After reading the article "Visual Art and Student Centered Discussions" by Philip Yenawine I was encouraged and looking forward to implementing Lesson 1 with my students. The students in the article seemed very eager to participate and speak freely about the art. My fear with taking this course has been that my students will not be so inclined to discuss so openly.
So I went into Lesson 1 optimistic and was quickly met with silence. The few things that my students did say were along the lines of Stage I Accountive viewers. Their statements were concrete observations and narratives. There were no questions or statements with any references like the students in the article. My students didn't form opinions and certainly didn't speculate. This was exactly what I was fearing.
I read through the article again after implementing Lesson 1 with my class hoping to find some insight. I really worry that my class will never have a twelve to twenty minute VTS discussion. I also wonder if there has been a study of VTS with high school students. It seems to me that there is such a difference between high school students and elementary students when it comes to feeling free to speak openly and aloud in class. The level of insecurity that most high school students have prevents them from participating freely, at least this is what I have observed.
Also the article mentions that "VTS is designed for use by general classroom teachers and requires no prior art background." and that "when an "expert" --someone with greater knowledge-- is present, discussion among peers seems generally truncated." Does that fact that I am an Art teacher with greater knowledge keep my students from openly discussing?
I am really hoping that I just need to practice and that this gets easier otherwise VTS may become a four letter word in my classroom. :)
Hi Lindsey! Hang in there, I believe they will come around. I responded on my thread with an idea or two. (Again, check in with Mary! :) or Kathy) I wish we could had like a 10 way video Skype discussion! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. Hang in there, Lindsey. Oh, a Skype discussion - I want to play, too!
ReplyDeleteI have had the pleasure of witnessing a room full of adults do a pretty amazing job of VTSing works on a few occasions (and one uncomfortable one - the one I facilitated with my colleagues). I think the process could be quite awkward for the older ones at first. Hopefully, they will learn to just roll with this process once they realize that you are not looking for one right answer.
I commend you for reading the Yenawine article twice. Again, hang in there.