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.