Pre and Post VTS analysis

Once again, I was really impressed with the result of the t test.  I did 3 categories just because I had a hard time choosing one.  The scoring rubric results were very low numbers for everything but word count so I wanted to see what Interpretations w/o evidence and Interpretations with evidence would look like. 

Word count is said to be "Extremely Statistically Significant".  Several of the students doubled their word count, some were very close.  The other two which are Interpretations/Inferences w/o evidence and with evidence are "Statistically Significant".  Since these are second graders there is great room for improvement in many areas.  They listed many simple observations on the pretest.  On the post test they listed less simple observations and had many more Interpretations both with and w/o evidence.  I see that as great progress.   

I agree with the results.  The students are progressing and VTS is one of the reasons. I must be facilitating well enough that the students are benefiting from VTS.  This shows that VTS is both worth while and amazing.  I know there are several other factors that contributed being a focus on writing in their classrooms and maturing.  I absolutely agree with the results.  I've witnessed many students go from simple observations to interpretations on what is going on in an image with evidence over this semester.  One student had great difficulty putting thoughts into words on a paper but can do so orally.  He has grown in what he has been able to share orally.  This has been a great semester.  I will continue on this VTS journey and integrate it into my everyday teaching.  I cannot wait to see how they grow over time.

Blog 15 Preliminary VTS findings

I was really impressed with the result of our VTS pre/post scoring rubrics.Many of their word counts have either doubled their word counts or gotten close.  I have one student who had less.
Many individual students have Interpretations w or w/o evidence on their post test which did not exist on their pretest. Many students had no Interpretations/Inferences on the pre vts but had 1 or 2 on the post vts.  Outside factors could also be that the students have been focusing on writing heavily this year in their classrooms which could have greatly influence my outcome.  I have a student who is a teachers child who I showed both writing samples and the scoring rubric and she was very impressed.  I had several students who didn't write in full sentences on the pretest, they just listed things, now they are writing all sentences.  The class as a whole has grown a lot.  They are able to readily give evidence during VTS much of the time, they did not start out that way.  As a teacher I have learned how to comfortably facilitate a VTS discussion and am improving all the time.  I find myself being able to focus on improving on certain aspects mindfully
as I get down the basics.  I have learned about all that VTS has to offer, which seems never ending.  I love that I am differentiating learning while doing VTS.  I have found the kids to be engaged in the discussions and often are begging me to go onto the next image.  I feel as though something was missing in my art classroom previously.  I feel like I can always have a more enriching art program and VTS really helps to fulfill what I felt was missing.  The level of critical thinking is amazing with VTS.  I may have done some constructed critical thinking before but have always struggled to have an open ended discussion.  This has helped me to get a good grip on what an open ended discussion would look like and I hope to be able to phrase other introductions for projects this way as well.  It is a work in progress.

Summative Reflection Project Artist Statement

I mailed my altered book without taking any photos so I don't have any to show you.  The title of the book was "Visual Thinking Strategies from a Second Grade Perspective."  In the book I have included a page for each student.  They wrote about how VTS makes them feel or what they like about it and also drew a picture. Their thoughts and feelings were the focus of my project.  I feel that VTS allow students a way to share thoughts and feelings only and that was my goal for this project.

Artist Statement

This altered book was used to communicate ideas of Visual Thinking Strategies from a class of second grade students.  Included in the book is an artwork made by each student explaining how VTS made them feel and what they thought about it.  My goal in creating this project  was to allow the students to voice their thoughts and opinions freely.  Over the last several months of working with these students I have been amazed at the insight and thoughts they have to share that may never have been communicated without VTS.  Many of these students struggle with reading and writing.  However, these open conversations about what is going on in an artwork have allowed them to express their thoughts and ideas, given them permission to wonder, and practice things like providing supporting evidence.  Similar to how Visual Thinking Strategies is student centered, this book is focused on the thoughts and feelings of these students.

