Snagged from Pinterest

Ahhhhh, gee thanks, Ryan!

Dear NAEA,

It's funny, prior to beginning work on my Master's; I would glance through your magazine, Art Education, The Journal of the National Art Education Association. The only articles I read were ones which were pertinent to elementary art. Now, I find myself reading and hanging onto every single word. Of course, it helps that, thanks to MU and the incredible art ed graduate program, I am familiar with the research and works of many who are referenced in the articles. After reading the March 2012 edition, however, I began to wonder if you had been reading my mind. I know that NAEA is a huge and diverse organization; yet, it is as though this edition, Business Counts, was written for me alone. I REALLY identified with The Business of Art Education, A Fairytale Adventure. I swear one of the contributors could have been me, our teaching experiences match so closely. "My art education training and beliefs were grounded in teaching art techniques and media through a formalist curriculum...just as the pedagogy of the art teachers who had instructed courses I took in school did." I blogged the exact sentiment a little over a week ago. (Granted I did not use the word pedagogy, but the meaning was exactly the same.)

Next, I was delighted to discover four whole glossy, color pages dedicated to Pepón Osorio. This man is a god, easily my favorite contemporary artist. Just that one article would have been enough to make the entire 55 pages worthwhile!

Last, I received this magazine the day before a group of Engineers came to discuss the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with all of our students grades 3-6. This was during my Sixth grade class, so I was able to observe the entire presentation. Time limits and the fact that I was supervising 31 students did not permit me to raise any questions about the way that Art MUST fit into this equation, but having read 'A Place for Art and Design in the STEM Conversation' gave me plenty to ponder. I'm still pondering!

In closing,NAEA, if you are reading my mind could you please do so in a less obvious manner? The transparency of your doing so in this edition really freaked me out.

Sincerely, your dedicated - if somewhat paranoid- reader,
Sheryl L. Lamme

VTS II Blog Topic 6

“♪♪♪ Assessment, assessment, as----sess---ment! ♪♪♪”

( sung to the tune of the Girl Scout Camp Announcement Song)

Seeing that assessment is my greatest weakness when it comes to art education, it is only fitting that I share the next line in the song, “A horrible death to die! A horrible death to die!”

 I can recall no part of my teacher prep education (remember, it was a looooong time ago)that applied specifically to the assessment of art. Staff, Leadership, and PLC meetings are filled with the word, and quite frankly, I’m sick-to-death of hearing it! I know feedback is important, and I know that student input into the construction of the assessment is essential, but aside from rubrics, I have a difficult time imagining what the big picture looks like. It was with curiosity and speculative interest that I approached the Beattie Chapters. What a pleasant surprise to find some new assessment strategies that will, as Beattie says “….blend(s) seamlessly with the teaching process for the purpose of learning.”

Assessment Strategy 31, Annotated Artworks (p74) is one that I will definitely use as formatively for both the planning and production process. I will have students place their work atop a piece of paper with a three inch margin and have them identify areas they like, areas they don’t like, and areas where they need help and then exchange this evaluation with a table-mate, or maybe the entire table. As Beattie suggests, perhaps students could revisit this paper to revise / rethink their project.

With the unit theme of ‘Story’I definitely believe that using VTS on the completed Story Tile would be an appropriate summative assessment. Before beginning work on the final project students will be writing a narrative piece addressing the topic of ‘Change’. I have not yet used VTS with student created work. It will be interesting to see how closely responses match the narratives. I am wondering if their skills in the production part of the bas-relief tile will be strong enough and detailed enough to convey their original ideas.

More Random VTS

Kindergarten recently made pinch pots. They have applied a light color glaze, and will be using a darker color to add a pattern or design. I thought it would be helpful for them to see examples of pottery with patterns, so conducted a quick image search. I had planned a didactic experience, but ended up conducting VTS instead. I would never have dreamed the delightful responses I got from this sparse image. At first they inventoried, then identified the patterns. Next they began to speculate the occasion...was it a tea party or was someone getting ready to drink coffee or hot chocolate. My favorite part though, was when one girl observed that these dishes had either been washed, or posed in this position so that someone could take a picture. What did she see to feel that way? 'Well, there's no food on the dishes AND you don't see plates just standing up like that for no reason.' Higher order thinking at it's finest!

