VTS Curriculum Unit

It's the thrill of the ride!

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Week 15 Reading

Cognition and Emotions in the Creative Process by Nicole M. Gnedza

After reading this article, I felt totally dejected. The educational system needs to be overhauled. Parents need to realize they are the primary educators of their children, and that schools are to help in the development of their kids - education needs to happen in the home and in the school.

Some of the developmental needs of kids can't be meet in the educational system as it now operates. It would be great if I, as an art teacher, could differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students. The ideas in the article are awesome, but next to impossible to implement. Time for students to think, plan, allow for intense emotions, experience failure, and revision requires a different setting and culture that now exists.

Students need partners in their education, and it is hard for one person to meet the needs of 28, or in the case of an art teacher, the needs 100 - 600 students.

I was inspired to some practical applications as I read this article. Students could be lead in biography studies of certain artists to understand the thinking and emotions of the creative process. Even at the elementary level, there are artists that younger students can understand such motivating artists as Matisse and Calder that had problems to overcome. Teachers become coaches - this has been echoed in other class readings during the semester in which students are facilitators and give some ownership to the students.

This article describes the way some students behave during VTS sessions. I have seen it with my students and with our teacher peer group when we meet. Some ideas come easily; some people need longer to look and contemplate; silence or daydreaming can be signs of thinking and making associations, aha moments can cause people to raise their hands, jump around, and go, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, call on me!" The teacher or VTS facilitator has the job of understanding and coaching the different thought processes and phases so the students can make meaning on their own terms.

Blog #14

For my summative image, I chose to display a photograph I took in March 2012 of a portion of the St. Louis graffiti wall.

I think this image was a good choice for my kindergarten class at the end of the school year. It is pure eye candy for a 6 year old - bright colors, expressive graphics, fantastic creatures, letters, and numbers. The surface of the mural is very busy and crowded, but the space is shallow. The image was very busy, but the students didn't seem to be overwhelmed by it.

This discussion surprised me. The students discussed artist's intent, artist's medium, setting, and interpretation of the setting. I think the difference with this discussion has to do that graffiti is a medium they are very familiar with in their popular culture. The students can create a visual of a person spray painting. They can recall memories of having personally seen graffiti in an environment. This VTS session points towards activating prior knowledge of their visual culture. I would VTS this image again with the same age group at the same time of the school year (end). But I would also be tempted to use it as a pre-assessment for a unit on visual culture.

Week 14 Reading

Designing and Implementing Exemplary Content, Curriculum, and Assessment in Art Education by Karen Popovich.

There were several points from this article that I felt shared some ideology with VTS. The first was the emphasis on the use of big ideas in the development of an art curriculum. VTS images tend to follow a big idea for each grade level. Also, our course text and various course readings have advocated the use of big ideas. The second point was the cooperation of teacher and students to develop meaning. VTS is a facilitated discussion between all stakeholders in the classroom to create meaning. A third point was the emphasis on research, with out which the author felt students couldn't make meaning. VTS is an excellent way to research visual artworks.

Some things that surprised me were how well VTS seems to fit in with post-modernism and the study of visual culture. Both VTS and post-modernism do not target one absolute truth. Also, the "de-emphasis of high art over popular art," seemed to, in a small part, fit in with VTS. I think that choosing art for a VTS curriculum requires a teacher to balance many styles, cultures, time periods, etc - and doesn't necessarily make the statement that one type of art is best. Students should be given a wide variety of appropriate images to discuss.

Blog #13

                    

For my summative assessment image, I chose to display a section of the St. Louis graffiti wall.

·      I chose this image as a way to introduce collaborative working to my kindergarten students. Kindergarten students can make a class artwork by working side by side, but not with, each other. I am assuming this graffiti mural was made by numerous artists who worked independently, but shared a common workspace.

·      I feel this image is appropriate for my students at this time because it contains figures, words, narratives, shapes, and bright colors (eye candy). I think they will have a good time visually exploring it. Since the students can be idiosyncratic, this mural will lend itself to multiple interpretations. It is also similar to graffiti they see on the trains that pass through their community. Another reason I chose the image is that graffiti is sometimes not viewed as a “high art,” and I want to expose them to a variety of art mediums. Lastly, the space in this mural is shallow. Since there is so much going on, it is good to balance it a flat surface reading of space.

