Peer Coaching #1 -Genia

What an amazing reaction from your students! That’s great that they enjoyed it so much that they want to VTS everyday! It’s interesting reading your post because I had the opposite feeling than you when facilitating the discussion. For some reason I don’t have the urge to participate in the discussion because I try so hard to direct all of my focus on what my participants are saying so that I can paraphrase; (I’m scared of missing something they say and then leaving out something when I paraphrase!). This is obviously not a problem for you but I found that when I said the 3 questions verbatim it just made my job as the facilitator easier. Did you try asking the 3 questions as is? I think that might help you steer away from the feeling of wanting to participate. This week I stuck to the 3 questions and didn’t change the question (what do you see that makes you say that?). Since I’m new to VTS, sticking to the format of the 3 questions helps me to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. I also think sticking to (what do you see that makes you say that?) will in turn get the response you want from your students. Like when you asked the student why he thought the boys in the painting were playing with cards, the reaction was not what you wanted. I think that in that particular case, if the boy had to respond to (what do you see that makes you say that?) he would have proceeded to provide the evidence you were looking for.

As for the girls in your class and the students that came up to you after the discussion was over; it seems like they are not quite comfortable participating which will probably change overtime as they become more acquainted with the process of VTS.  The girls could have felt like their interpretations wouldn’t be correct because they’re girls and the painting consists of boys, or maybe the boys in your class that participated are so confident and eager to participate in a way that the girls aren’t? This probably goes for the students that came up to after the discussion was over. They are probably not comfortable sharing their interpretations in front of the class. I would continue to stress to your students that there is no right or wrong answer (because I think that keeps a lot of students from participating). Again, I think with time this will start to change as all of your students become comfortable with VTS and right now I’m sure that you are noticing that your students are at different VTS viewing stages, some more advanced than others.

Blog Topic #5

All of my participants have been doing a good job so far since I started doing VTS discussions with them and there are only 4 of them, so it’s hard to single someone out. I will say that there is one participant (I will refer to her as Jane for the purpose of this blog post) who is less experienced in viewing and talking about art in comparison to the others. 3 out of the 4 participants all have or are seeking a B.F.A. in Art so they are very experienced and comfortable when it comes to talking about art and giving their own interpretations. Jane has taken several art classes but has not viewed and talked about art in the same way that the other 3 participants have. But after this week’s discussion verses the first week, I can already see the difference VTS has had on her. The very first VTS discussion she only spoke once. I think she was uncomfortable as were the other participants because they were all new to VTS.

The way VTS works creates a very stress free environment because participants are encouraged to share whatever they are thinking about the image and there is no such thing as a right or wrong answer. I think after several weeks this has become apparent to Jane and has made her feel more comfortable in sharing her thoughts.

One thing I will say about Jane is that unlike the others, she hasn’t really provided her own interpretation yet of what she thinks is happening. Several times she has pinged off of what other people have suggested agreeing with them and adding a new perspective. Yet she has provided hew own interpretation of an image. Seeing how much she has changed from the first week, I think she will eventually get to the point where she makes an interpretation unique from those of the other participants. All the other participants have made interpretations different from each other so in future discussions I will be looking for Jane to do the same. I don’t really know how I would address the needs of Jane because she does a good job of participating. I think as she becomes acquainted with how VTS works, she will be more confident in sharing her interpretations.

My group understands that they have to provide evidence for what they think is going on in an image, and I can tell that my most confident participants catch themselves sometimes and then remember to explain. I think overall, Jane and the other participants are still trying to get acquainted with VTS and Jane is just at a different stage than the others.

Blog Topic # 4

Assessing Student Engagement & Learning

Now that my group has become exposed to VTS, I can see them becoming more interested in the discussions. I think this is because they have become more comfortable with participating; there was a big difference between this last discussion and the first. Since my group consists of primarily art majors, they were able to identify something about the painting. One of them made the connection that the painting looked like the work of Vermeer, and one of the others students confirmed their conjecture. The student who brought up Vermeer started talking about Vermeer’s work and made connections between the painting we were observing and his other works. This deeper thinking on her part I think prompted the others to make other interpretations that a stage 3 or 4 thinker would. I think my participants realized more in this discussion than in past ones that they are allowed to assume whatever they think is happening in the image. Their interpretations became more detailed but each participant had a different interpretation of the image. I think in past discussions they were a little uncomfortable saying what they were really thinking, or providing a different interpretation.

