Visual Thinking Strategies

Charlemae Rollins President's Program: Think with Your Eyes!

Presented by:  Bryan Wunar, Director of Community Initiatives in the Center for the Advancement of Science, Museum of Science and Industry
Elizabeth McChesney, Director of System Wide Children and Young Adult Services, Chicago Public Library
Mary Erbach, Assistant Director of Museum Education, Art Institute of Chicago
Oren Slozberg, Senior Trainer/Recent Executive Director, Visual Thinking Stategies
Pat Bilquez, Teacher/Librarian, Roxhill Elementary School

http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/confevents/alscannual/AC13%20Presidents%20Program%20Resources%20Final.pdf for more detailed information and links to many related websites.

For videos, information, studies and findings of using this approach with children, see the Visual Thinking Strategies website http://www.vtshome.org/ and also
http://vimeo.com/vtsvimeo

A synopsis of research findings: http://www.vtshome.org/research/research-studies

Succinct description of VTS: http://suite101.com/article/art-appreciation-for-children-visual-thinking-strategies-vts-a296711

Children’s books help us to think with our eyes.

A study several years ago showed that people weren’t learning what the museum of art in New York what it thought it was teaching. They wanted to find out how people make meaning of what they see. VTS was originally for museums to create access for visitors. Then educators started to use it.

Children are encouraged to comment on a painting. As children tell what they see, others build on it; it is like scaffolding. “I See” becomes “I think.”

The moderator shows the picture for, allowing participants to view it for a short period of time; then she  asks three questions:

“What’s going on here?” (NOT, “What do you see?”) Very young children may list what they see, but this question goes beyond to what they think, wonder, feel.

“What makes you say that?” or, “What do you see that makes you say that?”  (Ask for evidence. Children can state innovative and surprising ideas, but they need to back them up.”)

“What more can you/we find?”

The moderator paraphrases what the student says. Paraphrased comments invite the child to look again. It also validates what the child has said and shows you are listening and understanding what he or she says. The teacher listens carefully and keeps her voice neutral when paraphrasing. The instructor does not tell students what she knows about the picture—the title or artist, etc.

The approach is nonjudgmental. It provides a space for many right answers. It encourages everyone to participate.

Selection of the image is critical. Children must be able to associate with what they see. Something should be familiar or recognizable. Children should be able to tell story from what they see. Other selection parameters are available on the VTS sight: http://www.vtshome.org/research/research-studies.

The second question fits right into STEM. It is evidentiary reasoning, what scientists and archeologists do.

VTS provides insight into what the students are thinking and what their experiences are; listen to their interpretation of images as symbols.

VTS encourages the kind of thinking that helps creativity and innovative thinking develop. The opposite of VTS is one answer for everything.

VTS teaches higher order thinking skills; cognition; acceptance. Children are given permission to look at art and comment without fear. They are learning about each other and each other’s perspectives. They a re also learning from each other. They are conscious that they may think differently than another student, but that is ok. They learn from each other. As they hear what others say, they build on what they were thinking—or change their mind. They become self aware and self critical—“Oh, I didn’t think of that.” They become aware of their own thinking, which is metacognition, a higher order thinking that has to be taught. This is the opposite of group think—each individual thinks his idea is the best. VTS teaches visual constructivism—each person brings an idea and everyone can build on each other’s ideas. It is true noncompetitive learning, truly collaborative. The child learns to understand what others say. They don’t have to agree.  VTS is suitable for multiple age groups. It is a format for civilized discourse. In fact, it has been used at staff meetings because it is a great way to bring staff together. It provides a format for civilized discourse.

Using Caldecotts with VTS: (for a list of winners--http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottwinners/caldecottmedal )

Recent winners are very good to use. Many older titles work well, too, such as Mei Li by Thomas Handforth . Recent titles to use with VTS include This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, and The Lion and theMouse by Jerry Pinkney, especially the image near the end. Other recommended books included To Everything There Is a Season by Leo Dillon, SaintGeorge and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges, The Hunter, A Chinese Folktale by Mary Casanova.

Pictures and words both communicate with marks on a page. Reading is ‘art-rageous’.

End the VTS session with hands-on experiential learning. For example after sharing Click Clack Moo students made a cow hat and paper plate typewriter.

See Chicago Public Library’s STEAM summer reading program: http://www.chipublib.org/eventsprog/programs/kids_sumread.php

Importance of summer programs to children’s academic learning and performance: http://www.nmefoundation.org/getmedia/17ce8652-b952-4706-851b-bf8458cec62e/Learning-Season-ES?ext=.pdf

Warm Up with Learning are icebreaker-type activities that prepare students for the lesson. Google it for examples. A good one is http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/teaching/esl/warmups.cfm.