****Disclaimer – I do not advocate defacing public property. The graffiti wall is St. Louis is a free space for this type of art. I discuss these spaces with older students who like graffiti, and let them know that graffiti done otherwise is a crime.

·      I hope that by combining this viewing with a corresponding art activity, the students will view their own drawings as art, and understand why we can VTS a class project.

·      I think they may see the words as art – which will help us when they are in older grades.

·      I hope this activity paves the way for more collaborative work and the understanding of murals and other public art.

Week 13 Reading

Article: "A Toolbox Approach for Thoughtfully Structured, Creative Art Experiences" by Hanson & Herz

How might VTS be implemented into the 3 levels of the Toolbox Approach advocated by Hanson & Herz?

Teacher's Toolbox VTS can be a technique that teachers use to help students create meaning in a class setting. By using it through out the student's art education, the teacher can help develop students into more sophisticated viewers.

Class Toolbox  VTS being implemented into the class affects the class culture and how it collectively approaches art works.

Student Toolbox VTS can help mold the student's "habit of mind" that helps students look for meaning based on evidence.

Philosophically, VTS lends itself to a student centered classroom in which the teacher is a facilitator. As a skill set, VTS is a technique students can use as strategy.

If  classroom creativity is a group process, then VTS can lend itself to distributed creativity by helping students bring their knowledge and experiences to the class in an organized format.

VTS can aid divergent thinking, particularly fluency, by the last question "What else can we find?"

I found a strategy in a creativity textbook I am reading that looks very similar to VTS questioning. The book describes activities that promote creative thinking in young children. One such activity, Picture Possibilities, asks students to look at line or pattern pictures (think Torrance). Students are supposed to be given time to think about possible meanings. The teacher is to ask "What do you see in this picture?" "What else could it be?" pp 25-26


                      Torrance
                                             Book

Blog #12

I did not have my focus class critique members' artworks. I had them VTS artwork from another kindergarten class. I made that decision because they are up and around talking about their pictures with their peers when they are making art. I felt that they might have given away the meaning of the pictures.

The strength of VTSing peer artwork with this age group is that they have no bias. Everything they VTS carries equal weight. Another strength is that they are looking at artworks that they themselves could easily make, and they move through the pictorial space fluidly. Lastly, having your artwork put up at this age is a big deal.

The weakness to using VTS as a peer critique with this group of kindergartners is that they talk about what they are making and what it means. Which is awesome, I guess. It would be neat if adults had the ability to communicate purpose and meaning so freely. But I think it might create viewer bias when interpreting it. I also need to find out if the kindergartners would feel the need to correct what others are saying about their work.

The students approached these images as they do with any VTS critique. I was personally curious to see if the students would read the artworks close to the artists intended meaning. I think they got the surface readings, but not the idiosyncrasies or layers of details that built into the original narratives.

I would use this approach if I were asking students to make revisions to their artwork.

I need to note that there were some side conversations going on about the images as we were VTSing. I didn't redirect the talking students because they were talking about the art, not messing around.

  

Peer Review Preface

I was worried about the peer review assignment. My kinders work is pretty much teacher centered. My first idea was to have the students peer review a class mural made after viewing the final image. But the murals the classes made were not readable from a distance - the crayon on the butcher paper didn't really pop out. I am in the process of packing up my room, so I put out a whole bunch of stickers, scraps of construction paper, and crayons. I asked Thursday's kinder classes to make sticker pictures - a combination of stickers and drawing - while I packed up my paints.  At the end of classes I noticed that quite a few students had created narratives. The stronger narratives are included here. I interviewed four students after classes, asking the students to tell me about their drawings, prompting them VTS style if they seemed to get stuck. The following are loose transcripts. I am having my focus group VTS a few of these images Wednesday. I am interested  to see if they interpret the images close to the artists' intents.

*****I really liked the use of stickers. The stickers complimented their natural idiosyncrasies and creativity. They were also a representational tool for the young artists who can't draw well yet.

Identifying information has been omitted from images and text.

