VTS: Wk 10 - Video #2, Blog #10

VIDEO Lesson #4

Video #2 part one

Video #2 part two

BLOG TOPIC #10: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning
Student  Engagement Learning:

• Describe student willingness to participate in the discussion. Are you witnessing change?
  They were willing to participate, becoming more used to doing this in class. THe consistency has been key to breaking down the resistance.
• What did students notice about the featured artwork?
  And of course, I love that the first few comments sound totally ridiculous but yet, they can back up why they made those connections. They are building connections to prior knowledge and connecting subjects and genres (movies, history, etc.). The students are noticing the people in the artwork (the subject matter) and slowly pulling out narrative elements.
• Are you seeing more careful observation and deeper noticing?
  I did see some deeper noticing, but when I've discussed this artwork in the past (not using VTS) there has been more of a story true to the artist's intended meaning emerge. I wonder if because with VTS it becomes a group discussion, that the topic of discussion is driven by a type of group think. What I love is that in the video you can even hear that they are making more connections based on sharing observations ("Oh I didn't see that...") 
• Are students expressing their observations conditionally as they gain experience looking at art?  (i.e. “It could be…” “It might be…” “It’s possible…”  “I wonder if maybe…”
  I haven't heard as many conditional observations in this group, but with another hour the students seem to be moving in that direction more so than this group. I did observe the student who had to use the restroom state that maybe it was "a family get together" and then a student who doesn't normally talk ever adds to it!! (I was neutral at the time, but pretty excited he chose to speak up.) "Maybe it is like royalty..."
  In the beginning of the conversation there is less conditional thinking, but then as we go, there seems to be more.
• Are students demonstrating more flexible thinking? (i.e. “At first I thought, but now I think…”  “It might be…, but it could also be….”)
  Students demonstrated more flexible thinking with the second work of art. It seems like the students definitely have to warm up their thinking.  Maybe it was because there was more ambiguity in the second image than in the first (although I think there is all sorts of mystery with the Velasquez piece.)
• Describe student interactions during the discussion.  Are they linking their own responses? Are they respectful and democratic as they construct meaning?
  Students are definitely linking to each others' thoughts, and sometimes their own responses. They are becoming more respectful (after tightening the management and structure of the process) of each other in their responses (for this group - I'm not sure if I would categorize this group as "respectful" in general.)
• Were you able to vary the questions from time to time without altering the meaning?
  I've been focusing on using the three questions with fidelity, so I didn't notice that I was varying the questions too much. I did extend the questions sometimes as far as What do you see that makes you say (fill in the blank). Here and there I made small alterations but not too much it seems.
• What do you think students learned from this discussion?
  Students are definitely learning to notice, to make connections, to support their thinking with evidence. They are building story and making meaning from images. They are also learning to discuss as a group.
• What did you observe that makes you say that?
  I have to ask students to think quietly at first, and not jump into sharing right away. Its funny, most often I see what they learn in application to their artwork or when we are discussing the creative process for the following project. In the follwoing project students worked on, they brought back up details they saw in the images.

Reflective Practice:

• How did the VTS discussion feel and what did you learn by facilitating the 4^th lesson with your students?
  It is feeling way more comfortable and students are also able to jump right in. I am learning the more I am doing this, the more they are getting out of it. I am seeing growth in their justifications and connection building. They are making so many more connections.
• Are the questions and prescribed teacher behaviors becoming more natural and comfortable? A lot more comfortable the more I use them.
• Have you tried to reword the questions without changing their intent/meaning?  Did the change impact the discussion in any way? Not too much. Usually if I do it is very instinctual and I might not even notice I have done it.
• Were there any surprises?  Will these impact your practice moving forward? No surprises. I try to keep in mind that it is not about where I want the conversation to go (no intended destination) but rather it is having the conversation itself with the dialogue between students and supporting their thinking that is the goal of VTS. It is about being able to refer to the experience later.

Planning:

• What do you want to work on as you plan for future VTS lessons? How do you think you can accomplish that? I want to try to select works that incorporate good use or examples of the elements and principles that we are examining so that we are talking about them with out specifically having to look for them. I'm curious to see hwo the students see these before and after instruction.