Blog Topic #14

Portrait of Possibility-Revisited 

The student I focused on that I believed would benefit or be challenged by VTS proved to be a difficult selection. I spoke about how "student A" appeared uninterested and lacked motivation. The first VTS discussion he stared off into space and had his head down on the table. Choosing a student was difficult because I do not get the luxury of seeing the class regularly and developing close relationships. After choosing student A, I concluded that expecting a lot of growth in a short period of time was not exactly realistic. I was able to observe his behavior more and speak with the teacher. He has a history of underachieving because of minimal effort. Student A needs consistent reminders to stay on task during class on a daily basis. He is a student that, more often than not, has an "attitude."

Needless to say, using VTS to reach student A (to benefit or to challenge) proved to be an uphill battle. My strategy was first to carefully select images that were more engaging and interesting. I did this with Mary's assistance as she provided me with images that were more suitable for high school students. I also chose my teacher's choice image with this particular group in mind (including student A). The next step was to eliminate student A's temptation to zone out, put his head down, or work on other things during the VTS discussion. I did this successfully by having the whole class stand up and huddle around the image. This helped ALL the students with engagement, not just student A. I continued to do this every discussion. Now, student A was forced to look at the image, but he still did not participate verbally. However, even though he was not contributing to the discussion, it is possible that he was actively listening. Student A stayed silent throughout all the discussions except for lesson #4. During that discussion, he made one small comment without raising his hand. Although the observation was not very profound and he mumbled it unenthusiastically, it was still progress.

In the future, I think that developing a stronger relationship with student A, in addition to more VTS exposure, will result in further progress. It is indeed difficult to target certain students when VTS calls for us to facilitate neutrally. With time and a better understanding of the process, I believe student A will continue to benefit from VTS...allowing him to find interest and encourage his participation in class.

Blog Topic #13

VTS Through a Differentiated Lens

After reading the Tomlinson and Johnson articles through a VTS lens...

VTS has provided differentiation for students in my focus class by allowing me to choose images (content) that suit the interests of my particular group of students. By doing this, the engagement level and participation level has (hopefully) increased. In addition, VTS's careful image selection allows for students to "enter" the image a different levels. Even though everyone is viewing the same picture, some students may notice obvious subject matter, while others may choose to connect subtle details. Because the facilitator is to remain neutral, an "advanced" contribution is not celebrated more than any other. Johnson speaks about allowing for "do-overs" in his article, and with VTS, students can "revise" answers, agree and disagree, and keep adding more information. VTS also fosters collaboration among the students while they work as a collective group to investigate an image. All of this differentiation eventually encourages the students who are normally quiet to speak up. I say this because with each new VTS discussion I've facilitated with my target class, more students have contributed their ideas. There is no pressure for the students who are not confident. They can sit back and learn from there classmates' observations, and then they can jump into the conversation once they've gotten time let their ideas marinate. As the group improves collectively, I (the facilitator) gradually presented more complex images to the class...allowing opportunities for scaffolding. If this class was my own (and I wasn't a visitor), I definitely think I would be able to further find evidence of differentiation. I could provide a place for VTS as a part of a classroom routine, so students could continue to feel more comfortable discussing.

Blog Topic #12

Assessing, Reflecting, and Planning

Lesson #5: Teacher's Choice image

• With Yenawine's recommendations for image selection in mind, I do feel like this image was appropriate for my high school students. I thought the image of a car crash would snyc with their prior knowledge or experience...many of them being around driving age. The image provides a mysterious narrative that prompts the viewer to wonder what happened before, during, and after the scene. The media in this image is photography, which implies a "reality" or "truth"....making the subject matter even more interesting in my opinion. There is a lot to find and uncover within this image, making it a strong VTS selection. 

• I thought the image as appropriately challenging for this group of students. There was enough visual evidence to talk about, and there was a nice level of ambiguity that left room for various interpretations. In the discussion, there were multiple opinions about the female figure in the photo. Some thought she was the driver, and others thought she was a passenger or onlooker. 

