For my reflection group I choose to use
a group of peers from my work with various backgrounds ranging from
anthropology to nutrition and fitness. I quickly learned the need to
thoroughly explain to process to newcomers. Forgetting to do that
cause very minor confusion at first however after explaining
everything a bit more clear the second time things started to roll.
Overall most found the experience to be quite positive. One comment,
from a non-art major, said they found VTS as a way to be “less
snooty” way of looking at art work. After I was done laughing I
asked them to elaborate. They said they had been in art classes
before looking at artwork and appreciated the fact that there wasn't
a right or wrong answer, and that it supported differing opinions.
None of the participants had also seen the chosen work before and
found it interesting. I did manage to ask is if it was because they
couldn't see the title and artist or if it was simply because it was
actually interesting. Everyone seemed to agree again that even though
the work was interesting to begin with the fact that they didn't know
the title, Dad's Coming, they do believe they were able to hold
interest in the work longer and not just look at it briefly and know
everything about it.
Overall I found that this second time
presenting VTS was easier then the first time I did it. My hope is
that it will continue and with increased practice I will only
improve, and hopefully not forget all the instructions in the
beginning the next time!
I've been looking outside of art education to find explanations for why VTS "works" and one source I am looking at is Second Language Acquisition Theory. A guy named Steven Krashen has an "Affective Filter Hypothesis" that is part of his L2 Acquistion Theory, but seems versatile enough to apply here. It states that fear, stress, anxiety, other types of emotional discomfort comprise an affective filter. If a learning environment contains fear, high-stress, high-anxiety and discomfort, the affective filter is raised and inhibits the learning process. When the learning envirnoment and tasks are low-stress, low-anxiety, and positive, the affective filter lowers and permits learning. I have a feeling that your test group just proved Krashen's hyothesis!! (I would have laughed at the "snooty" remark, too!)
ReplyDeleteI also think you just discovered the benefit of writing an introductory statement to memorize. I have "VTSed" at least weekly for the past 6 years and I still use an introductory statement which lays down the procedures and expectations. I'm always sure, then, that my participants understand what we're doing. That way I can focus on the other VTS behaviors and not on management of the process.
By the end of the semester, you will be a pro! Have faith!!
Glad to hear it went better the second time, I would agree with your hope, I think it does get easier the better we get at it.
ReplyDeleteI love that your participant pointed out that it was a less snooty way of looking at art :)
I wonder what would happen if they art galleries covered the title and artist to artworks, and encouraged viewers to really take time to look, and then flip up the tab and get the info?!?!
It sounds like we are all learning from our lessons. Finding things to work on after reflecting each lesson is how we will grow as VTS facilitators. I have found it helpful to write on the white board (which is right next to my smart board) notes to remind me what I want to make sure I say during my lesson.
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