Image 1
(Points to hat). That makes all that stuff come out and turned me into a monster. (Points to figure). (Points to green and blue sticker). That is a roller coaster. (Points to cube with holes). A vacuum comes out of the holes and sucks up all the stuff and I become myself again.

Image 2
I am eating. Then I go swimming. There is a carnival (points to autumn stickers). After I finish eating I go swimming then come eat. (Points to musical notes) I heard somebody singing.

Image 3
(Points to the biggest picture.) I am in a band. I have a mohawk. The band is the Rockin' Devils. (Points to the figure in the background.) That's _______. He shaved his hair except for a little bit. It is a kind of mohawk. (Points to stickers on the right hand side.) That is all the stuff they need. (Points to the candy corn.) That is the devil's food. (Points to the "BOO!" sticker.) The devil is trying to scare people away. (Points to jack o lantern with the hat). That is the devil's hat and face because they chopped it off. Then they put the words in my mouth. Then I started saying it (points to the "BOO!" sticker.) (Points to figure in background). Those are drumsticks to hit these (points to cymbals and makes a tinny sound). Then he hits this (points to drum and says "boom, boom.") We are the Rockin' Devils. (Points to figure in foreground and mimics the facial expression). He looks that way because he is a rock star. (Points to pumpkin sticker again, and changes the meaning of the sticker, because his friend is listening and asks "Where am I?") ______ is watching us play. He is cheering us on.

Image 4
(Points to the column of stickers on the right). Those are all the champions(sic) I have won playing basketball so cool. (Points to the six). I am six. (Points to vine.) This is a limb, one you can slide down. There is also one here (points to the black/white patterned sticker on the left). (Points to name.) That is my name. (Points to the stars.) There are stars flying. Those are for the people cheering for me and throwing stuff around. Boo is the sound the fireworks make. (Makes an emphatic "boo" sound). (Points to numbers). That is my dad's number on his phone. (Points to the big vine and pieces of vine in the middle of the paper). You can climb on this vine and jump on these and swing around. When you fall you land on my name.

Week 12 Reflection

  
                                  



                                       

                                                                     Ansel Adams

All the Shades of Gray

“Art for Our Sake” (Winner & Hetland)

 and 

 “Why Do We Teach Arts in the Schools?” (Burchenal, Housen, Rawlinson & Yenawine)

Taken collectively, both articles point to art instruction that, when done right, fosters the development of sets of thinking skills that were mostly underdeveloped in groups of students.  Winner and Hetland’s article is engaging because it argues for the intrinsic value of art education. The authors feel that arts education develops a highly desirable set of thinking skills that students rarely develop in other subject areas. Arts education is not in the service of test scores or supported by a district because arts education may raise student achievement in math or language.  Burchenal et al argue in response to Winner and Hetland. They point to research that shows transfer between VTS and other content areas, gains in test scores in core subjects, and otherwise ask “Why not” advertise the effects arts education has on other subject areas.

It seems the two articles are debating which way to address arts advocacy. We live in a time when, on the whole, the “Arts” are not as revered as we would like them to be. The industry and/or advocates of art education know that there is still tentative placement and funding of art education in public schools.  Both articles clearly voice concern over acceptance of arts education in the bigger realm of national public education.

Perhaps the whole argument is not so black and white. Individual art educators and art education groups have the responsibility to be mindful of advocacy as they facilitate the development of students in art. There are numerous personal beliefs and philosophies that draw people to become art educators – all of which should be sung from the roof tops from time to time to influence the dialogues in education and to maintain the arts inclusion in public education.

Blog 11 Addendum

After reading Jooyoung's blog, I was inspired to look at VTS as a critiquing method in a new way. VTS could be a great way for advanced students to self assess a portfolio of work. The works could be assessed individually, or in pairs (compare/contrast).

Week 11 Blog

Reflect on VTS experiences and VTS curriculum to date.

How might VTS support "studio habits of mind" discussed by Winner?

What insights, epiphanies, surprises, and questions did the Soep article elicit for you as you prepare to employ VTS as a critique method with your students?

Overall, I feel VTS has been a positive experience. I have been fretting recently over the structural and behavioral breakdown that happens during VTS discussions with my focus group. The students that are focused during work time stay focused during VTS. The students who need to be engaged inn highly structured activities start to disengage during our discussions. But most students are able to complete assignments with an understanding of why they are doing them. 