Involve parents. Create a summer of learning. Learn by doing, discovering, creating. Encourage children to keep a discovery log. Have a tackle box of literary challenges.

For Summer Brain Games downloadable activities: http://www.msichicago.org/programs/summer-brain-games. This project is a result of a collaborative project among the Chicago Public Library, The Art Institute and the Museum of Science and Industry.

Learning is about social interaction, not about right answers. Emphasize science and engineering thinking.

Using VTS in Programs--from The Programming Librarian Blog

Programming Librarian

programminglibrarian.org/blog/2009/june-2009/using-visual-thinking-strategies.html

Using Visual Thinking Strategies to Conduct Picturing America Programs

Wendy Lukehart | June 26, 2009

When I heard that the District of Columbia Public Library was receiving a set of high-quality posters of American art for each site—thanks to the NEH/ALA Picturing America grant—I couldn’t have been more excited. Our staff of 50 children’s and teen librarians had just received training in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). They had new-found knowledge that could bring these images to life in programs for any age group. Now they would have resources to use while their training and enthusiasm were fresh. So what is VTS, and why train librarians in something that sounds like it belongs in an art museum?

There are multiple answers to the second part of that question, but my motivation had to do with the magic that I observe when a group of people—whether it be toddlers, teens, or adults—look closely and respond to an interesting image in a nonjudgmental setting. Before the VTS workshops, which I experienced first at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, my primary exposure to groups and the power of a provocative picture had been through leading interactive picture book sessions. Over and over, I have watched children grow more thoughtful, attentive, and responsive when asked open-ended questions in relation to the art on specific pages. In these moments, I can almost see synapses firing, light dawning, shyness or cynicism evaporating, and delight emerging from the experience.

When I discovered that VTS offered a structured, widely respected, research-based method to support viewers of any age in making meaning out of what they see, I was anxious to see what it could offer to libraries. While VTS is the name of an entire curriculum that grew out of the research of cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen and the experience of museum educator Philip Yenawine, the heart of the method is a framework for looking at an isolated image; thus, the process works beautifully as a way to program with the NEH posters. (Watch a short video of kids engaged with VTS.) More information can be found on the VTS Web site as well as on the Carle Museum’s.

The necessary ingredients are a group, a facilitator, and an interesting image. The session starts with silence as everyone studies the picture. The facilitator then asks, “What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?” Throughout this process, the facilitator is paraphrasing responses (thereby validating the participants’ ideas), demonstrating language use, linking comments, and generally creating a respectful, nonthreatening environment. Participants are learning to look closely, justify their opinions with visual evidence, consider multiple points of view, and perhaps even rethink their positions.

The combination of looking at striking images and having someone care about your ideas is irresistible; the method has been particularly successful in drawing out non-native English speakers. It should be noted that VTS is quite different from a docent-led approach to art. The leader does not need in-depth knowledge of the picture. It is not his or her job to impart biographical, formal, or historical information. Using the posters with VTS in the library creates an opportunity to awaken curiosity about all of those aspects, however, and later programming elements—related books or media shared in the group setting or through displays—allow the participants to discover their own answers. It is quite liberating, even exhilarating, to discover that there are many right answers when exploring a work of art—or as the sculptor Alexander Calder put it: “That others grasp what I have in mind seems unessential, as least as long as they have something else in theirs.”
In order to encourage the use of the posters and VTS, a group of D.C. librarians met to create programming templates associated with selected posters. We were then able to offer a range of ideas and resources to our colleagues; they could select components based on their own styles, interests, and audiences. Nearly all of our programs started by displaying a poster and asking VTS questions. If you’ve never tried it, you might think, well after three minutes, what else is there to say? It turns out quite a bit, when the picture is rich and the atmosphere is welcoming. We’ve seen six-year-olds and adults stay with a picture for 30 minutes or more. That element can be controlled as agenda and interest dictates.
The next item in most programs for children was the sharing of a picture book related to the time period, artist, or style of the poster; when appropriate, The Whole Book Approach, another method learned from The Carle, was applied to the book to enjoy it as a visual entity. (More on that in another blog.) For example, The Dove by Romare Bearden was followed by Christopher Myers’ Black Cat (Scholastic, 1999) or Wings (Scholastic, 2000) for younger children and Harlem (Scholastic, 1997) for teens. Discussions about the qualities of collage and why it works so well to represent a city block were part of the discussion. The young people then created their own collages from magazines.
VTS is a tremendously inspiring method; when used in conjunction with the Picturing America posters, it leads to multiple benefits. When you start a program by showing the poster and asking the group, “What’s going on in this picture?” you are beginning the process of digging beneath the surface to explore the patterns, customs, and values of our collective past. You are encouraging visual and verbal literacy, developing community, and creating the curiosity and critical thinking that can later be tapped as you share and promote related books. Isn’t this what exposure to “the humanities” and a visit to the library are all about: encountering surprises, understanding other viewpoints, and finding meaning?

