Week 10: Video 2, Assessing, Reflecting, Planning.

Duilio, Barnabè
(Italian, 1914-1961)
La Serveuse
ca. 1960
Oil on canvas
(86.66)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. George Schriever

University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archaeology

Assessing
The students were ready and willing to participate in the discussion as always. There were several more basic observations that there was a woman holding a tray.  One student suggested there was a chip on the  I heard a lot more conditional language this time around, for instance the student who speaks first say, "I think it's a woman holding a tray" and goes on to say that it looks like she's wearing a dress, "kind of."  Other students also begin their observations with "I think" which I think demonstrates a big shift in the discussion.  Another student says, "I think she could be holding a pear on a tray or a hat" demonstrating their flexible thinking and questioning about different interpretations of the artwork.  Because they had already been over the techniques of abstraction before, they were prepared to notice more about the techniques used in this painting as well, describing the geometric fracturing and color variances across the figure.  They noticed that the figure was divided vertically and had a lot of the questions about what that division might mean.  They agreed and disagreed with each other on this element in particular.  Some suggested that it was two people that might be of opposite sexes and possibly different races fused into one while another student suggested that it was shadows and light that created the different tonalities on the face.  They were generally respectful.

I did not really vary the questions much except to specify, "What do you say that makes you say that this might be a hat?" etc.  Similarly to what I said with video 1, I think this was a good opportunity for students to apply what they had been learning about abstracted portraits.  While they didn't mention fracturing or unrealistic color in this discussion, some of the students did discuss the differences in color throughout the figure and noticed the emphasized geometric shapes. This gave them another example of an abstracted portrait to pack away with the other information they learned about abstraction and what it looks like.

Reflecting
I felt a little awkward with this discussion, but I'm not sure why.  It might have been because this is a work from the Museum that I am more familiar with and I may have felt a little uneasy letting go of the standard interpretations.  The first student who suggested that the figure was two different people caught me a little off guard and I think I need work on my comfort with talking about socially sensitive topics like race and gender.  I felt at ease with the VTS questions and practices pretty quickly, but I think it will be more difficult for me to begin altering the questions as I'm in the groove!  I also continue to skip over paraphrasing between the first and second questions but it doesn't seem to make too much of a difference either way.

Planning
I need to focus specifically on altering the questions.  Again I need to remember to paraphrase first before asking the second question, and I would also like to work on my posture.  I need to work on being more mindful of my actions and remind myself of what I'm working on right before I start a discussion so these things are fresh in my mind.

Blog 11: VTS and the Common Core

It is truly amazing how well VTS meets each of the Common Core State Standards for Speaking and Listening:

Comprehension and Collaboration
1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
This is really the heart of a VTS discussion.  Students participate in a conversation about a work of art with all of their classmates.  They are invited to agree or disagree respectfully with each other to develop and express their own opinions.

2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
As we've often discussed, our students are not afforded the opportunities to view art in the classroom often enough.  VTS is a vehicle for doing so, and here the Common Core is calling for teachers to specifically offer these opportunities.  The importance of teaching students to "integrate and evaluate" information visually is critically important in the world today as visual literacy becomes a more and more essential skill for functioning in our media-laden society.

3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
As I said before, by inviting students to agree or disagree with their classmates, but asking them to do so respectfully during a VTS discussion, we create a safe environment for them to begin considering their thoughts on the validity of other's ideas.

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
The second VTS question, "What do you see that makes you say that?" is the one that really addresses this standard.  By asking this question, we are asking students to ground their thoughts and ideas in the material that has been presented to them.  By holding VTS discussions often, and continuing to ask this question, we develop a habitin our students of supporting their ideas with evidence to the point that asking this question becomes unnecessary because they do it automatically.  It seems pretty clear that this habit would then spill into other discussions and assignments.

5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
 As an art historian, I would argue that a work of art is its own form of visual data, and VTS discussions encourage students to consider them that way as well. Students could easily extend these skills to find works of art that display information that supports their ideas in history, literature, or other humanities, or begin to consider how graphics might express information or enhance understanding.

6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
VTS discussions offer students the opportunity to speak about their thoughts and ideas in a way that they might not often have the opportunity to do in their regular classrooms.  VTS asks them to think carefully and communicate their ideas and thoughts with others.  Speaking in front of others is something that takes practice and class discussions require that students do so.