VTS II Week 6 Read and Reflect

                            

I read 'Becoming Dialogical: Creating a Place for Dialogue in Art Education', clutching my favorite yellow gel Sharpie highlighter. By the time I was finished reading / highlighting, my entire paper was yellow. I’m pretty certain that Housen and Yenawine would respond to Zander’s ideas with a hearty "AMEN! "Open-ended discovery, teacher as participant / facilitator, dialogue that fosters deeper understanding, students solving the problem, group meaning making, respect for differing points of view, clarification of ideas, conditional language…Mary Jane Zander could well be a pseudonym for Housen and Yenawine! (That was completely tongue in cheek, Zander, should you ever catch wind of my comment. ☺)

It seems to me, the way a person teaches is a reflection of the way that they themselves have been taught. My personal K-12 educational experiences prepared me for the industrial age. As I look around my own building many years later, I see classes where, despite having classroom technologies such as SmartBoards, iPads, and document cameras, students are STILL being prepared for the Industrial age. It’s frightening! I kept wondering why newer teachers weren’t teaching in new ways. Zander says, p. 48, that they are not given instruction or guidelines. Hmmmm, that explains a lot! 

I believe that VTS is the perfect tool for open-ended dialog in the art room.  Art lends itself well to open-endedness. Zander says that this way of thinking might not be possible for every classroom. She goes on to tell how a science is another subject ideal for open-ended dialogue. Being the visual person that I am, I’m wondering exactly how it would this process looks in other subjects and how do we get the rest of those instructors to join us in the Conceptual age?

Oreo Cameo

I have just discovered  Judith Klausner !  Using toothpicks and straight pins as tools, Klausner carves cameos into the cream filling of oreos. My artmaking intro to bas relief must now include oreo carving! OMG, my kids are going to LOVE it!

VTS II Week 5 Read and Reflect

Barron’s – ‘Good Thinking’ Model	VTS
Viewing begins with state of uncertainty- linked to a goal that provides insight	Viewing begins with the suggestion that the image is about something that can be figured out
Viewer searches for possibilities, based upon evidence, relieving the state of uncertainty	Viewers gather visual evidence to support their opinions
Teacher poses the uncertainty	Viewers construct meaning, teacher remains neutral
Viewer responds using ‘Expressive Content’, how the visual form – Elements and Principles contribute to meaning.	Viewers respond with any comments they want – E&P, feelings, personal associations, etcetera.

The title of Leshnoff’s article Art, Ambiguity, and Critical Thinking might well be a definition of VTS. Ambiguity in works of visual art invites students to look closely, and think critically. Images selected for VTS are open to interpretation, participants are comfortable knowing that all responses – objects, details, feelings, and personal associations, are heard and valued equally. They are invited to support their opinions with visual evidence. Opinions are revised and debated as group members consider the contributions and insights of others. The process of group ‘meaning making’ enhances the perception of the individual.

So far the two images that I have VTSed with my group have offered a ‘just right’ amount of ambiguity. In the Garza piece, my Hispanic students were able to deduce more details about the setting, the group activity, and place. Their contributions definitely enhanced the group meaning making process. The Lang piece contained a little something for everyone. Students could relate to the details of the crowd, but was war just beginning, or had it just ended? What was the time period? Why was the person lying in the street – did he fall or was he pushed? One student had just read a book on the Civil War, another related war scene details from a movie they had seen, yet another shared personal knowledge on how a harbor looks. Each student offered a perspective for the group to consider. 

VTS II Blog Topic 5

Image #2

Louis Lang    Return of the 69th (Irish) Brigade, N.Y.S.M., From the Seat of War

My focus group is comprised of Stage 1-1½ viewers.  Tears came to my eyes when I realized just how closely my students identified with this image: the joy of reuniting with a loved one, the grief over the loss of or physical injury to a loved one, war, weapons, patriotism, celebration - for my military students, these are very real components of their everyday life. Being the storytellers that they are, and having the memories / personal associations, it was easy for them to step into this scene.

The discussion was robust, with many hands in the air at all times. Nearly every student participated. There is so much action taking place in Lang's piece, so many little side stories, initially I wondered if there were too many details. However, a few minutes into VTS, I felt like I had made an excellent choice. Students 'read' the side stories and then pieced them into the narrative.

Students understand that the big idea of our unit is 'Story'. I hoped this detail filled painting would allow them to see the importance of detail in the development of a narrative.

