ABCs of VTS

VTS, or Visual Teaching Strategies, is seemingly the simplest strategy I've ever come across. After all, it is three straight-forward questions:

1. What's going on in this picture?
2. What do you see that makes you say that?
3. What more can we find?

That's it. No deviation. Developed by a cognitive psychologist and a museum educator and their colleagues, this strategy of engaging students in art - asking those three questions - has been researched, studied, and analyzed for 20 years. To learn more about it, check out the amazing resource http://www.vtshome.org/

So why/when/how? I've found these questions to be incredibly useful when introducing children to art objects, but also in other areas of my life. The idea is, as I said, simple: the facilitator first gives the viewers time to really look at an object, and then asks question #1. Someone in the group (ideally under 10 people) begins the dialogue, and others continue. Question #2 is my favorite. It helps to draw kids back into the work when they're going down a long, winding road that may involve their own dog's recent trip to the vet (meaning, comments that have very little to do with the artwork). I often ask my 3-year-old question #2 when she's pointing out something in a picture book and then diving into a story or thought - and I am amazed at her responses. This idea of providing "evidence" is a great pre-reading and reading comprehension skill. As for Question #3, it's easy for all of us to get stuck on a tangent, or for a group to discuss the same thing in circles. This is a way of saying "Let's look deeper," or, "Ok, what else."

What do I like about VTS? It's super simple once you learn how to use it. It's easy to implement. But it's  actually more complex and more interesting that I've indicated here. The facilitator of the group discussion summarizes each comment and links comments together, while remaining neutral and encouraging discussion. (There are week-long workshops!) Check out the website. And then start asking your kids, "What's going on in this picture?"