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“Michael and James”
by Steven Assael Lambdin
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- Student willingness to participate in the VTS discussion was minimal. I have 20 10th-12th grade students in the class that I am doing VTS with and only about 7 of them were freely speaking aloud during the discussion. Is it ok in VTS to call on students who are not participating and ask them to participate?
- Students noticed that the child was either sick, injured or dead. Students noticed that the man was in some sort of uniform, maybe a fireman, and that he was carrying the child away from smoke.
- The students stated their observations. There were no interpretations. I think that my students were still too uncomfortable with what we were doing to make interpretations. Hopefully with practice that will change.
- There were little to no student interactions during the discussion. They seemed uncomfortable.
- The discussion concluded awkwardly when no one else would speak. I asked several times if anyone else saw anything else and kept getting silent stares. So I just recapped on what had been discussed.
- I hope that they learned that I wasn't looking for a correct answer and that VTS is truly meant to open discussion. I hope that they saw the format and will feel more comfortable speaking aloud and discussing next week. Although I worry that adding a camera to the classroom may make this even worse.
Reflecting on Practice
It was as uncomfortable for me as it was for the students. I struggle with not speaking about the artwork and not prompting the students to see things and think about things that they might be missing. It is very hard for me to stick to a script and remain neutral especially when very few students are participating. I've learned that I need to practice and figure out a way to encourage whole class participation in the discussion. Maybe I need to make it less formal. Instead of having them sitting at their desks maybe we will practice sitting in a group in the floor or even going outside. I did use the questions and prescribed teacher behaviors but I would not say comfortably and I'm sure that my students pick up on my being uncomfortable and they are in turn too. There were no surprises just disappointment. I hope that this gets easier for both myself and my students. I hope that this initial experience doesn't make my students dread VTS in the future. I know that I need to practice and I think that it will get easier for me too once my students are more comfortable with the discussion aspect of it.
Planning
I need to practice and I am going to watch some more VTS videos to help me prepare. I am also thinking about changing the environment that I do VTS in. My classroom is really big. So I may go with a smaller classroom or even chose an outdoor space that feels less formal to the students and might be more conducive to discussion.
Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of having students sit on the floor for a more informal feel. Also, you seem to be very reflective, which is fantastic.
In my class, when the same students continue to participate while others sit back, I have said things like, "Wow, I really appreciate all the enthusiasm from many of you. I'd also like to hear from some that I haven't yet." Believe it or not, those that have participated immediately put their hands down and wait it out. It's pretty cool. In the meantime, only one or two of the quiet ones actually step up. I won't give up on the quiet ones, however. I may even catch some as they enter class next time and simply say, "I know you have lots of ideas, would you mind sharing your insight with us during our VTS discussion today?"
In what ways are you uncomfortable facilitating VTS? Also, what do your critiques look like? And have the students participated in classroom discussions in the past? Outside of art, I don't think teachers really ask for students' opinions. Give your students a chance to warm up to this alien experience.