Esther Probst February 28, 2014 ARE 6049: History of Teaching Art

The Magic Three Questions: The Visual Thinking Strategies

Introduction Museums are filled with priceless pieces of artworks. For most communities they are the only place where one can interact with original art. Regrettably, museums have a poor reputation -- they can be depicted as stuffy, exclusive environments. In the 1980s a report entitled The Uncertain Profession published by the Getty Trust stated that museum educators were failures. Understandably, museum educators were outraged. Feeling that museums were perceived negatively, and their titles tarnished, on account of the report museum educators sought a change. A revolutionary method was born amidst the Getty Report: The Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), created by educator Abigail Housen and museum educator Phillips Yenawine. VTS revolutionized the museum education world. It is a method in which a discussion is assisted by a facilitator through artworks and or reproductions. Currently, it is implemented in thousands of classrooms and museums worldwide, It is perhaps the simplest way in which teachers and schools can provide students with key behaviors sought by Common Core Standards: thinking skills that become habitual and transfer from lesson to lesson, oral and written language literacy, visual literacy, and collaborative interactions among peers (Home-Visual Thinking Strategy, n.d.). The Creators In the 1970s Abigail Housen began studying peoples reactions and statements when observing artwork. She documented the wide range of thought that art triggered. Housen noted that, Even beginners use a range of observations to draw conclusions that are full of associations, memories, facts and emotions (VTS Research and Theory, n.d., p. 3) Through her research she detected the connection between aesthetic thought and critical thinking. Ultimately, Housen wanted to create a tool in which students can connect to art in ways that are meaningful and lasting. Most importantly, she did not want one to need a wealth of knowledge to do so. Eventually, Housen developed her principal data collection tool: a non-directive interview, called the Aesthetic Development Interview (ADI), which provided Housen with a window into a persons thinking (VTS Research and Theory, n.d., p. 3). Housen wanted to go beyond the typical museum audience, she wanted her study to take into account people of all ages, backgrounds, education and economic levels. The participants of the Aesthetic Development Interview were not asked direct questions regarding the paintings at hand; the interviewer asks only one question which is , W hat is going on here?. The interviewer then is asked to voice their stream of consciousness aloud. While Housen was comprising data and conducting interviews, Philip Yenawine was thinking of

how he could generate comprehensible programming for museum visitors at the Museum of Modern Art. He was extremely offended and upset by the Getty Trusts report. He wanted museum educators to be considered serious players in the education world. A friend introduced him to Abigail Housen, who introduced him to her method. Yenawine appreciated Housens indirect style. He had to unlearn his past educational tactics. They decided to work together to develop a system for teaching grounded by her data, they titled it the Visual Thinking Strategies. The Stages Throughout Housens twenty years of data collecting she identified five distinctive patterns of thinking when looking at art; she describes them as Aesthetic Stages. People in Stage One are the storytellers. The work of art becomes an unfolding narrative based off of their senses, memories and personal associations. Stage Two is made up of constructive viewers, who use their perceptions, knowledge and values of the conventional world. For them, the more realistic an artwork is, the more value it attains. The viewers of Stage Three possess the analytical and critical stance of the art historian. The viewer of Stage Four is an Interpretive viewer who seeks a personal encounter with a work of art. Participants in Stage Five are long-time art veterans who have spent many hours contemplating and studying works of art, to them paintings are considered old pals. All of these stages embody how one makes sense about a work of art. At each Stage, a viewer responds to a work of art in a uniquely characteristic way. (VTS Research and Theory, p 4). How it all works. After years of research, brainstorming and work Housen and Yenawine created their curriculum. Their basic outline for the Visual Thinking Strategy curriculum consists of three questions: Whats going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? After a group is seated in front of an artwork the facilitator opens the discussion with, whats going on in this picture? And when the conversation stalls, the facilitator may ask what more can we find? This carefully thought out questio n particularly encourages the finding of stories or activity, playing into the natural tendency of beginning viewers to be storytellers (Understanding the Basics, VTS, p 2), which plays into Stage One of Housens Aesthetic Stage. The second question asks students to delve deeper into the artwork and gather evidence to support their statements and interpretations. These questions help the students to become logical when they express or debate their position; it is useful in any critical inquiry across disciplines (Home-Visual Thinking Strategy, n.d.). The VTS questions perpetuate the fundamental critical thinking skills. The list of core critical thinking skills is composed of observation, interpretation, analysis, interpretation, assessment, explanation, and metacognition. While students are looking at the painting they are simultaneously: observing, drawing conclusions, making inferences, arguing the evidence with their peers.

The facilitator of this discussion must be a facilitator not a didactic educator. While the facilitator is listening to the students responses, the educator is paraphrasing the student's comments. While listening to the students response they should point at what they are observing. All the while, the educator should be making connections with their students comments. This validates the students interpretations and makes the museum a comfortable and genial environment. Art is the best jumping off point to expand a persons visual literacy and critical thinking skills, because art is universal, and it transcends cultural and economic boundaries. Artworks have the potential to do what Housen states that through her research: We have come to believe that discussions of art may be one of the most fertile grounds for teaching critical thinking skills precisely because there is no one right answer. The Research Shows There are many success stories with VTS for example, the partnership with Florida International Universitys museum The Wolfsonian and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. They created The Artful Citizenship Project in where the central objective of the project was to have the students and teachers recognize the connection among visual literacy and other academic skills through VTS. The report found that, students who received VTS for three years had significantly higher growth rates in visual literacy than comparison group students; there was a strong relationship between growth in visual literacy and growth in both reading and mathematics; VTS promoted good citizenship skills, cooperation, respect, and tolerance for the views of others; and VTS was especially effective with students with limited English proficiency. The study concluded that curriculum enhancements like VTS, may be the best test preparation the schools can provide. (Curva et al., 2005)

VTS has proven to be a tool which delivers a domino effect of results. The curriculum enables students to comprehend what the artwork has to say, and then voice their thoughts, which allows them to gain a sharper language, which builds vocab, and in turn helps with reading and writing.

References Curva, F., Milton, S., Wood, S., Palmer, D., Nahmias, C., Radcliffe, B., . . . Fogartie, E. (2005). Artful Citizenship Project. Retrieved from Curva and Associates website: http://vtshome.org/system/resources/0000/0003/Miami-FL-VTS-Study.pdf Home - Visual Thinking Strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.vue.org

Housen, A. (1987). Three Methods for Understanding Museum Audiences. Museum Studies Journal (Spring-Summer), 1-11. Housen, A. (Director) (1999, September 27).Eye of the Beholder: Research, Theory, and Practice. Aesthetic and Art Education: a Transdisciplinary Approach. Lecture conducted from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. Yenawine, P. (Director) (1999, September 27). Theory into Practice: The Visual Thinking Strategies. Aesthetic and Art Education: a Transdisciplinary Approach. Lecture conducted from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. VTS Research and Theory. (n.d.). Research - Articles & Other Readings - Visual Thinking Strategies. Retrieved January 24, 2014, from http://vtshome.org/pages/vts-downloads