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Wendy Lukehart is Youth Collections Coordinator at the D.C. Public Library.

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©2008–2013 American Library Association Public Programs Office | 50 E. Huron St., Chicago,

What's Going on in This Picture: Using Photos & The New York Times Learning Network Blog

What’s Going on in this Picture? became a weekly feature of The New York Times’ Learning Network Blog last October:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/whats-going-on-in-this-picture/

Every Monday morning the blog posted a New York Times photograph without a caption, and invites students to answer three simple questions about it:

• What’s going on in this picture?
• What do you see that makes you say that?
• What more can you find?

The feature will resume this school year on Sept. 9. Students can log in and respond to the questions online or they can view the archived photos and participate at a later time.

Great video samples of the technique:

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/new-feature-whats-going-on-in-this-picture/

http://vimeo.com/69783029

Basic VTS at a Glance

VTS: Visual Thinking Strategies

109 South Fifth Street, #603 • Brooklyn, NY 11249 • 718-302-0232 (t)

www.VisualThinkingStrategies.org • info@vue.org • 718-302-0242(f)

Basic VTS at a Glance

by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine

Starting the Lesson

Introduce the VTS: it allows students to examine art, to think, to contribute

observations and ideas, to listen, and to build understandings together. Ask students

to recall these aspects of the process often.

Call students’ attention to the first image. Always give students a moment to look in

silence before you invite them to speak.

Asking the Questions

After they have examined the image, ask the question, What's going on in this

picture? Once students have learned this question, use variations.

Whenever students make a comment that involves an interpretation (a comment that

goes beyond identification and literal description), respond first by paraphrasing,

and then ask, What do you see that makes you say that? Once students understand the point of this question, begin to vary it. In order to keep students searching for further observations, frequently ask them, What else can you find? Again, variations are useful once students are familiar with the point of the question.

Responding to Students’ Comments

Listen carefully to students, making sure that you hear all of what they say and that

you understand it accurately.

Point to what they mention in the slide. Be precise, even when it is a comment that

has been repeated.

Use encouraging body language and facial expressions to nurture participation.

Paraphrase each comment. Change the wording, but not the meaning of what is said. In rephrasing, demonstrate the use of proper sentence construction and rich

vocabulary to assist students with language.

Accept each comment neutrally. Remember that this process emphasizes a useful

pattern of thinking, not right answers. Students are learning to make detailed

observations, sorting out and applying what they know. Articulating their thoughts

leads to growth even when they make mistakes. Link answers that relate, even when there are disagreements. Show how the students’ thinking evolves, how some observations and ideas stimulate others, how opinions change and build.

Concluding the Lesson

Thank students for their participation. Tell them what you particularly enjoyed.

Encourage them to think of viewing art as an ongoing, open-ended process. Avoid

summaries; linking throughout is enough to show how conversations build.

What's HOT in STEAM Education: How Using ECRR2 Supports Literacy, Common Core, and School Success

What’s Hot in STEAM Education: How Using ECRR2 Supports Literacy, Common Core and School Success presented by Judy Cheatham Vice-President of Literacy Services,  RIF, Christy Estrivutzm, Eva Mitnick, Jury Nelson, Susan Newham

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) website: http://www.rif.org/ is a comprehensive source of ideas and information for parents and professionals.

Booklist for STEAM programs includes titles and related activities: http://www.rif.org/documents/us/MulticulturalBookCollectionList.pdf

Early literacy research was discussed, along with deficiencies in education and lapses in skills among the population. Attendees were encouraged to use the RIF website for ideas, information, and handouts. Setting up stations that focus on early science skills was outlined. Block parties were described, along with their early literacy learning benefits.

Judy Cheathum from RIF spoke first. RIF began in 1966. Studies showed that when children have their own books, they become better readers. The focus was on ages 0-8. So far 410 million books have been given to 53 million children at 17,000 sites.

We tend to teach reading like we’re sending people to the electric chair. We need to be happier about it.

Use the RIF website for many free downloads, including handouts for parents and activities for educators. ‘Content Connections’ on the website is the same thing as common core. The calendars are simple to use.

Why we need STEAM:

Three millions jobs that are not filled are the jobs we don’t know how to do because they require technical skills we don’t have.

Initiatives address this problem and are geared to middle school and older.

Children learn by doing. Help teach vocabulary by calling things what they are. In example is that when presented with a fraction, 2/3 and asked to name the numerator, many cannot.

Low reading scores are tied to poverty. Access to print can improve those scores because they can help develop background knowledge.

Cognitive demands get higher by grade. 

Phonics is one approach to learning to read, but cannot be the only one. For example some letters don’t work—‘c’(k or s sound) and ‘q’ (‘kw’ sound).

