Blog Topic #5: Portrait of Possibility

It has been difficult for me to choose just one student to identify as a student for whom VTS might be beneficial.  In my first blog entry I mentioned a student that would fit this bill ( and I still feel that way about him), but since then I have another new student in the class who has been difficult for all of the teachers in one way or another and I wonder if VTS can help him as well--in a different way.  So I'm going to use both of these students for my "Portraits of Possibility".

Student #1 is a boy who struggles academically and maybe a little socially too.  He is quiet and seems  to lack confidence in the classroom.  In previous VTS discussions he has rarely had anything to say and I think this is because he is afraid his comment might not be "right".  So I am hoping that I can draw him out of his shell a little so that he will contribute to the discussion and then when he does, reinforce his thinking by acknowledging his comment with the same degree of acknowledgement I give to everyone.  In time I am hopeful that he will look forward to VTS as a way to let his ideas be heard and validated.  By welcoming all comments, yet staying neutral, I think I can show him that whatever he brings to the discussion is important.  If this can happen with VTS then, according to Housen's and Yenawein's studies, it could transfer to his classroom work as well.

Student #2 has different issues that I also think might be helped by VTS.  As I said, he is new to our school and not only that, he apparently has been to seven schools--and he is only in 3rd grade!  (That should have been our first clue!)  In these first weeks of school he has given his teacher trouble by picking on other students, (sort of verbal bullying), and not being a good classroom citizen.  Yet, some students are drawn to him and are modeling some of this bad behavior.  He can also be a "know-it-all" and often acts bored by classroom activities. I think some of this behavior is a coping mechanism for him as he tries to fit in at yet another new school.  I think he wants to impress his classmates and these behaviors have become the easiest way to do that.  I think he may be more insecure than he lets on.  Anyway, I don't have him completely figured out yet, but I think he could benefit from VTS by participating in the discussions and contributing in a positive way.  I think my acknowledgement of his comments as important might give him the attention he is seeking.  By listening to his peers and taking cues from them I'm hoping that he will see that VTS is a way to get to know his classmates and they, in turn, can get to know him.  Of course, there is always the possibility of some silly comment from "left field", but in time he will see that those comments don't make him rise in stature among his classmates. I think he will see the value that I place in everyone's comments equally. I think he will also see that the other students are really trying to figure out "what's going on in the picture".

I'm anxious to see if either of these strategies work with these two students.  I'll keep you posted!

Blog Topic #4: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning

This is the image I used for my first VTS session with my 3rd grade class; Image #1, Lesson #1, grades 3-5, year 1.  I have used this image before and I really like it because it has so much to notice!  My students were really engaged with many hands up at once ready to answer that first question, "What's going on in this picture?".  They began, as I would expect, with comments such as, "the mom is sick", "the boy is playing with a ball"--in other words, listing the different objects and characters in the painting.  But soon they began to notice details that made various interpretations and inferences possible, such as,  "the mom is sick because I see medicine and a spoon on the nightstand", and "the grandma/ aunt is praying over the sick mom/daughter because she is using special leaves".  It was interesting to me that my students noticed the picture of the Virgin Mary on the dresser and the Cross over the bed, "so the people must be Catholic".  I teach in a Catholic school and my students are Catholic so this is a good example of students bringing prior knowledge to a VTS discussion to help figure out "What's going on in this picture?" They also noticed the pictures over the bed that "could be the grandparents", and the picture on the dresser that "could be the dad who got killed in the war because he is wearing a uniform".  They noticed the "old fashioned radio, so it was in the olden days"; "but not that old because the lamp has a plug so there was electricity".  So, I think the students are still Stage 1 viewers, but they are definitely noticing more details and creating a "story" to go with the image.

Most of my students were very engaged throughout the whole discussion--some to the point of distraction as they were carrying on their own mini-conversations and not listening as they should have been.  But for the most part the students listened to their classmates and often revised their ideas because of classmates' comments.  

I think my new students learned how to VTS and what is expected of them which I will reinforce at the beginning of each VTS session.  My returning students really remembered how to VTS and felt very comfortable looking and commenting without fear of being wrong.  Even the students who rarely spoke up last year had something to contribute this year.  It will take a while for the new students to feel that comfortable but I'm hopeful that by the end of the semester they will.  There was one new student who tended to offer some "silly" comments, and one new student who seemed completely bored by the whole process. I really feel that he just needs to understand that he "has the permission to wonder", as Yenawine put it, and doesn't need to find the "right" answer.  