VTS may support certain studio habits of mind such as observation, reflection, envisioning, engage and persist, reflection, and expression. Students are asked to gather information visually, as well as building meaning from peer interactions. Students are asked to reflect in their language and interpretations when called on to provide evidence. Students must be able to see various scenarios in order to infer meanings in narrative artwork. VTS helps students persist when facilitators allow students time to reflect and form thoughts. It also allows a format for students to express themselves. 

The Soep article seemed to define critique as a teacher moderated assessment strategy that occurs when the students naturally start to evaluate shared cooperative work. I think I will use this strategy when the students do a group art project, conveniently taking place next week :)

Week 11 Reading

"Visual Thinking in Arts Education: Homage to Rudolph Arheim" (Winner)

My thoughts jumped allover the place as I read this article. I reflected on my efforts to pinpoint the big ideas in my curriculum, in choosing the techniques I select to enforce, on the teaching craft and studio craft I am developing as a fifth year teacher. I ponder on how different my perception of the purpose of art education is different from my non-art colleagues, administration, and some of the other art teachers in the district. I despair of my lack of persuasive speech - I wish I could distill the essential meanings of the writings I have read this year and communicate them verbally to those around me - this is what I do, this is what I'm striving for, this is why we do not make table decorations for the PTO in art.

I was drawn to how Winner repeated that the value of arts education does not lie in the transfer of cognitive skills to more "basic" school subjects. That art teaches thinking skills that are not taught often today in "regular" classes, but are fundamental  to problem solving and work ethic. Not every student in my class will grow up to be an artist, but there are things essential and fun (also essential) to be learned in art classes.

"Critique: Where Art Meets Assessment" (Soep)

This article seemed to define critique as a spontaneous conversation initiated by student peers when working on a collaborative project. The author found value in the occurrence of such conversations because critiques allowed the students ownership over the formative assessment necessary for a quality product. It is important to note that the critiques occurred informally as needed outside of a classroom setting. In this situation, the facilitators of the student collaborative project listened to the critiques as a form of student assessment, and helped redirect or clarify when needed.

As a victim of numerous scheduled critiques in college art classes, I wonder if the role of the art teacher is not to conduct the critiques, but to reinforce the social skills students will need to get the most benefit from these discussions.

Bowls

 

After VTSing Picasso's images La Soupe and Le Gourmet, the kindergarten students made pinch pots out of Play-Doh. The next day the students wrote about their bowls. One of the kindergartner teachers helped me with the writing prompt. The prompt was formatted to reinforce the writing they were doing in the classroom. The writing prompt was, " What would you make in your bowl? Tell why you would make it. Tell how it would make you feel." The writing prompt reflected the meaning the students gave the images. The overall consensus was the girl in Le Gourmet was mixing something in her bowl, and that the food in the bowl was given to the woman in La Soupe.

Blog #10

                                   La Soupe, Picasso


The Gourmet, Picasso


How was the experience different from the traditional VTS discussion of one image for you? For your students?

 By placing two images side by side, I knew I would be leading the students to compare and link, so I had to try to guess what connections they would make before I chose the art-making lesson. My students hesitated briefly in choosing which picture to address; a few addressed both in connection to each other.

What positive or negative challenges did the “side by side” image approach create for you? For your students?

The negative aspect for me was knowing that I was setting up the students to make certain connections, that maybe in the guiding I was somehow being manipulative.  I don’t know if they could figure out that these are two works only related by artist; that the artist did not intend a narrative between the two images. Six year olds see images mostly in a narrative sequence, and this mind set might guide or limit their comparisons/contrasts.

Another challenge for me was to find good but simple images that could be read and compared within the 10 minutes I have to discuss with them before they get unmanageable. Even though they can VTS a more complex image singly, I was looking for images that would be accessible for first time kindergarten VTS students because they were being compared side by side.

I notice some of the students paused briefly before they spoke, as if they were deciding which image to talk about. I would mark this as a positive because I could sense that they were thinking and making decisions. Some students who accepted a narrative link between the two images had to come up with justifications for the discrepancies between the two images. There was a lot of narrative built around behinds the scenes actions.