Reflecting on Practice

This discussion was better than the week before because as I said the engagement was better than it ever has been. I felt alright facilitating the discussion. I am still learning that it is hard to paraphrase. I noticed this time that I tried to make sure that when I was done paraphrasing; it made sense to the person who I was paraphrasing. In the past discussions, I would change the way I asked (what do you see that makes you say that?) but I didn’t do that this time. In a way it was easier for me because it is such a straight forward question that is easy for the participants to answer.

Planning

What I want to work on more than anything is paraphrasing. For each of the VTS discussions so far, I have used an image that I am not familiar with or have seen but never studied. For this week, I want to take the time to study the image I will use so that when my group is talking, I know a little more about the image. Also, if I know what they are referring to, it will be easier for me to quickly point to the area on the image. When I study the next image, I am going to practice VTS by myself and possibly with a person who isn’t in my usual VTS group just so that I can work on my paraphrasing.

Blog Topic # 3

(The artwork that I refer to in this blog response is from the high school handout on Blackboard)

As I read the responses from my group I saw a familiar theme. Even though they all had something to say that was unique, there seemed to be a certain way their responses developed as they wrote. Initially, they provided very obvious observations, but the follow up question of (What do you see that makes you say that? )lead to them providing evidence that supported what they were observing. The blunt responses without evidential support is what I expected after reading about stage 1 and 2 readers from the Housen reading, as well as the follow up sentence that would eventually explain their thinking. What surprised me about their writing were the different interpretations they were developing. Towards the end of their writing, they began to show characteristics of stage 3 and 4 viewers that Housen discusses. By the end of their responses, their interpretations became more detailed as they focused on the details of the image and tried to give everything they were seeing meaning and purpose. All of them showed characteristics of stage 3 viewers because they were really interested in the time period of the contents within the image, like the clothes the man was wearing, and the appliances in the background. All of them provided general dates for when time period they think the photo was taken. It was just surprising to see their thinking unfold in the same order that Housen described. Even though they were working silently and individually, I still was able to witness the critical thinking that Yenawine talks about. They were so focused, and I could see as time went on, that there was more thinking going on as they started to write faster as if they were trying to write down everything they were thinking before their thoughts left their mind. I am sure that the next time I VTS with my group, I will begin to see them thinking like stage 5 viewers.

Blog Topic #2

Right after our discussion, I asked the group what their first impressions were of VTS. One participant said that it made them feel like they were in an art history class because of how much they were studying the image. Also, if it weren’t for the discussion of the image, one participant said they would have never taken the time to investigate it on their own if they were to see the image in a gallery or museum. Generally, they all found it helpful when I pointed to what they were saying about the image because it had a lot of different elements, so it made it easier for everyone to notice what part was being discussed. Lastly, one of the participants appreciated me paraphrasing what they were saying. They said that my paraphrasing was helpful because they would say a lot of different things at once, but I was able to say it back in a way that was more organized so that everyone would understand.  Because of the paraphrasing and listening to others express their ideas, another participant said that it helped them remember the details of the image more than if they were to have examined it on their own. 

After doing the readings, what really made sense to me is how crucial paraphrasing is to a VTS discussion. Paraphrasing helps to better express what the speaker is saying in a way that will make sense to the whole group (Yenawine, 2013, p. 28). This really resonated with me after doing my first VTS discussion with my group last week. As previously stated, one of the participants really noticed how crucial my paraphrasing was. She said that I was able to take the several comments that she said and turn it into a cohesive phrase that still covered what she was saying but in a way that was better. After doing the readings and the first VTS discussion with my group, I am aware of the power of paraphrasing. After the first VTS discussion with my group, I felt like I didn’t do as well as I could have with my paraphrasing and so it is something that I am really going to focus on.