The image
for this week was chosen for its magical, enchanted feel. It was an image that
comes for the book Flotsum that features an imaginative world under the sea. Sea turtles are depicted that represent places
for other creature to live in. Enchantment is the operative word and relates
to the image from last week by Norman Rockwell of a boy reading and
contemplating himself as a chivalrous knight that rescues the princess.
o Student engagement was high. I have had a
previous encounter with this group and found that most were engaged and wanting
to share like the first session.
o They noticed that this work depicted an undersea
environment and has a magical quality with what looks like dwellings on the top
of sea turtle shells.
o Most showed level one with direct observations
and some idea of a story. Some students alluded
to the idea that an artist may have intended portray creatures live in the
dwellings, but disagreement as to what those creatures are.
o Student learned that we can enjoy artwork that
is from the imagination of an artist and that sometimes we are left to wonder
about some aspects of the work. Like what creatures do live in the little shell
dwelling on the turtles backs?
I noticed that
I use the questions and teacher behaviors often and allowed for observers to
explain their thoughts. Mary had given me some insight from her experience with
this image in other VTS sessions with other classes this week and told me that
someone may see that the foreground represents a close up view of another sea
turtle with dwellings that little creatures live in and that there are not many
cues that give one that definite idea. When one student did explain that she
saw, I responded with some enthusiasm and tried to tone it down in middle stream.
Also noticed that if I have given an explanation as to why do you say that? I sometimes go on, even though it might not
have been a clear explanation. I’d like
to get better at knowing how to bring out better explanations, especially if I forgot
some information that was explained that I could not follow.
This was a good discussion and although it seems from your comments that you felt you gave a little more excitement to the response about the turtle that might be under the foreground scene, I didn't notice it as an observer, so it must have been subtle! You are getting more comfortable with the questions and I feel like continued practice will support your continued VTS growth. Pointing and paraphrasing are used consistently; your enthusiasm and neutrality continue to be strengths! Yeah!!
ReplyDeleteThe engagement by the class was amazing! I can tell that they are seasoned VTS participants because of how comfortable they were to share their thoughts as well as to disagree with one another! The amount of times students said they disagreed with what someone else said really surprised me but again it shows how experienced they are.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your introduction; you made it clear to the students what you expected of them. One suggestion I would make is after your introduction, give students some time to silently look over the image. I think that will help them to settle down a little and prevent them from putting their hands up before you ask the first question. I think telling them to keep their comments to one or two things was a good idea because it was clear that they were all eager to talk and some students definitely wanted to say a lot. I think limiting the amount of comments students can offer will also help you remember everything that they say when you paraphrase.
I noticed that you’re really good at gesturing which I can imagine is really important when working with children and directing their attention. What I thought you did really well was the way you reworded (what do you see that makes you say that?) after the first student’s comment. The way you phrased it was really specific forcing the student to present the evidence you were looking for.
I noticed when you got a little excited by a really interesting interpretation from one of the students. It is definitely easy to do that! Otherwise, you remained very neutral and seemed interested in what every student had to say. What I was also impressed with was how you gave every student the opportunity to speak by stopping to reflect on who you haven’t called on. It shows students that you care about what they have to say. Overall, very well done!
Thank you Dionne! It's funny that you could feel that excitement too, which when I felt at the time. I tried to back track and calm down rapidly before any one noticed. Thanks for the suggestions. I will keep those in mind.
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