With common core, keep in mind that different books may have different text features. For example, lift-the-flap books help teach prediction. Feel the Force helps teach physics. Show parents how they can help their children by using these different text features.

All children develop Basic Interpretative Communication Skills. They will learn Congnitive Academic Language Proficiency. Learning BIC probably takes 2 years, even for ESL children. But CALP takes 5-7 years for English language learners.

Librarians can teach ECCR workshops with STEAM books. STEAM scares teachers.

Eva Mitnick from LA County Library spoke about ECRR.

Preschoolers are natural scientists. The CA Science Center has kits to use with preschoolers.

With preschoolers use hands-on STEM activities. Work with children and parents together. Provide training to learn how to use the kids.

Provide a preschool science series. Make reading a part of every program. Use the RIF STEAM reading list.

Freegal. Search for key words in children’s songs. For example:

‘gravity’: worms under the ground.

Use writing and have parents help label.

Playing with floating and sinking—have children predict whether rocks will float or sink. Add art (the ‘a’ in STEAM) Use painting with gravity and rock activities.

Encourage parents to model scientific behavior by asking questions. Discuss what scientists do. Observe, predict, check. Ask questions.

Use magnifying glasses and look at face in the mirror. Draw what you see. This is ‘observing’.

Explore surface tension with bubbles.

Set up stations. Small groups are best with a teen volunteer at each station.

This program is about an hour.

Susan Newham from Pierce Library talked about Block Parties.

Her library uses Lakeshore blocks .They received funding from a grant and from their Foundation. They partnered with head Start for designated block play. They provided training for librarians and teachers.

Research has identified seven stages of block play. Once children master stage one they will on and also back to earlier stages. Rules are that they can’t throw block or know down anyone’s structure. The library has labeled cabinets with the names of the blocks along with the picture of the block.

They also hold public block parties once a month. They have open block play at storytimes. In a similar vein, they provide Lego parties for tweens.

As sessions progress, additional items are added: vehicles, animals, scarves, clothespins.

A big meeting room is the perfect place for block parties. Block parties encourage stories and language development. They are a great literacy tool.

Frank L. Wright remembered “the feeling of those simple maple blocks in my fingers to this day.”

Give information to parents about block play and its importance.

During block play provide photos of structures around the world.

Think about starting this as a storytime, a family event. Start with books, maybe stories about dreaming and building.

Block parties provide an ideal environment for parents to talk with their children. Talking with children is one of the most important things that parents can do to help get their child ready to learn to read. Block parties provide a safe place for family language. Families can use their first or second language.

White paper on block play, its importance and relevance to early literacy: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/FINAL%20Board%20Approved%20White%20Paper%20on%20Play.pdf

Additional website resources:

Blocks as Tools for Learning: http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/Hewitt0101.pdf

Early Math Skills: Building Blocks of the Future: http://www.blockfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RB.WhitePaper.EarlyMathSkills.2008s.pdf

Toy Blocks and Construction Toys: A Guide for the Science Minded Parent: http://www.parentingscience.com/toy-blocks.html

Block Parties @ the Library

Research shows 7 stages of play that children will move through in order. As they reach each stage, they will move back and forward through them.
1. Carrying blocks
2. Stacking--both vertical and horizontal
3. Bridging
4. Enclosures
5. Patterns and Symetry
6. Early Representational
7. Early Representational

The library provides the materials. As play progresses, additional items can be added, such as scarves, vehicles, animals, clothespins. A big meeting room is the perfect place for block parties. They are a great literacy tool.
Frank Lloyd Wright remembered, "the feeling of those simple maple blocks in my fingers to this day."

Block Parties

Provide programs for block play. Partner with Head Start; provide preschool and family block party programs. Integrate block play into storyhours. Target older kids with Legos for similar benefits.
Block play helps children develop many skills:

• Motor & eye-hand coordination
• Spatial skills
• Creative & divergent thinking
• Social Skills
• Language skills
• Studies show that children who engage in block play:
• Have improved lanuguage, voacabulary, grammar, & verbal comprehension
• Improved spatial skills.
• Improved math skills--and advanced math skills in later life!
• Are better able to solve problems.

And they watch significantly less TV!


Parenting Science: Toy Blocks and Construction Toys, www.parentingscience.com/toy-blocks.html.  

For more information and ideas:
White paper on block play, its importance and relevance to early literacy: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/FINAL%20Board%20Approved%20White%20Paper%20on%20Play.pdf

Blocks as Tools for Learning: http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/Hewitt0101.pdf

Early Math Skills: Building Blocks of the Future: http://www.blockfest.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RB.WhitePaper.EarlyMathSkills.2008s.pdf

Toy Blocks and Construction Toys: A Guide for the Science Minded Parent: http://www.parentingscience.com/toy-blocks.html