Friday, September 26, 2014
Blog Topic 5
Identifying a student VTS might help or challenge is a tough question in my situation. Most of my students are operating at or above grade level, and most of them have high grade point averages. However, a student who I believe VTS might help is Brad. Brad is a really, really talented artist in my advanced art class. He shows so much skill in technicality, but often lacks meaning in his artwork. He doesn't participate much, if at all, in VTS discussions during class. While I do think he is the "sit back and take it all in" type of person, I think he could greatly benefit from being involved in our VTS classroom discussions. Getting Brad to participate in VTS could help him to see that artists create art to tell stories and share meaningful experiences, which he struggles with in his own work. In the future, I think that I could ask all students to make at least one or two comments about the work we view during VTS so that all students participate without pointing him out. Overall, my VTS discussions have gone really well so far and I can't wait to see where they go next.
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It seems like you found a good student to help with VTS and I think you have the right reasons for choosing him. I think VTS will be very beneficial to him, especially since he is very skilled but perhaps could use some help in creating meaning making. I think VTS will definitely help him see that art and images have meaning behind them, and furthermore they can have several meanings. Hopefully, as he develops into a seasoned VTS viewer and participant, it will affect the way he thinks about his artwork.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dionne; this young man seems to be a good candidate for your Portrait of Possibility. And I think VTS will help him for all the reasons you've mentioned: adding narrative and meaning to his own work could take him from being a talented artist to being an exceptional one. In 2nd language acquisition, they speak of a "silent period" and how it is important to respect that as students are gaining confidence. They are still doing the cognitive work; just aren't prepared to take the risk yet. If this student is as talented as you say, he must be used to success in the art room. VTS may be asking him to step outside his comfort zone and risk being perceived as imperfect (though we both know that with VTS, that's impossible!). Respect his timeline, but you might initiate a private discussion of the work after the class VTS, relating it to something he's currently working on. Positive feedback in private may make him bolder in the whole class discussion. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds for Brad!
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