I felt very comfortable with the VTS discussion due in large part to the fact that I have done it before with my students.  I use the questions as written and try to paraphrase and link when I can.  I try to remain neutral, although I'm sure that I can improve in that area and improve in general.  That is really why I am taking this class--to improve my VTS skills so that my students get as much from VTS as they can.

In future VTS lessons I want to work on staying neutral, paraphrasing and adding vocabulary, and engaging all students.  I think if I keep the discussion going well the students who are distracted and distracting will become more engaged. They will enjoy having "the permission to wonder"!

Blog Topic #3, Pre-VTS Assessments

Let me preface this whole discussion by reminding you that these 3rd grade students have done VTS with me since they were in 1st grade, so even though I did these pre-VTS assessments with them before doing any VTS with them this year, they have done VTS before.  There are three new students in the class however, who have never had VTS before.  That being said, from this class of 21 students the pre-VTS assessment reflections ranged in word count from 18 words to 120 words! (Interestingly,  two of the new students had high word counts of 57 and 70.) Over half of the class's word counts were in the 30-50 count range.  Even though many of the students wrote a lot, most of what they wrote were simple observations with quite a few detailed observations as well. The student with the most words, 120, had 8 simple observations and 9 detailed observations, but no interpretations w/or w/out evidence. By contrast, the student with the least words, 18, had 1 detailed observation, 1 interpretation w/out evidence and 1 use of conditional language.  Generally these students were providing me with a "list" of what they saw which would put them right in Housen's Stage 1--"list makers--making simple, concrete, observations." I think for 3rd grade students, this is just what I expected.  (Actually, I was very impressed with with many of them!)  My 120 word student wanted to write more the following week because she felt like she wasn't finished!

I did have 9 students give interpretations w/ evidence such as: "The man is painting a picture, I figured it out because I saw a paintbrush", or, "The dad is painting a picture of the mom and baby because the dad has an easel and paintbrush and the mom is posing."  Still, they are Stage 1 viewers because they are creating a story with their observations.

I did have one student who "blew me away", however.  Her comments were hard for me to classify because they were neither simple observations, nor were they supported with evidence, but they were definitely her unique interpretation of what she saw in the image.  Here are some examples: "The fur on the cat makes art look so fun."; "The baby's eyes glow in my mind.";  "It takes love to believe in this.";  "The colors glow when the man paints.";  "There is love in this house.", WOW!  I showed this to her classroom teacher  and she seemed "blown away" too!  

Most of the students responded to the image much the way I expected them to--with a list.  But I was surprised that some of the students really took a long time to write everything they saw.  I think this has a lot to do with an emphasis on writing in our school's curriculum which is reinforced with their experience with VTS.

Blog Topic #2: Professional Peer Feedback

On Thursday I invited any faculty who could to stay after school for a short VTS lesson.  I had nine teachers show up.  Some had no idea what VTS was, and some had seen me do it with students before.  I used the Winslow Homer painting Dad's Coming.  The actual discussion about the painting only lasted about six minutes, but then we had an additional 10-15 minute feedback discussion.  The teachers in attendance ranged from pre-K-8th grade so they brought many viewpoints and experiences to the discussion.  Most of their comments focused on how VTS could help students with  skills needed in other areas of the curriculum such as:

- "This is really the same process as taking a reading or text and putting it in context and backing it up with evidence."
-"Learning how to gather information from what they've got, (in any subject), is a skill that students need to develop and this is a non-threatening way to develop that skill."
-"This is especially good for LD kids because there is no text to scare them away from figuring out the story."
-"Good way to get kids talking about pictures and that helps with story writing."(from the K teacher)
-"Forces us to really LOOK at the picture."
-"Listening to others can spur you on or make you think something new."
-"VTS is a good opportunity for everyone to contribute."

One teacher whose students had VTS with me last year has noticed that her kids are more receptive to talking about art on their visits to the St. Louis Art Museum.  (They participate in the ABC program at SLAM). She feels they open up more in talking about art (with the docent) than they did before they had VTS.

As far as their critique of me, they said I was nonjudgmental in my facilitation, although we all agreed that it is especially hard not to get excited about a particularly "astute" observation!

Since these were adult viewers they had very good comments about the painting and really backed up their comments with evidence before I had to ask the second question.  In the end, most wanted to know the artist and title--I did tell them!

I did give the group some background about VTS and Yenawine's studies, but really I think everyone saw the impact and benefits VTS can have in their classrooms without needing much information from me.  Their comments just underscored what the readings to date have said--that VTS reaches viewers where they are and gives them a strategy to learn to think, listen, respond and problem solve.