Blog 14 Portrait pf possibility revisited

I has chosen B as my student for portrait of possibly. I believed that VTS could help B.  He is an ELL student whom I thought was SPED but technically isn't, I just found that out.  I noticed while doing the preVTS he had a really hard time writing anything, thinking of ideas to put on paper.  I believe my predictions were mostly accurate.  Once we started Visual Thinking Strategies I was confused about how he had such a hard time writing (like hitting a wall for him) but that he could verbally share fairly concise ideas.  My plan was that I would call on him first every time so he would have the most to say, making it easier for him.  His attention plan is also so short that calling in him first helped.  I am impressed how I saw improvement from simple observations to inferences w/out evidence.  He began by just listing simple things, I see a...  By the end of the semester he was putting together ideas of what he thought was going on, his interpretations.  I  am very excited with his improvement over the semester.  The interesting things is that when we were doing our post VTS he once again hit a wall and wouldn't write anything.  He would tell me I don't know, my brain isn't working, things like that.  I had to sit next to him and ask him questions, I told him to go up to the projector and look up there and repeated the questions.  He said something about seeing a cat and I told him to write it down.  He wrote nothing else and sat there for quite a while.  Afterwards I talked to the teacher and she said he had zero comprehension in the classroom.  He understands and speaks English well, so that isn't the problem.  It sounds as if he's a student who has slipped though the cracks and is being failed.  He may be a student who needs the type of small sped room, which my district doesn't have,  the co teaching room he is in does little for him.  My take away from all of this is that I believe that VTS with me in the art room could help a student like B.  Even though it's only once a week, we can see improvement.  This also might be a place where they are learning even if techniques used in the classroom aren't.
           

 

Blog topic #13

VTS has provided differentiated instruction for my students because they are viewing and understanding at their cognitive level.  Setting the stage or environment/process is that many of the students are intrinsically engaged in the art and want to know more, they also know they are not getting graded on their answers or having the right answers which allows them to be further engaged.
Students are all able to find something interesting and figure out what is happening at their own level and then are able to back up their answer using their previous knowledge or understanding and reasoning.  I may have a few students who simply can tell me what they think an object is and why, and I may also have another student who has a story for the scenario of what is happening in the picture and also be able to tell me why.  They are both able to make observations and provide evidence for their reasoning, one maybe at a deeper level then the other but it is both happening at the same time in the same space.  Those students are also given a chance to learn from each other by listening to and possibly comprehending what the other is saying, disagreeing or not which adds another layer of deep thought at their own level.  I love that this is one activity that meets the needs of many students.

Blog Topic #12: Assessing, Reflecting, Planning

Carmen Lomas Garza

   Reflecting on Yenawine's recommendations for image selection I believe that my teacher's choice image as an appropriate choice.  The students could relate to what they saw happening, many from personal experiences.  Most of them picked up on a birthday party theme right away, which is something they can very easily relate to.  Many of them have seen pinata's before and know how they work, especially the Hispanic students.  They had a lot to say about many little things happening all over the artwork.  They were also able to put those things together into a family gathering or a birthday party.

   In what ways did the image challenge them?  That Carmen Lomas Garza is portraying hispanic people in Texas.  They did not notice or speak of race at all.  They also didn't put together that this particular race isn't in their home country, they look to be in the USA.  I think those things are totally age related.  The students don't think much of skin color or race.  They see all different kinds of colors.  Otherwise this image was not very challenging for them but there was alot for them to notice and comment on.  I think the challenge was just right.

   What intruiged them most?  The pinata was a hot topic, as well as exactly what those people are doing standing around the possible "birthday girl".  The BBQ pit, the fire, table with the cake.  The idea of a family party, birthday party or reunion.  They noticed these people coming together for a purpose.  I think the fun of a pinata and the candy inside was most intriguing.

   The scaffolding idea didn't seem to come super easy to me, unless it's so simple it went over my head and i'm already doing it.  I would think that all those little details, pinata, banners, bbq, cake, tons of similar looking people built onto the idea that they had a purpose there,  The reason they could have been there was a have a party whether it was a bday party or some kind of reunion.  It didn't take the students long to put that together.  I feel like I don't want to change their wording to much, I am afraid to give away information if I veer to far off the kids comments or the questions.

   Surprises....  wow!  I was surprised how disruptive this class was, or a couple of them.  They made it incredibly challening to focus and listen.  I was flustered.  It's not a good thing when the teacher drops them off and says they have been wild.  I could have gotten past general wiggles but learning later that two little girls (second graders) conspired against me to be so disruptive that they were sent back to their tables together. (I forgot they sat at the same table together).  The ring leader is normally with a para but not this day!  While back at her table she was banging things, walking around my room, whatever she could do!  This was the hardest VTS I have ever had.  Afterwards I put both girls in the "Safe Seat" and after a few minutes one of them told me that they did all that on purpose!  Before I started I tried to have a heart to heart with the ring leader without the para and get her buy in, that obviously didn't matter.