Clearly, VTS meets all of the Common Core Standards, mostly clearly and completely.  In order to incorporate technologies organically and authentically, I might leave up an image over the course of the class session, and offer students (assuming they have access to smart devices) the opportunity to continue the discussion via a platform like www.todaysmeet.com.  This could allow students who don't feel comfortable talking out during the discussion the opportunity to still share his or her thoughts through a sort of text message. It would also encourage students to continue thinking about the discussion and the work of art beyond the context of the initial discussion.

Week 9: Teacher's Choice Proposal

The Meeting
Pietro Longhi (Pietro Falca) (Italian, Venice 1701–1785 Venice)
Date: 1746
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24 x 19 1/2 in. (61 x 49.5 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Samuel H. Kress, 1936
Accession Number: 36.16
Metropolitan Museum of Art

I chose this painting because next project Mary's students will be working on is mask-making, and I really wanted to find a work of art that referenced masks rather than a mask itself.  I thought this image would work well because the masks add an air of intrigue, and there is clearly some kind of narrative happening here which would allow students easy entry into the work.  I found it after watching this audio/visual (not really a video) here: http://www.metmuseum.org/connections/masks
The Connections section of the Met website is a great place to get ideas and think about big ideas and works of art that go along with them!

Week 8: VTS To Date.

I have seen a lot of change over the past couple months in the Unit C students.  In general, the students have always been eager to participate, but it seems like more of them have things to say and those who haven't talked as much in the past are starting to jump into the discussion more.  The students that were eager in the beginning seem to never put their hands down now.  I have seen some improvement in the quality of contributions to the discussions.  Every now and then they get a little hung up on agreeing or disagreeing with so-and-so, but they seem to be moving away from that now or at least beginning to all present different ideas, rather than bouncing back and forth between only two ideas.  Because we have limited time, I have never ended a discussion because it seemed like they didn't have anything else to say, only because our time has run out.  I am curious how it would go if we had all the time in the world.

I have also noticed that it has become much less necessary to use the second question.  Students are often offering evidence for their observations before I ask.  That I think is the strongest evidence of student learning. They are learning to support their arguments with evidence.  Students are also learning to piece together new ideas from what they learned from their classmates, and to help each other.  For instance, in a discussion of a photograph of Chuck Close that Mary lead, the students concluded that there was a self-portrait in the background, but the first student who noticed it wasn't sure why.  The next student said they agreed because he had similar facial features, and a third student said they also agreed because they were both wearing glasses.  I loved hearing them really building on each other's ideas like that.

The more I learn about and use VTS, the more impressed I am by the thought and research that has gone into the process.  I occasionally have questions about how it might work in different situations, but it always seems like that has already been thought of.  I feel completely at ease conducting a VTS session now, but I do still find myself stumbling over paraphrasing before asking the second question.  I seem to have developed a bad habit! I was really consciously working on it during my last session, so we'll see how that went when I get the video back. I am also still concerned about the students who have their hands up in the air before I even ask the first question and our time constraints.  I might like to try saying something like, "We only have enough time today for everyone to get one turn to talk, so please think carefully about what you would like to contribute to this discussion before you raise your hand." That might give students who don't usually talk a chance to contribute and encourage students to really think before blurting out something really obvious.

Blog #7: Conditional Teaching with VTS

Conditional teaching is not something that comes naturally, and is not something most people would think of when they think of teaching or teachers.  But I think maybe it should be. After just a brief introduction, conditional teaching seems like a no-brainer.  Ideas may be more easily transmuted and applied to other ideas when they are presented in an amorphous form.  

The creative process in the art classroom is especially susceptible to premature cognitive commitments.  Preconceived and closed ideas about what is "good" art, what art means and what art should look like may cause some students to perceive major barriers for their own creative process (i.e. "I can't draw.").  Art is a fluid, definition-defying subject, but if students develop rigid, absolute ideas about what a work of art is or means, they may become unable to expand those thoughts to encompass the true, multi-faceted nature of art.  If a student perceives technical skill and photorealism to be indicators of “good” art, then of course they will be quickly discouraged by their inability to create “good” art.

A student who is accustomed to being expected to provide a correct answer might also have difficulty engaging with art on a personal, meaningful level (i.e. “Just tell us the right answer.”)  But the instances when we actually know an artist’s intention in an artwork are few and far between, and the real function of that intention or the importance of that intention in viewing an artwork is arguable at best. The intention of the viewer is far more knowable.  Still, students who are used to being taught in absolutes may have difficulty trusting their own perceptions and experiences and how they affect their interpretation and interaction with an artwork.