Did the compare contrast strategy enrich instruction/learning in any way?

The duplication of a girl using a bowl reinforced the concept of a child their age using a bowl. Which lent it self to the art-making activity.

Would you use this compare/contrast strategy in the future? If so, what purpose might it serve? What alterations in the environment or instructional approach would be required to make it successful?

 If the purpose of a unit was to have this age group construct narrative to achieve meaning, I would compare/contrast images again. I could see this strategy being used with older students to transition from one artist to another in a unit that explored a big idea. The VTS questions have to be tweaked to make such a comparison successful. “What is going on in these pictures?” Also, additional questioning that prompts comparisons if the students do not do so naturally.

Are there any cautions you might offer your classmates?

The placement of two images guides and limits the students in making meaning.

Week 10 Reading

Which of Rath's thinking operations are supported by VTS?

Stage One, gathering data through observations,  is supported by VTS. The VTS questions of "What do you see happening in this artwork?", and "What do you observe that makes you say that?" encourage students to gather visual information through their senses. 

Stage Two, processing the data gathered, is also supported by VTS. This is done when  VTS questioning asks students to provide evidence for their interpretations. Also, higher level viewers  may me classifying artwork and comparing a particular piece to another.

VTS vs. Wasserman's new curriculum model

I interpreted Wasserman's article as suggesting that teachers shouldn't teach at the bottom of Blooms, define, identify, and recall. Teachers should use questioning techniques that allow students to process and apply knowledge, as well as evaluate ones own work. As in other articles we have read, the teacher should function as a facilitator that helps students build their own meaning and become better at evaluating themselves and their work. Wasserman also echoed reading from our class text that also suggested that curriculum should revolve around big ideas that students can study.

VTS correlates with Wasserman’s curriculum model in that higher order thinking skills are being taught through a questioning strategy. Wassermann’s curriculum goes through all the steps of Blooms, but VTS, as it is practiced with my kinders, does not flow past analysis, and that is me being generous. I can see, however, how a level 4 viewer is engaged in the highest levels of critical thinking. Creating a curriculum unit that includes VTS as part of the art experience is  a good strategy for developing analytical thinking.

Has VTS had an impact on classroom management in your classroom? Has VTS had an impact on the maladaptive behaviors in your classroom?

I don’t think VTS has had an impact on management and maladaptive behaviors. My gut feeling is that the students would need to be engaged in thinking skills curriculum daily for quantitative change to appear. Discipline in my school is still status quo – positive rewards for being good sometimes, and punishments for poor choices. It would be neat if the classroom teachers and counselors could implement this information.  I have been playing with the idea integrating P.E.T.S lessons in to my art lessons in order to encourage thinking skills for about a year. I think this article has given me the nudge to put the P.E.T.S. books into my summer To Do pile.

Blog #9

VTS and Relationships

Is VTS impacting relationships in your classroom that are, in turn, enhancing teaching and learning?

Student to Student relationships: I don't know if the VTS sessions are impacting the students relationships among peers, or how to tell.

Student to Teacher relationship: My focus class is the only class of K students to ask me why - why are we doing this project, why are we looking at this artwork. I would like to think they feel safe in verbalizing their questions to me, or it just may be the particular group of kids.

Teacher to Student relationship: I definitely view this age group differently after VTSing with them. They are so bright and such great thinkers. Going in, my focus was in helping them build basic fine motor skills and art literacy. My lessons with this group are really guided. I have a big discombobulation internally right now. They need guidance for skill development and it is hard for me to find ways to let them be truly creative.

Art Teacher to Homeroom Teacher: VTSing with this class has led to conversations with the classroom teacher that I had not had previously. I think it has helped build a bridge professionally between art and regular classroom learning. I can incorporate what she is teaching about writing and story telling into my art lessons and VTS.

Is VTS impacting classroom management/behavior in any ways? Explain.

Briefly, yes it has affected my procedures. I now have an area for discussing art work (dots on the floor) and an area for work (tables).

But I would like to turn this question around a little. Does classroom behavior affect VTS? My particular focus class has a behavioral diversity that is not present in the other kindergarten classes. I am noticing a breakdown in the quality of VTS sessions over the school year. I started my VTS journey with this class in the fall. For the first few discussions, a few students were suspended, or not in the district yet. I have not seen the likes of this in about five years, in a middle school. This particular kindergarten class is a different organism.  I can not underscore that enough.