   I did try the "vts olympics" and the kids all did it.  I will have to try it again and test it against a different group.  I did indeed try this image on my friday class.  Partially as a second option to submit if the first one was as terrible as I thought it was.  They did great but oddly enough I think the first group noticed more and had more interesting comments.  I think this would be a great image for young viewers.

I'm still shocked that those kids tried to pull one over on me and almost succeeded.  After I got the confession out of the second girl who wouldn't look me in the eye I told the classroom teacher who was also surprised and told me she was going to make them miserable the next day, lol.  She also told me that next time let me know and she would come in and help with them or keep the stinkers.  I also had someone else tell me that when they video tape someone else takes the stinkers out.  What is your thought on that?  That isn't real life, although it would be much easier.  That would be like putting on a fake "show" which we already do enough of through our observation system and such.

Now I am just rambling and am curious for your thoughts...

I was observed the day before this in a 25 minute K class in which I was trying to paint polar bears and stamping paint with pom poms, ran out of white paint (silver polar bears) and had 10 additional 5th grades in the back of the room finishing their previous project.  Both my principal and new assistant principal were squeezed in with the big kids at a table.  I didn't go over"learning targets" and my technology wouldn't work.  geez!!!  stressful!  The funny thing is I didn't do very good but the comments I got were about other ways I could have taught them shapes (circle head shape, half circle ears) when I have in fact been teaching them about shapes for 2 months now in every way under the sun.  Previous info shouldn't be a part of the NEE eval system should it?  How can I re-review in depth and have them paint in 25 minutes?!  I hate 25 minute classes!  They witnessed the total chaos that "Art" can be and I am wondering if they don't know how to score me because they don't get art and in many ways we don't fall into the same box as classroom teachers.

 

Blog Topic #11 Preparing for teacher's choice

Carmen Lomas Garza

Barbacoa para Cumpleaños  (Family Barbeque?)

- 1993, alkyd on canvas, 36 x 48 inches. #PA056. Collection of Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Texas. 
 http://carmenlomasgarza.com/artwork/paintings/

 This is the image I have chosen to VTS week 12. I believe that this artwork will have many places for students to "enter into" the artwork.  So much for them to relate to and discuss.  This will also be great for my ELL students to feel more comfortable sharing by potentially having something to relate to and see people of their similar color.  With so much going on in this image I feel like they will be able to tell a story with it.  It's also simple enough that every student should be able to find something to share.  My students need simple images with a lot to talk about at this point, especially since nearly have the class is SPED.  My challenge is getting and keeping their attention.  This much going on in an artwork should help with that.  I will also try "VTS Gymnastics" before this image is shown.  The other way this will challenge them is by putting all of these little details into one story, or summing them up.  I can't wait to see how it goes!

Blog Topic #10 Assessing, Reflecting, Planning

This is 2nd grade Lesson 3 image 1.  There are only 2 images per lesson so this is image 5. I cut the video tape off a few minutes before I ended the conversation since it's so hard to upload (it took an hour this time).

     I think student engagement was high with this lesson.  Many of them were raising their hands.  There wasn't as much for them to talk about as there has been for other images.  My projector lightbulb is fading and it makes it really hard to see the image details unless I have all the lights off.  Unfortunately it was challenging to get their focus.  Not only was it PJ day for Red Ribbon it was Halloween eve.  Ugh.  This was not our finest VTS. 
     The students noticed the old man, the boy and the dog.  They noticed that he was looking out at the sea and the boat.  They noticed the town and thought it could have been church buildings, old houses, maybe a cemetery and possible radio towers that changed into lookout towers.  They also noticed the birds flying in a circle, maybe trying to find fish. A student noticed the hat in the boys hand and the handkerchief/rag in the old mans pocket.
      Students mostly made simple observations.  There were several observations that I couldn't ask the second questions because it was simply an observation of "what they see".  However this painting doesn't lend itself as easily to multiple interpretations.  Some students noticed him looking out to sea or the boat, one student said something about maybe he used to work on that boat and brought the boy to see it. I did have several students support their interpretations with evidence.  The have been improving on supporting evidence.  Very much still early stage 1 viewers.  Many of these kiddos have IEPs so what they are doing is great.
     I think the students learned that they can look at art and figure out what is happening as a group.  They are beginning to see that if they listen to others comments, they can build on that, or realize that others have similar ideas.

