BLOG TOPIC #6



W. Eugene Smith

Untitled (Dr. Certain after the loss of a patient),   1948



• Assessing Student Engagement and Learning:

-The students were very willing to participate in the discussion. Only a few students sat without participating. Towards the end I did call on them and they each spoke and made comments once they were called on. There were several students who spoke many times. They were revising their comments, adding to their statements, noticing new things in the photograph and responding to other students.  I wouldn't say that they dominated the discussion but there were certainly some students who  carried the discussion more so than others. 

-The students noticed so much in the photograph. They noticed that the man was either a Doctor, Surgeon, or Dentist. They noticed that he was in a kitchen and debated on whether this kitchen was in his own home, someone else's home or a kitchen in a hospital or doctor's office. They noticed that he was drinking tea and smoking a cigarette. They noticed his wrinkled brow and stance as well as his distant stare. Several students suggested that maybe he had just had a long day or maybe he was at the beginning of what would be a long day. One student suggested that maybe he had just lost a patient or come out of a long difficult surgery. One of my students said that she thought the whole image looked like a 1950's TV show because of the lighting and setting. Another student suggested that maybe he has just gotten home to find that his wife has left him because he isn't wearing a wedding band. Another student noticed the time on the clock on the stove and determined that it was 11:00 at night and backed this up because there was no light outside the kitchen window. 

- A few of my students listed their observations but most of them interpreted their observations. I think that there were more interpretations with this VTS lesson because the students are becoming more comfortable with the process.
-During the discussion the students were very respectful of one another and allowed each other to speak freely and to do so without interrupting. But at the same time the students were really good about paying attention to what each person had to say and therefore they were able to actually have a discussion linking from one students observation to the nexts. I think that the students saw how important it was to listen to each other and they learned how much more that saw from their peers observations.
-The discussion concluded after about 15 minutes when I was starting to hear several repetitive comments and no more hands were being raised. I thanked the students and congratulated them on a well done discussion. 
- I certainly think that the students finally trust that there are no right or wrong answers and they seem much more comfortable with the process and the discussion. As I said earlier I think that the students are learning to listen to one another more attentively during the discussion. They are learning that each other's observations are enlightening and can help them to see something they themselves would have never noticed. I say this because I did notice them listening to each other much more and their comments were based on one anothers. I would also see students' eyebrows raise or see students look when I would point out what another had noticed.

• Reflecting on Practice:

-This VTS lesson was by far the most successful one for both myself and for my class. I felt like this was finally how VTS was supposed to work. The discussion felt genuine from the students not forced. With this much more successful lesson I've learned the practice from the previous lessons and modeling has been helpful and has paid off.
-The prescribed questions and behaviors and are coming much easier to me but I could certainly use more practice. I noticed that during the lesson before I began to rephrase a student's statement I responded to him by saying "Interesting". Other than that I was able to stay on script.
-The only surprise was how well the discussion went and that will certainly help to improve future discussions.

• Planning

- As I plan for future lessons I want to make sure that I have images that will be appropriate for my high school photography students. I have learned that this is a big part of a successful discussion. In order to do this I may let my students choose between two or three images that I have chosen for them for the discussion so that they feel they have more of a choice in the discussion.  I also want to continue practicing the prescribed questions and behaviors so that they are second nature to me during the discussion.