Forum Post 4: Discussion for Assignment 6- Rob Fix

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) allows students to think, explore, and engage in a given lesson within their comfort zone.  While their teacher are there to facilitate the lesson, monitor what they are gaining from it, and to drive them to dig deeper, but they are not the driver of the lesson.  The students take that on themselves.  Utilizing VTS is also a great way to introduce new topics as it tends to grab the learners attention.  I like the idea of allowing K-1 students to draw responses until their writing skills develop more so they can still convey their ideas.

Website:

https://vtshome.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/5%C3%86sthetic-Thought-Critical-Thinking-and-Transfer.pdf

This article describes a longitudinal study the shows the benefit of using Visual Thinking Strategies.  Their findings include using a VTS curriculum accelerates students aesthetic growth. Critical thinking and the ability to transfer that growth to other contexts and contents experienced growth as well. It describes how when learning in the arts, it enables the students to not simply interpret the image but to move beyond it.

Rob,

Having younger children draw is a great way to begin their writing skills.  I teach Head Start which is 3 to 5 year olds.  I use journal writing about 4 or 5 times a month and ask "what was the best part of your day?"  This incorporates social emotional understanding.  I have one student who was in the class for all three years.  She began by primitive drawing at age three.  Last year she was really getting good at drawing.  This year she was able to draw detailed people and could even try to spell out words.  Encouraging students to communicate in drawing form is a great way to start their understanding of drawing (writing) for comprehension.

Shannon Benjamin