Reflecting:
    The VTS feels comfortable for the most part.  There are always little gliches or things to learn.  I thought we were on a different image and the students so kindly reminded me of that.
    I think the questions and teacher behaviors came comfortably.  The paraphrasing is something I am still working on and I don't always change my wording.  I generally use conditional language without a problem but I didn't use it very often with this artwork.  I think this picture was a little more flat and there wasn't as much to read into for me to even use conditional language.  I also believe if more students had an interpretation and evidence it would have been easier to use conditional language.
    If I accidentally didn't phrase the questions correctly I usually catch myself and say it immediately after.  Sometimes I get looks or a pause that might be the result of changing the wording.  Not being mindful enough could haven been part of it.
    Surprises...  Well, I am surprised how much the ipad sitting on the table distracts them.  I had a little girl get up and walk up to the board and turn so she could see herself.  This was after I asked them not to pay any attention and they were not to be in the video, that was for me.  I am also surprised at how unproductive this image felt.  I feel like they've been growing and noticing more and more but this time it just felt a little awkward.

Planning:
     I want to work on paraphrasing, conditional language, and linking ideas.  I'd also like to work on not being so distracted by other students wiggles when I am trying to listen to someone else. And I'd like to have a plan in place to deal with behaviors that are not okay.  I think I will try to be as mindful as possible when VTSing, try to remember their names to link ideas.  I no longer have (line-up) tape on my floor to distract them because they have picked it all off, maybe that will help.  Part of me feels that the more I do this the better I will get naturally.  Then I will be able to focus on trying to change the wording when I paraphrase.  Remembering names is hard, especially when they aren't in their assigned spots.  I will so the best I can!

 The classroom behavior in general can be rough.  I am working on implementing this with all my grades.  I even started it with K this past week.  It went pretty well and I can see that after doing this for a while that they will have it down by the time they are in 1st or 2nd grade.  My 4th grade is my roughest group.  I had 3 or more kids playing around and being disrespectful so I sent them to their seats and then I had them come back at recess and write out their responses on a paper print out from the website.  When they were done I asked them if it would have been more fun to just be able to participate in the conversation instead of interrupt everyone else.  I hope it will go more smoothly with that group next time.  On the other hand I had two student who didn't want to come sit on the floor and basically refused, one of them made his way up to sit on the floor on his own 5-10 minutes into our conversation.  I guess that's progress.

Blog Topic #9 Teachers Choice

The students who are the focus of this VTS experience are second graders.  This class is almost half SPED and also had ELL students.  They are early stage 1 viewers.  They notice most of the details but are very much working on the "why".  Some are creative and will share, others have a harder time talking in front of others.  I usually have 1 paraprofessional with 1 student.  I notice that by the end of the day the students who use meds have lost the effects of those meds.  They are a challenge to sit and focus for more then 5 minutes.  The students also have great insights when they focus and listen to each other.


                                              Image 1:  Norman Rockwell "The Runaway"

 

Image 2:  Carmen Lopez Garza, Birthday Party

 

Image 3:  Eugeno Zampighi "Gathering"

 

Image 4:  William H Johnson, "Tattler" (?)

 

 

Blog Topic #8 VTS-to-date

   I have learned so much about VTS so far.  I had many questions about VTS as I begin learning about it over the last couple years.  The website has been a huge help with curriculum already prepared and advice.  It has also been incredibly helpful to get to have a teacher who has been doing this for a while give real application advice and feedback.  Our peer coaching and feedback has also been helpful and it's been great to hear about what VTS looks like at different grade levels.
  
   I think I am feeling comfortable with these questions and the process.  I feel calm when facilitating to the students.  I think I am doing well with pointing and paraphrasing.  I also feel like i've gotten into the groove of using conditional language and remaining neutral.  It seems to be becoming second nature when I am with my students.  My own peers might be another thing though.
  