• Students noticed: 
• The girl was a reckless driver (cause of the crash)
• The driver was in a hurry/driving fast which caused an accident
• The driver was going on a trip...a suitcase is on the ground with clothing scattered around it
• The female figure was not the driver...b/c she has no bruises/scrapes (not injured) 
• The setting is in a residential area (house in the background)
• The crash just happened...b/c there are no police or ambulances in the scene 
• The road is slick...the ground appears darker
• The people in the house are home...b/c the lights are on and there is a car parked out front 
• It is sunset or night time
• It is sunrise or morning 

• I was able to scaffold some vocabulary/descriptive language such as residential, suburban, gradation, etc. I was hoping that they would comment about the feeling or mood of the image, so that I could paraphrase with juxtaposition, somber, eerie, tranquil, serene, etc. However, those opportunities did not arise in the discussion. 

• The big surprise or curveball in my VTS lesson was that half of the students were asked to leave the class at the beginning of the discussion for a school related meeting. Because of that, I lost a lot of students who were frequent contributors. I think if they would've been present, the VTS discussion would've been longer and more in depth. It was unfortunate. 

• Even though the discussion wasn't as rich as I had envisioned, I would use this image again with a similar class. The reasons are mostly the same as I've stated above: I think this image is relatable, multi-layered, intriguing to this age group.  

Blog Post #11

Preparing for Teacher's Choice

I have chosen this photograph by Gregory Crewdson to VTS with my students. For some reason, I could no find the title anywhere (does anyone know?). Before selecting the image, I was already familiar with Gregory Crewdson's photography and his unique process. I simply googled him and found an image that I found school appropriate, challenging, multi-layered, and enticing.

I believe this image addresses the needs and concerns of my high school students because the scene of a car accident is something that many of them have either seen or experienced. The image appeals to both male and female; it is mysterious, tragic, and serene all at the same time. Many small details will encourage students to look closer and more carefully. There is no clear answer to what is going on in this scene, so there can be many interpretations.

I believe the students will be challenged by this image because there seems to be a strange duality happening within this photo. The scene is both traumatic and beautiful. The image seems to contain a narrative that the students will have to carefully dissect.

Blog Post #10

The following image was used for this week's VTS discussion (VIDEO B):

Assessing Student Engagement and Learning

The students' engagement was pretty good this week, gradually building with each discussion. There was a lot of observations and comments made about the image. The students who contribute regularly did so again this week, but I did hear from a couple new students (who hadn't participated before). Although students were engaged with the image, I did notice some side chatter in the audience. This was a bit distracting as the facilitator.

Students noticed:

• The girls are sisters...because they look alike
• The "older sister" was applying makeup to the "younger sister"
• There are mirrors on the ground...connecting them with the makeup
• The image appears older...because of the disheveled/older model of truck
• The dog in the corner looks like he's on the prowl
• The younger girl does not appear happy
• The younger girl could have a black eye 
• The older girl could be concealing the black eye of the younger girl with makeup
• The girls stole their mothers makeup and are playing 
• The girls don't have shoes on
• Maybe the girls are homeless...truck is their home?
• They are in Virginia...because of the state license plate on the truck
• There aren't any other houses or people around 
• There could be tissues on the ground...someone could've been crying

As the discussion went along, the students were making more connections and drawing more conclusions. Their thinking is rising above the stage 1 viewing...they are starting to notice more than just on the surface observations. I think the students learned from this discussion that there are many possibilities within an image. A lot of students were respectfully disagreeing and providing different ideas. For example, one student thought the two black lines on the ground were tire tracks, and another thought is was a shadow cast from power lines. 

Reflecting on Practice

I felt more comfortable facilitating this time around, and learned that an interesting image allows for a longer and a more in-depth discussion. I was able to use the three questions successfully and remain neutral. I think I did a nice job paraphrasing overall, but it was difficult when students would talk over one another. At times, the students would say comments one after another quickly, so it was challenging to stop and paraphrase after each one. The students tended to make a lot of assumptions about the image, so I made sure I tacked on a lot of conditional language. 

I was surprised at how talkative the students were this time. I think this is partly because I am becoming a more familiar face to them. This is good and bad because for some, they felt comfortable acting silly and having side conversations during this discussion. It's hard to determine when (or if) to classroom manage when some students are being distracting. However, with this level of comfort, more students spoke up in the discussion. A few still have yet to participate. 

Planning

For my next VTS discussion, I need to re-address at the beginning that students need to raise their hand and speak one at a time. This will ensure that all students are listening and can hear each other's contributions. This will also allow me to paraphrase in a smoother and clearer way.