The group was sad when I closed the VTS session. There was speculation on the part of one child that this scene was Pearl Harbor, while another student said they felt it was the civil war time period. I asked where they might learn more, and students offered the choices of 'Look it up on Google' (at which my high functioning autistic student repeated 'Google it, Google it, Google it about twenty times.) and  to look for a book in the library.

We haven't begun the artmaking part of this unit, though I am worried I'll have a mutiny on my hands if we don't begin soon! (So far the promise that this will be a CLAY project is keeping them from complaining too much.) I think this image further reinforces the idea of telling a specific story through the creation of art.

I would definitely use this image again!

VTS II Blog Topic 4

Walker addresses the importance of “sequence” in an instructional unit built around a BIG IDEA.

            Discuss your strategy / rationale for the sequencing of VTS images, artmaking, and other instructional activities in the unit you are developing.

            Is your sequencing strategy consistent with Walker’s recommendations? If not, what factors influenced your changes?

I am following Walker recommendations for sequencing an instructional unit. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

1)   Conceptual Framework –

Students were introduced to researching the Big Idea Story, and the essential questions - How do people express ideas through art? How has art been used throughout history to tell stories by viewing the video Tom Benton’s Missouri. They had visited the capitol building earlier this year and had toured the mural.  After viewing the video we discussed: the stories that Benton told in the mural, the fact that not all of the stories were ‘pretty’, and the importance of recording history.

Next, students will continue to build their knowledge base through the VTS of images that contain a strong narrative.  I think the last image prior to the artmaking process will be ‘Moving Day’ by Norman Rockwell.

2)   Supportive Instructional activities -

At this point students are beginning to VTSesque images in small groups and then share their findings with the class. I wanted to include some collaborative efforts, but so far have not been pleased with the arguing and petty drama that this activity has generated. Students used the document camera and SmartBoard to share their findings. That part of the activity seemed to be a crowd pleaser.

Students will also write a narrative telling about a time in their life in which they have experienced change. (I may include mind maps here.) I agreed with Amy and JooYoung’s suggestions that some limitations might enrich the narrative process. My students have experienced a great deal of change in their 9-10 years of life, they should all be able to relate a story of change.

3)   Artmaking instructional activities-

Students will create rough drafts illustrating their written narrative. They will learn

bas-relief techniques with plasticine clay - if this doesn’t work we’ll experiment with stoneware clay. The final project will be the production of a bas-relief ceramic tile that portrays a personal story of change.

It seems a little late, do I need to change my Big Idea to 'Stories of Change'?

Kindergarten and VTS

Today, with ten minutes to fill at the end of class, I VTSed this Gauguin image with kindergarten. I had conducted VTS with them previously, but not as often as with grades 1-4. I was incredibly impressed with their insight and perceptiveness. The second child to speak observed that the woman was 'Trying to figure something out.' When I asked her question #2, very matter-of-factly she said ' because her head is resting in her hand and it looks like she is thinking'. Ba-da-bing! Does it get any better than that?! 

I ♥ you VTS and I ♥ you kindergarten!

Common Core State Standards

http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/documents/ccr-ccss-ela-implementation-plan-2011.pdf

Directly from DESE: (English Language Arts) Here are steps that districts can begin taking now regarding the implementation of the CCSS....Teach “close” reading. “Close” reading means reading for the purpose of uncovering layers of meaning and allowing for deep comprehension. How can we convince them that just as importantly, we need to teach "image" reading for the same purpose?

VTS II Week 4 Addendum

After viewing the Hulu Plus ad which aired during the Super Bowl, my conspiracy theory alarm sounded with a renewed vigor. Here's a business that likens it's services to our brains being turned to mush. Does anyone really think this message is funny or in any way entertaining? Damn frightening if you ask me!

VTS II Week Four Read and Reflect

This year it looks as though my district will elect to eliminate cursive writing from the elementary curriculum. It seems in the Conceptual age that cursive is outdated. I wonder what kind of luck I'd have trying to convince them to fill the time formerly slotted for cursive instruction with VTS? Most likely no luck at all, as I am expected to cram more reading and writing into my lessons on a regular basis. Visual Literacy? Pshaw! (The conspiracy theory alarm was sounding in my brain the entire time I read both articles and for the most part I think of myself as a trusting, complacent soul!)

 It is clear to me, as our society returns to a visual orientation, that students must have the facilitated instruction they need to reach a critical understanding of the thousands of images encountered daily.

