Visual thinking strategies are a great way for a teacher to facilitate discussions amongst students. I found it amazing the amount of engagement and discussion that came from the students. VTS gives students the opportunity to think outside of the box and share their ideas to other students while developing the skill to be "flexible" and have an open mind to all different opinions. I feel this is an essential skill that students need for any subject. In one of the videos Thomas Payzant talked about how for many years we thought students just needed to learn the content, whereas now it about how to apply and talk about the content. I totally agree with this statement. I've been teaching math for 3 years now and the shift in curriculum is now a big focus on collaboration, discussion, and finding that there is more than one way to solve problems. VTS is a great way to develop those skills.
I found a great website that discusses how to use VTS in a math classroom. The author shows how skills associated with VTS connect to the 7 mathematical practices. This website opened up my eyes to the many great connections between VTS and learning in all subjects, especially math.
https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/new/blog/reframing-art
Locked
