Blog Topic #9: Teacher's Choice Proposal

My focus class is a class of 22 third graders.  Most of them are of average ability.  They are a pretty good group of kids although there are several boys who have some learning issues.  They are average Stage 1 viewers, although I've had some pretty perceptive insights as well--beyond Stage 1.  The four images (actually I chose 5 because I couldn't decide!), I've chosen I think would be fun to "figure out" for nine year olds.  I think they all have plenty of room for interpretation, yet are familiar enough for the kids to understand.

Image #1:  Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

Image #2:  Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat

Image #3:Happy Birthday Miss Jones, by Norman Rockwell

Image #4:  The Runaway, by Norman Rockwell

Image #5:  Taking in the Laundry,  by Grandma Moses

Blog Topic #8: VTS-to-Date

Since our first meeting in August I have become very comfortable facilitating a VTS lesson.  The three questions have become very automatic to me and I don't have to think about them so I can concentrate on listening and paraphrasing.  I think I am much better at really listening which makes the paraphrasing easier.  I try to link and that has become easier too, but there is room for improvement!  I really want to work on paraphrasing and building vocabulary when possible so that is my focus right now.

One of my biggest surprises has been how my classes ( I am doing this with more classes than just my "focus" class), have gotten into the routine of VTS and have really learned VTS "etiquette".  Some of my students did VTS last year, but even the new students and Kindergarten students have learned how to sit quietly, raise their hands and take turns commenting.  No one really talks out of turn or just blurts out a comment.  This surprises me because during regular Art class they will often blurt out an answer without raising their hand, but when doing VTS they seem to know the rules--and follow them!

My VTS experience with this class has been so awesome!  Yesterday at the Art museum it was so great to see everyone and listen to everyone share their VTS experiences.  Just as with teaching, some of the best learning comes from talking and sharing with peers and I think that is what happened yesterday.  I'm looking forward to more sharing through the blogs as it is very affirming and humbling at the same time.  I think I am learning so much from all of you!

Blog Topic #7: Why not tell?

After reading Yenawine's commentary on why VTS does not correct "wrong" observations I feel that he explains it so clearly and gives so many good examples of why students need to figure out the images for themselves.  His explanation makes so much sense and is so easy to understand especially after having seen VTS facilitation in action.

I too, struggled with the idea of "not telling" when I first became introduced to VTS (at a practicum 2 years ago).  As an Art major with an emphasis on Art History it seemed to go against everything I thought was important.  I'd been introducing my elementary students to Art History for years--much the same way I imagine Yenawine did at MOMA--talking about an artist and art style.  Putting the piece of Art in a historical context using dates and events.  Even though I tried to be very basic and thought that I was simplifying information I realize now that most of my students probably heard "blah, blah, blah" coming out of my mouth!  They simply didn't know enough to care about why Monet's Waterlilies are an example of French Impressionism (for example).  I now see that they enjoy the process of figuring out a piece of artwork much more than they enjoyed my telling them about an artwork.  It's like solving a puzzle.  And the collaborative nature of the process is so much more engaging than having one person (me) dispensing all of the information.  I almost think it might be easier to facilitate a VTS lesson at first if one doesn't have any art historical background.  Because, as Yenawine says "it is easy for non-experts to remain developmentally appropriate with their peers".

Just last week at a meeting of schools in my region I was telling two other art teachers about the many virtues of VTS and briefly explaining the process and philosophy.  I was met with incredulity when I said "and you don't give the kids information about the artwork".  So I did defend the VTS method by saying, "We're not really teaching them about the art, we're teaching them how to think--and they generally come up with the right idea by listening to each other, giving evidence and figuring out what it is they see in front of them."  But I really think it's hard to grapple with that idea until you see VTS in action and experience it for yourself.  I would also, (and did), recommend to anyone that they read Yenawine's book to truly understand the process as I think he states his point so well.

Blog Topic #6: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning--Video A

Assessing Student Engagement & Learning

I used image #3 from Lesson #1, grades 3-5, year one for my video because I had already used image #2 with this class.

As a whole my class was very engaged during our lesson.  The session lasted about 15 minutes.  Just about every student had something to say and those that did not were still very attentive.  The students began by noticing simple objects in the image such as the people and cactus. But they soon began to give a narrative to the image by offering suggestions such as:

-figures are a mother and child
-man and child
-aunt and child
-unrelated woman who rescued child
-They are sad.  The adult is comforting the child.

As far as the setting they speculated that:

-It's in the desert.
-There was a fire in the desert and they are escaping.
-It is sunset in the desert.
-There was a storm and lightning caused a fire in the desert.
-They were cooking dinner and went for a walk and forgot about the stove and it caught on fire.
-They are poor because they have no shoes or clothing.

Because of these many possible stories or explanations of the image I think many of my students are Stage 1 viewers but showing signs of Stage 2 viewers as well.  They are Accountive viewers by making a story, but they are Constructive viewers by using their own knowledge of the natural world to figure out the image.

I also had students give purely concrete observations without any hint at storytelling such as:
-The cactus looks like a noodle.
-The cactus looks like a banana.
-The cactus looks like a man's face.
-I think the word at the bottom is a name.

I think that the students are continuing to learn how to "VTS".  I think they are becoming more comfortable with VTS and are not worried about saying the wrong thing.  I think they are really looking and observing and trying to make sense of the picture.  With this image in particular they were able to bring in prior knowledge of what a desert looks like to help explain the picture.

Reflecting on Practice
I felt very comfortable facilitating this lesson.  I used the three questions just as written, although I did not always have to use question #2 because the students sometimes gave evidence first.  I think I repeated and paraphrased what the students said and offered new vocabulary when I could, i.e.--the word "cloak" for "some kind of blanket wrapped around".  I try to use the word "good" after each student's comment as my neutral word, but I noticed I did not use it a couple of times so I want to make sure I remember to do that in the future.  It feels comfortable to use that word--I just need to make it a habit.  I also had a hard time ending the discussion.  There were still some hands up--but no new hands--and the comments seemed to be degenerating to mostly silly ones about the shapes of the cactus.  I tried to acknowledge those comments equally but I did want to end the discussion at that point before we went too far down that path!  I do think the class had some great comments and really listened well to each other. Of my two students who I chose as "portraits of possibility", only one, Student A spoke up.  I was very pleased to hear his comment as he is my student who is very unsure of himself. (He had a very insightful comment about the possibility of fire in the background.)
Even though Student B did not have anything to say, he seemed to listen well and was attentive and not disruptive.

Planning
I want to really try to stay neutral and use my word "good" with EVERY student next time.  I also want to be able to "wrap up" the discussion at the right time--yet still give everyone a chance to speak.  I want to discourage "silly" comments by acknowledging them the same as other comments and not letting the student get extra attention for the silly comment.  All in all, I thought it went really well and I'm anxious to see what happens next time.

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.