I had actually chosen two students to use as my "portraits of possibility" because they each had such different issues that I thought VTS could help with. Student #1 is a student who struggles both academically and socially and I thought that VTS could help draw him out of his shell and give him some confidence when speaking in front of his classmates. And I think that I have seen evidence that he feels comfortable with the neutrality of VTS discussions. During our last session he was one of the first students to speak up. And even though several students subsequently respectfully disagreed with him, he still revised his first thought and later offered another possibility to the discussion. That is definite progress! As far as his post-VTS writing, he definitely improved by offering many more observations. His observations are still simple--Stage 1, but he is confident enough to engage and notice everything he can.
Student #2 is new to our school and started out displaying "bullying" behavior in addition to being disruptive in the classroom. I thought that these were his coping mechanisms to coming to a new school. I thought this was attention seeking behavior, but unfortunately it was all negative. I thought that VTS could help him by giving him the opportunity to contribute to the discussion in a positive way. And actually, I think it has really worked! At least in my class, he likes to participate in a positive way. His contributions to our VTS discussions have been very insightful. He is a smart kid, and now his classmates are seeing that side of him. During VTS discussions he is very focused and engaged. I think he likes the idea of showing me and his classmates that he can figure out the image being discussed.
I'm not sure this is transferring to his homeroom class, but I think the same strategy could work in his classroom and once he realizes that he can get the teachers' attention in a positive way he will stop relying on the disruptive behavior.
From these two examples I feel comfortable in saying that VTS is beneficial to all students wherever they are on the learning curve. This is a good example of how VTS can differentiate learning to students at both ends of the spectrum.
Very exciting results, Cindy! And exceptional that you chose two students with very different needs to follow! It seems that, in your very accomplished VTS hands, you were able to nurture both toward self-confidence and greater learning. I'd love to hear how these kiddos progress during the year as I'm sure you'll continue to VTS. Again, very exciting reports and wonderful insights!
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