Reading Week #9

The one unanswered question I had after reading this article was ---Is knowledge the same as meaning?

The rules for authentic discussions about literature seemed to reflect the rules for VTS, diverse roles, attentive listening, respect, etc. When reading this article, I reflected on the benefits and disadvantages of being a 'special area' teacher. As an art teacher, you'd have the benefit of long term relationships that impact the class environment. Yet, if the class as a whole has a lot of friction, that culture is sometimes hard to overcome when you only see the kids once a week. Also, the variety of grades and classroom cultures could potentially cause confusion for the teacher - a teacher would have to be able to code switch often to meet the specific speech genres of different grade levels. But it is food for thought - breaking down the speech genres of each grade level to better communicate with the students. Authentic discussions require a lot of pre teaching that the study did not mention - how to be a good listener, how to use humor in a positive way, how to discuss respectfully. It seems that the environment needed for authentic discussions requires a school culture that builds those basic skills and manners, year after year.

Sneaking off to the museum

I was in Saint Louis last week to visit my dad, and found time to visit the SLAM. I needed to gather more image resources because I felt I was running on empty, and the internet can only take you so far. This is what I found---

 

Edwin Landseer, Attachment, 1829

I realized as I VTSed this image with one of my classes that this had been a choice made based on personal meaning. But it is still a great image, because it was easy for students (non-focus group) to humanize animals, and the first class got the meaning right away.

I went into the photography exhibit and was reminded of a narrative photographer, Gregory Crewdson. A lot of his work isn't right for elementary school, but his work led me to others I remembered from a couple of years ago.

 

Gregory Crewdson

 

Simen Johan

 

 Holly Andres

Other images I making note of for possible later use - 

Blog #8

VTS Experiences To Date

In has been great to witness the thinking processes of my students this year. VTS discussions have opened a window that lets me view their cognition. To date, I have viewed kindergartners as students that need to be developed, which is true I guess of all people. Kindergarten is such of force of socialization that acts upon the children. It is cool to slow down a bit just to experience them, work with them, and reflect on their growth.

It has been a real eye opener to see the qualitative changes in their discussions. The change that happened mid year was astonishing.  I was noticing the reduction of matching behaviors before winter break, but after winter break I noticed a lot of comments insinuating cause and effect and narrative.  I really wish Mary would offer a research course next year to gather data on VTS. I would be interested in doing qualitative research that documented the changes in kindergartners, looked at classroom curriculum in the regular subjects, and tried to see if there was a transference of learning in two directions – art to regular classroom, regular classroom to art. But I think I would need a graduate course to help offer the validity to my request to the kindergarten teachers, since it would require time on their sides also.

The major challenge with my focus group is the behavioral challenges. This semester, I have been VTSing with all four of my K classes, but it is my focus class that has so many disruptions during our VTS sessions. My focus group is a conglomerate of behavioral differences. It includes the “regulars”, two very vocal CBI students, and three students with documented discipline issues – it is more than a classroom management issue – it is a survival issue!

Right now I am in search of a text that will supplement our class text and readings. I have early elementary art books that say they talk about meaning making ready to be picked up at UALR library that I hope may be close to our class text in terms of offering information on meaning making, but for younger students.

Right now, I think my writer’s block is coming from defining meaning making in the context of kindergarten. It is not something I have looked at before. I do like the theme of artist as storyteller, and plan to stick with it.

Week #8 Reading

I would like to add to Terry Barrett’s introduction that learning to make art does not mean you can communicate meaning verbally about your own art. I started volunteering as a museum docent a few months after I completed my BFA in photography because I did not know how to talk about art, especially my own. I relied on a gut feeling of “that’s it!” in judging my own work.

A lot from this article sounds similar to VTS facilitation. Clear ground rules that encourage respectful behavior, prompts that ask students to describe what they see, asking the viewer to make meaning, and as a teacher making sure the setting and works of art are appropriate. But what this article is describing is the process of art criticism, a process that includes description, interpretation, analysis, and evaluation. It almost feels to me that VTS could be a strategy to fulfill the first two steps in art criticism in the elementary classroom, the first three if engaged in by a more developed viewer.