VTS, through its acceptance of all ideas, use of conditional phrasing, and most importantly, the third question, "What more can we find?" can begin to tease out a student's greater understanding of what it means to engage with a work of art.  Students are encouraged along other lines of thought: “There is always something more to see, and other people might disagree with your ideas about what is going on.  That is perfectly acceptable.  Your ideas are just as valid.  Your contributions are just as valued.  Art is flexible and receptive.  Trust yourself and your abilities.”

Blog #6: Video 1, Assessing, Reflecting, and Planning.

Assessing

The students were mostly eager to participate in the discussion.  They all had their hands raised almost as soon as the image came up on the screen. I would like for them to really take the time to look before they start making decisions about what they would like to say because I think taking that time to look would really lead them past the listing kinds of observations into more meaningful observations.  At the same time, I am thrilled that they are so willing and excited to participate.

With this work, “The Tragedy” by Picasso, the students had a good mixture of listing and interpretation.  They noticed that the people had bare feet and were standing on a beach, and they noticed that both the date and the artist’s name were apparent on the painting.  Then they also made more meaningful interpretations, suggesting that the figures were stranded or poor.  One student suggested that the figures were praying because of their posture.  They also noticed that this painting highlights one of the abstraction techniques which they have been learning about, “unrealistic color.”

The students had a few interactions.  Most centered on some disagreement about the time of day depicted in the painting.  One student said night time, one said day, and another suggested sunrise.  The students also made connections with the observation of the unrealistic blue color and the mood of the painting concluding that something sad or unfortunate is occurring as if the figures were stranded or poor.

I think the students were applying some of the ideas they had previously discussed about abstraction techniques and it was good for them to see the technique of unrealistic color in action, and to see the way it affects the interpretation of the painting.  I observed them commenting on that unrealistic color of Picasso’s “Blue Period” and beginning to interpret how that color made them feel and how it made them see the figures in the painting as sad or somber.

Reflecting

I felt pretty good about this discussion.  It went much more smoothly than the discussion I led the week before about Rockwell’s triple self-portrait, and by comparing the two experiences, I learned just how important it is to choose the appropriate image.  “The Tragedy” seemed to be a perfect choice for these students.  They had a lot of interesting and various things to say about it and didn’t seem to get hung up on any particular aspect.

I am feeling very at ease with the VTS questions at this point and other than a couple of word jumbles, I think I used the questions as prescribed.  I have noticed recently though that I do not paraphrase the students’ responses before I ask the second question, I wait until after they have given me further clarification.  I feel like it would sound really repetitive, and waste a lot of time that we don’t often have to paraphrase what they say twice, but I know that’s part of the process so I will have to work on that.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear the students beginning to make deeper observations and interpretations.  In the past they had been doing a lot of listing.  I think this was a combination of having more practice at VTS and also the previous preparation for this specific kind of artwork these students had by discussing techniques of abstraction.

Planning

As I said, I need to remember to paraphrase before and after I ask the second question.  I would also like to work on encouraging the students to look quietly and thoroughly without thinking about what they want to say, waving their hands in the air.  I think that would help lead them to more thoughtful responses.  I think that will happen with more practice and self-awareness on my part.

Blog #5: Portrait of Possibility

My Portrait of Possibility is a 4^th grade girl who I will call Ashley.  I think VTS with be both a help and a challenge to her.  She had multiple great ideas to contribute to our VTS discussion of the Portrait of a Musician.  She noticed details about the instrument and the “formal” clothing of the musician.  I think she shows the potential to really grow in our VTS discussions, and that growth might help her in the artmaking portions of the class too.  She seems very spirited and has some trouble focusing.  I noted her bouncing around the room and was a little behind the rest of the class in the art process.  At one point she denied that her name was “Ashley” even though she was working on a project based on her name, “Ashley,” written largely across the page in front of her.  Luckily, I am not so easily fooled.

I think VTS will help develop her attention span as it grabs her attention with a work of art, but still requires her to sit quietly and contemplate.  This might help her better sit still and focus on her artwork.  I also think that looking at art will help her learn to value her own work and encourage her to concentrate and invest more time in it. I hope further VTS discussions will also encourage her to look more deeply past the obvious in the artworks and that I will be able to see her begin to notice more subtle details and meanings in the art.