My students were very willing to participate during this
VTS. Some students started talking about the photo, with each other, before the
projector warmed up. I was pleasantly surprised about that. Students noticed
objects and predictions that I never thought about. Students pointed out that
the house might belong to the focused upon woman because she was comfortable
with getting ready. This is a great example of careful observation and meaning
making. Unfortunately the screen came across very dark when projected for all
the students to view. This disabled the students for noticing some key objects,
like the camera the man is holding in the background. When watching the video,
I noticed that some of the students wondered and predicted (with evidence)
situations going on in the artwork.
Student linked ideas to one another. They also expanded on
an idea that a previous student made. They were respectful to others comments
and not afraid to correct an idea. They were funny and uplifting to one
another. They did joke about the plant comment a student made. I think they did
this because they knew we were talking about what was going on and not about
individual objects to point out. I think the students gained a better
understanding for the artwork. They were able to make connections and come up
with a story line for the artwork.
I
felt that this VTS lesson went smoothly. They were better at responding to what
is going on instead of listing objects. I think they were able to do this
because I prompted them back to the first question of VTS a few times. The
questions are becoming more natural to me. Although, I still have them posted
so I can refer back to them if needed. I would like to work on the length of
the discussion as a whole. I think the students stop at a point they think they
are finished. I hope that they could look harder and think deeper to strengthen
the conversation and meaning making in the future.
I love it when my students notice things I previously had not. It is great to hear them discussing things on their own at this age because I truly believe that they are interested in the content at that time. Redirecting them back to the original question of "What is going on here?" is a great way to steer them away from making lists. Some students will go back to the lists but it does encourage others to move away from that. I couldn't imagine how hard it is at time to VTS with high school students, although I'm sure at times they are comparable to kindergarteners. :) When you discussed the length of the discussion, this can be tough. Younger students do not have a problem repeating others ideas but when in high school they don't find that "cool" anymore. I would look at the quality of the discussion on the video and focus less on the length. I think you are doing great and it has been neat watching and listening to the students comments.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are getting through to them! That's exciting!! I also love it when students start talking about what they see in an image before they are prompted (even though officially we ask them not to! LOL!) That demonstrates the first described CCSS-ELA capacity of "demonstrating independence." YESSS!
ReplyDeleteWait time (which can seem like an eternity!) and repeating the third question can serve to remind student that they aren't done! So many times, I've seen a discussion move to a new, more elevated level after "waiting them out!" I LOVE it when that happens!