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.