I would say that the majority of my focus group students fall into the Stage 1 / Stage 1 1/2 category. Every once in awhile I will encounter one who is on the brink of Stage 2, noticing things which seem disproportionate, or 'just not quite right'. Scary to think that the VTS they encounter in my art room might well be their only opportunity for growth!

Blog Topic #3

Las Posadas 2000 Carmen Lomas Garza

My students readily engaged with this image. They could relate to the representation of a celebration, the mixed ages of the figures, the setting, and familiar objects. The image was intriguing enough to maintain high interest and open to multiple interpretations. The diversity level was 'just right' for fourth grade, and gave my ESL Hispanic students the opportunity to offer expert contributions.

The VTS session for this image was rigorous and engaging. Students in my focus group were in agreement that this was either a family or group who was visiting the home of the woman for a Christmas / religious celebration OR a group of people who were trying to get the woman to join their celebration. The children in costume, the candles, the attire of the figures, and the piñata all contributed to the development of narrative. Multiple hands were raised throughout the discussion leading me to believe that the discussion was successful. I chose this image because I enjoy the work of Garza. Mexican folk art is a personal favorite of mine, so it's a nice bonus to share her rich images with my students. I have had great success using her work in the past. HOWEVER, in the selection of this image I failed to take in the possibility of the strong religious implications that would arise. There were four times that I did not implement question #2 because I was uncomfortable with the religious nature of response #1. Mary, Joseph, and the Christian symbolism of the lamb really had me squirming on the inside! (Sorry Yenawine, you warned me, I just didn't see it coming!)

Did this image satisfactorily introduce the BIG IDEA, CONCEPTS, &/or ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS of your unit? Specifically, what “worked?”

My Big Idea is Story, my essential questions -How do people express ideas through art?

How has art been used throughout history to tell stories?

Prior to our VTS session I shared the unit topic 'Story' with students. It has been a recurrent theme with students this year, so not a new concept, however, as with previous VTS sessions, they enjoyed the collective process of mining a piece of art for meaning.

Was the image rich enough to encourage continued discussion &/or independent student investigation? If so, how might you provide continued exploration to satisfy student curiosity and/or motivation to discover more?

This VTS session was conducted toward the end of the class period. When we were out of time, we were literally out of time. Hands were still raised and as they lined up students clambered to tell me more. It will be interesting to see if anyone mentions anything about it during the next art class. If a student were interested in exploring further, in true VTS fashion and consistent with the objectives of 21st Century learning, I might ask if they had any ideas for search terms they could use to look up more information on the artist or the style of art. If they pressed me very hard though I would probably cave in and give them some specific information.

Did this image invite opportunities to explore the BIG IDEA through artmaking? How will you relate this image to subsequent artmaking for students?

Yes, my students could clearly see narrative in this piece. When we get to the art making in this unit I will ask my students to reflect on the rich details which contribute to the narrative and to consider the details they use to tell their story.

Due to the religious details in this piece I do not think I would use it again. I think I would feel more comfortable with Tamalada, another of Garza's paintings. This image contains a juicy story, and if mentioned, the painting of The Last Supper on the wall will be a clue about the residents of the home, not a major focus of the narrative. Whew!

Tamalada    Carmen Lomas Garza

VTS Week 3 - Read and Reflect

READ & REFLECT

“A Brief Guide to Developmental Theory & Aesthetic Development” (DeSantis & Housen)

I agree that this is a wonderful VTS advocacy article and I will be sharing it with colleagues, my administrator, as well as the district fine art coordinator.

This article revealed to me just how clearly Housen's model of Aesthetic Development(and VTS)mesh(es) with the developmental theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. While I had no real ah ha moments, nor any serious* questions. I could not help but be impressed by, as Mary put it, the research rigor to which VTS has been subjected.
I introduced a friend to Popplet last week, so in the true spirit of exploring connections, here's a Week 3 mind map.

*If there is no thought without language does that mean my dog does not think, or does it mean that she thinks in dog language? These are types of questions that come to me in the time between wake and sleep.

Change from the bottom up? Count me in!

Find of finds!!! January 20, 2012 art educator Olivia Gude's public lecture at The University of Florida.
The video is a little over an hour and a half long, but worth every second! Grab your popcorn, a cold beverage, and EnJoY!
http://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=c6ed66fa466d4b8ab3787677511264001d