   Since my first VTS experience with my professional peers I have learned so much more about VTS.  I feel more equipped then ever to talk about VTS to other people.  I feel much more comfortable with the process and am now at a point that I can evaluate myself and change certain behaviors or add more specific directions to my guidelines.  I am able to recognize how the students react to the questions if it is new to the class and after practice see a class that is more comfortable with the process answer the second question without being asked.  I also might catch myself using the wrong phrase and correct myself immediately. 

   If there were any surprises i'd probably have to say that VTS is much more complex then it seems but easier then I thought to implement the process.  Students have been responding really well to VTS.  They do enjoy seeing the images, but then again today I had a boy say "do we have to do that again?" I just want to make art".  Finding the balance of VTS and creating art knowing that VTS will take time away from creating art and if there will be any implications from that seems to be a bit of a challenge. I am surprised how helpful the website is.

   I want to work on many things.  I want to work on adding vocabulary when paraphrasing, liking responses, and responding to student comments and questions out of the ordinary.  I also want to manage behavior better during the vts process.  Unfortunately there are many kiddos who are active, defiant, etc. so I think it may be a challenge to keep them from yelling out and on their bottoms.  I also wish I had chairs for the bigger kids so they could sit closer but I don't.  I feel like i've seen kids throw the whole conversation off track when they were "not being okay" and I have to stop to correct them (pulling my line-up tape of my floor and chew on it, the worm, spinning in circles etc.) .  I feel like i've been able to lose them in a matter of seconds.  I want to be able to deal with behavior and listen to the kid talking at the same time.  I'd also like to shorten our conversations but it always seems like the good stuff is just around the corner and I feel uncomfortable ending our conversation.

Peer Coaching #2

Peer coaching with Mike.

Mike,
     It sounds like you had a great VTS session.  What age group are you working with?  It's wonderful when the students are engaged and discipline sounds low.  I have a lot of students that are impulsive/defiant which makes it a little hard to listen to the person talking.  Hopefully it gets better as the students get used to being patient and taking turns.  It sounds like the VTS website has been helpful for you and it's great that it helps to know how to reply to those out of turn talkers.  What was the most helpful thing you found on the website?  Did the student follow the directions after being reminded?  Was the class annoyed at that student?
     It is very cool the students respectfully disagreed with each other.  I'm sure you were excited to see that level of engagement. I am curious to see if you internalizing the guidelines will help your level of comfort for the next time.  The other aspect that you have to deal with is that the students aren't that familiar with you right?  I'm sure that after they are a little more familiar with you and following through with your guidelines they will know you mean business and respect that.
     It sound like you have things figured out and going smoothly.  If I had to offer any advice it probably would be practicing the questions and getting to know your students.  It sounds like you've been working on all of those things and very thoughtful about them.  I don't know if this is right but if I have students being too disruptive after being reminded of expected behavior I might send them back to their seat, we were on the floor, so the rest of the group can continue on.  Of course that depends upon your classroom teaching style.

Sounds like your doing everything right.  Keep up the good work.

Blog Topic # 7 Why not tell?

Why not tell?

This is something I was curious about in the beginning.  I had thoughts about if it really mattered if the information was given or not?  My instinct has always been to feed the students information about things but I know that they often are not listening or paying any attention at all to what I am saying.  I wonder about a better way to teach.  VTS allows that kind of exploration and thinking.  I think that learning how to think, probe and look further into things with multiple possibilities far exceeds me giving information that may not have been remembered anyway.   I really like the analogy of "learning to read" and how kids are taught how to read and probe text for meaning long before they learn or have any interest in why an author writes or about their life.  It really reenforces that this is the beginning and we are teaching them tools they will use for a long time to come.  My other thought is that this is a process that they are working through as a group with many different ideas and multiple possibilities to be revealed.  Important things may reveal themselves throughout the discussion or even beyond.

I would explain to an administrator that finding the "right answer" isn't the goal of VTS.  The students go through a process of learning to look at images and make observations, grounding them with evidence, and continuously probe them to look deeper and reveal multiple possibilities.  This process teaches them how to "read" art and find the answers for themselves.    

