Visual Thinking Strategies

What is VTS?

The key to VTS used by Housen is the Aesthetic Development Interview (ADI), a non-directive, stream-of-consciousness questioning designed to elicit viewers’ thoughts and feelings about a work of art. Open-ended responses are obtained, and like responses are grouped together. The interviewer asks open-ended questions, such as,

“What do you see
in this picture?”

Visual Thinking Strategies, is a teaching method that applies developed art to build critical thinking, communication and visual literacy skills. Teachers facilitate the learner centered discussions of visual art and learners are engaged in observation and meaningful dialogue of art.

This use of facilitated discussion enables students to practice respectful, democratic, collaborative problem solving skills. VTS produces observational and visual literacy growth in all students, and engages students at all levels. Visual Thinking Strategies encourage thoughtful participation and nurtures verbal language skills, while influencing a thoughtful transfer of oral ability to written ability.

History of Visual Thinking Strategies

Visual Thinking Strategies is the result of more than fifteen years of collaboration between cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen, veteran museum educator Philip Yenawine, and their colleagues. As Director of Education at The Museum of Modern Art from 1983-1993, Yenawine was primarily concerned with making museum education programs more effective. His research introduced him to the work of Abigail Housen in 1988.

Housen, a Harvard-trained educator and psychologist, conducted empirical research exploring how viewers, experienced and novice, think when looking at art objects. The culmination of her many years of study, Housen?s Theory of Aesthetic Development, identifies five distinct patterns of thinking that correlate to the amount of exposure subjects have had to art. This research became the core of VTS.

http://www.vtshome.org

Visual Thinking Improves...

the image at: https://www.thevisualleap.com

DBAE: Discipline Based Arts Education

Discipline-based art education (DBAE) is an approach to art education that draws upon four art disciplines: art production, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics.
Discipline-Based Art Education
DBAE was formalized in the 1980s by the Getty Center for Arts Education , a division of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which is a private foundation dedicated to the visual arts and the humanities. DBAE is a conceptual framework which incorporates elements from many other educational theories (such as VTS).
DBAE seeks to impart a well-rounded view of art by studying any given work or type
of work using four different disciplines, tailored to specific ages and grade levels:
1. Art Production – Students learn skills and techniques in order to produce
personal, original artwork.
2. Art History – Students study the artistic accomplishments of the past and
present as motivation, examples of style or technique, and as discussion
topics, especially in relation to cultural, political, social, religious, and
economic events and movements.
3. Art Criticism – Students describe, interpret, evaluate, theorize and judge
the properties and qualities of the visual form, for the purpose of
understanding and appreciating works of art and understanding the roles
of art in society.
4. Aesthetics – Students consider the nature, meaning, impact and value of
art, are encouraged to formulate reflective, “educated” opinions and
judgments about specific works of art, and examine criteria for evaluating
works of art.

Similar to Visual Thinking Strategies, Discipline-Based
Art Education is a form of inquiry-based training; the focus is on the students and
their interests, judgment, reasoning and critical-thinking skills.

Art Criticism: Feldman's Model

Art criticism is a discipline of art. It is exciting and empowering. When students critique artworks they meaningfully discuss art with others. It encourages students to think more deeply and can be very cross curricular, stirring up other educational experiences.

Feldman introduced the formalist model of art criticism, in 1967 through his book, Varieties of the Visual Experience. The Feldman's model of art criticism has four analytical phases: describe, analyze, interpret, judge. and clear objectives.
Feldman's art criticism model is a standard in art education and follows these four steps.

Step 1:
Description: Description is an inventory of the content in the artwork. Point out the single
features, objects, and abstract elements such as colors and textures.
Step 2:
Formal Analysis: Apply a connection of the descriptions to the principles and elements of art
such as repetition, contrast, and balance
Step 3:
Interpretation: Make statements about the meaning of the work based upon the descriptions and
formal analysis given in the first two steps.
Step 4:
Judgement: Give an opinion of the work, based upon what has been learned from the previous
three steps.


(Image location http://www.firstfridaytallahassee.com/images/southwest.jpg)

What are Aesthetics?

Aesthetics is the philosophical and psychological conception of beauty. It is a particular approach to what is pleasing to the senses, (or not pleasing) to see. Aesthetics is sometimes considered a judgment of taste. Aesthetics in art education is a critical reflection of what we see and perceive.

Aesthetics are often linked to emotions but can also be linked to culture, values, preferences, and experiences. Aesthetics call forth unconscious and conscious reactions to something considered beautiful or even not beautiful. Why is it beautiful? Why is it not beautiful?

In questioning aesthetics, or the judgments of sentiment and taste, there is always a reflection. That thing that is being judged, what does it symbolize for the viewer? What does it mean for the person experiencing that thing?

link to image flickr.com/photos/ 7264509@N06/736856046/