There are two insights I have taken away from the article that I would like to use when VTSing with my students. The first is to occasionally allowing by students to choose the image they VTS from a preselected group of 3 I have chosen. Another is a question that can be used as a closure, “What have we learned about ____ today?” In a way, it would give the students a sense that their discussion was a learning experience. However, I know that there could be reasons not to end a VTS session with such a question. It seems that the author is hinting at a universal truth that can be gleaned by any viewer if the teacher guided the interpretation in the “right” way.

Blog #7

A. Burr Blind Man's Bluff

How does it compare to the introductory image for your unit?

In terms of complexity and detail?

I think this image is about the same when compared with Homer’s Snap the Whip, but more complex then the sculpture. The major difference for me would be the sense of space. Homer’s painting curves from the right side, moves parallel to the viewer, and then goes way back. Burr’s painting moves in a circular way in the confines of a room in which the viewer is positioned. I mention this because my focus class seems to still figuring out how to visually move in pictorial space.

In terms of ambiguity and meaning?

Both paintings lent to a variety of student narratives.

In terms of cultural and historic diversity?

Both paintings are similar in terms of 19^th century genre. But since my focus group has a kindergarten sense of place and time, I don’t think they noticed a marked difference between their culture and time and those displayed in the artworks.

In terms of style and medium?

There was not a big difference in the style and medium of the images. Both are narrative paintings. Both are 19^th century genre.

Were responses to Image #3 qualitatively or quantitatively different in any way?

The number of responses was about the same. One difference is that with image 3, two students offered evidence with their interpretations. Another difference is the reduction of “listing” responses.  Student responses to Image 1 were more narrative than responses from the previous semester, and I noticed a sharp reduction in “listing” and “matching” responses. I noticed a lot of cause and effect narratives along with the idiosyncratic stories. With image 3, only one student answered by listing observations. The rest of the answers were interpretations – some idiosyncratic, some based on personal associations, some based on evidence in the artwork.

Has the integration of VTS discussions into this curriculum unit impacted the student art products in any way?

The answer is no. I still have not developed a curriculum unit yet. I can’t see the forest through the trees. Developing a unit at the beginning of the semester seemed to be too much frontloading. I am still trying to distill our semester readings down to the early elementary level and figure out how to help my youngest students create meaning while at the same time teaching basic art skills. A big shift has also occurred in their responses that have allowed me to tweak the images I pick – we can move on from describing objects to creating narratives.

*One thing I have noticed that kindergarteners are asked to identify beginning, middle, and ends of stories in their classrooms. I think the teaching they receive in the regular classroom affects the way they respond to the art.

Has the integration of VTS discussions into this curriculum unit affected student attitudes or motivation in any way?

 I haven’t noticed a difference. A couple have asked, “When are we going to make something?” when they come to art and see the dots on the floor, and the lights dimmed. Most students come to art to “do.” It is terrible important that they learn to speak about art, and because of that I know I have to work hard ant making sure our discussions are valid and motivating to them.

Week 7 Reading

In the course of reading the week 7 assignment, I found many correlations between Terry Barrett's article, About Art Interpretation for Art Education, and my own classroom VTS experiences so far. Interpreting is personal and communal; their are many valid interpretations to a single artwork; interpreting relies in part on what the viewer has experienced in the past; voicing interpretations in a group setting can reinforce opinions or challenge them; multiple interpretations can unify a classroom - building shared meaning.

I had three insights arise as a I read this article.

#1 - On page 8, the author says,"To interpret a work of art from a time and place other than our own, we must at first recognize it is of another time and from another place." Upon further reflection of the paragraph from which the quote is excerpted, this statement points to a viewer whom is at least Stage III.

#2 - The authors we have read so far are well educated and have experience teaching in some way or another. They seem to be a little removed from the actual art classroom, though. I remember reading a study from last semester done in the classroom. Is there someone else out there to testify? :)

#3 - Barrett states that we may be more comfortable with communal interpretations than with personal interpretations (so true, in all subject areas). I like how she relates the personal interpretations to the communal ones and vice versa. It is not presented as either /or, but as being complementary.