want to understand what the students are offering in their comments.  I feel that continuing to stay in the present moment with them will allow me to grow and become more adept at using the questions.  The more practice I have at doing VTS, the more I will learn from the process itself.