Blog Topic #6

Assessing Student Engagement and Learning:
     I would describe student engagement as pretty high.  I think I heard from just about all the students.  I had some very creative ideas and perceptions.  They had a bit of a hard time focusing, not talking to each other, etc. but they were the last class of the day on Friday and I know that doesn't help anything.  In the past they have been able to focus better.  They were also distracted by the ipad recording.
    The students noticed many things about this image.  They noticed the "mom and daughters" first, the jungle around them, and the lack of a dad in the photo.  Many of them thought that it might have been painted inside somewhere similar to when they get their photos taken.  If they were outside some pondered what they could have been sitting on, they thought a log would have been too low and it's not in the photo.  One noticed the mad look on the girls face in the red but i'm surprised she didn't say something about her arms.  They noticed the flowers in the moms hand and background.  Some thought that maybe the dad was buried in the ground where the white flower is planted on the right.  Some thought she was someone important because of her fancy dress and collar that some kings might have.
    The students had detailed observations and interpretations with and without evidence.  I think one might have used conditional language.  I would think they are stage I viewers.
    I think the students learned how to look deeper into an artwork. Some of them are working on looking for clues as to what might be going on.  They certainly pull from their own experiences while looking at these images.I think they are learning to listen to each other.  I did have a student agree with another student using their names and building on that idea.

Reflecting on Practice:
    I think the VTS discussion felt good.  The questions seem to flow fairly easily.  I tried to remember to paraphrase everything and not jump onto question 2 without paraphrasing.  I am getting used to deciding what needs question number 2 and what comments don't.
    I think I was able to use the questions, behaviors, paraphrasing and conditional language comfortably.  Sometimes I catch myself and try to correct myself but over all I think it went well.
     Sometimes I used question 2 and used a more direct question, or "I see you noticed this, what do you see that makes you say that".  It seems helpful when there are many ideas thrown out by one student to break it down.  I haven't noticed a difference.
    If there were any surprises it was how hard of a time they had focusing this time when it wasn't this bad in the past.  With kids you never know, time of day, weather, and holidays easily throw them off.  I think they are getting the hang of the process and it's coming more easily.  It would also be great if they would stay in their seats but I guess they get so excited they really want to get up and point to what they are talking about.  I guess I will need to explain to them that pointing is my job their theirs is to look and talk.

Planning:
   I would like to continue working on paraphrasing and linking ideas.  I hope the more comfortable I feel the easier it will be to slow down and focus on listening and paraphrasing.  I did put the questions in the back of the classroom so I can look at them if I mix up the wording.

Blog Topic #5 Portrait of possibility

    A student for whom I believe VTS might be both a help and a challenge will be called "B".  B is a second grader who is an ELL student and a SPED student.  VTS helps many ELL students widen their vocabulary and understanding.  I think him being SPED only gives him room to grow.  When I gave him the pretest he sat there and didn't write anything for a long time until a para sat next to him and helped him understand what it was he was supposed to be doing.  Many students had a hard time with the format of the picture and them a second page with lines.  Many just wrote on the first page under the picture and didn't understand how they could keep writing onto the second page. 
    He is a student who doesn't really talk or even answer many questions.  I've never been sure if this is because he is an ELL student and doesn't know what I am saying, is quiet, or because he simply doesn't understand.  He did show promise when he said that the people in the picture were a mom and dad, although getting him to write it down was a huge challenge.  One of the other specials teachers mentioned noticing him talking more this year instead of just the constant humming he has always done.  He seems to be blossoming as a second grader.
    My plan for B is to have him front and center when we are VTSing.  He is easily distracted so this might help.  I also will try and call on him even if he isn't raising his hand.  My goal will be to hear from him expressing his thoughts.  Since this isn't written, which is hard for him, hopefully it will be more natural for him to speak his mind and let the words flow freely.  He could easily expand his vocabulary though this process and the community that is his class.  I would love to hear him verbalize supporting evidence for the things he notices on the artwork and since this is verbal and not written it should come a little easier for him.  I can't wait to find out what is going on in that brain of his.

Side note.  I did VTS with another 2nd grade class Friday and they blew my socks off with the things they noticed and how they gave supporting evidence, sometimes without even being prompted.  The coolest part of the conversation was when they acknowledged what another student had said and gave more supporting evidence. (I agree with what A said and I noticed this to go along with her idea)  Several students chimed in with evidence, it was wild!  They even disagreed with each other in a respectful manner on another part of the picture.  Just thought i'd share!

Danielle