We are a couple of weeks into our time with the BOYS WRITER'S CLUB this fall. I truly look forward to this time each week as I have the opportunity to spend some time with these hilarious little guys. I know the program is set up for us to go into the school to help them but I feel like I am probably getting more out of our time together than they are. I am also spending time in a High School classroom this semester which is good but the enthusiasm and involvement from the students is much lower than what the BWC brings! I am energized and excited to spend my days with kids as a career after hanging out with these guys. And for that, I am very thankful.
At the heart of our Boys Writer's Club is the teaching strategy known as VTS. The Visual Teaching Strategy is a tool that helps teachers facilitate conversation and observation in students as they look at images of various artworks. The strategy works very well when students are engaged and are able to build new ideas of their own off of others thoughts and comments. Our goal with the BWC is to help the boys improve their writing by allowing them to use their artwork to inspire, entice and produce new thoughts and descriptions of things that excite them. This tool has been something that I have seen work very well first hand with our group and I am excited to utilize in my own classroom in the future. Last semester we spent a great deal of time utilizing the VTS strategy in a classroom and then we finished off the semester by taking these boys to an Art museum. When we made it to the museum, the boys were making such amazing comments and observations that the docent in charge of leading our group said that he was realizing things about certain pieces of art that he had never seen before. The amount of comments and observations that these boys were making was remarkable. It was very clear that their eyes had been opened to the things that were going on around them and they had been empowered to make statements and develop conclusions on the things that they were seeing.
Last week I was able to lead our BWC group in a VTS session and once again I was excited about the results. VTS is built on the foundation of simple questions such as "What is going on in this image?" By allowing the boys to observe and then share their findings one by one with the group, new ideas are formed as the VTS leader summarizes each students statements. The leader is not to make any leading comments or treat any response different from the others. This can be very tough when kids tend to make the same statements over and over that someone else has already made just for the sake of making a comment. Sometimes I am not sure if students are just saying the same thing for the sake of being noticed, OR if this new thought is triggering in their head and they are not aware that it has already been stated and their way of processing this new thought is by sharing it. I think that if the same idea is being repeated, this is a sign that a new idea is being shared and understood by others and the collective idea construction process is working.
Another thing that I noticed in a VTS session that we held this week, is that students respond very well to seeing their ideas posted on some type of public board. We decided to write any descriptive words that we heard from them on a big piece of paper next to the image we were discussing to promote a richer vocabulary in their writing. As the boys saw words being written where everyone could see, they began to shout out all of the words they could think of to see theirs written on the board. The incentive to explore their vocabulary was increased and the words that they were able to share was exciting. From my perspective, a bit of competition is always a good thing to get boys in to an activity. In the context of VTS, this competition is able to be controlled and allow everyone to experience success as long as the facilitator is treating each response consistently.
The VTS strategy brings a number of beneficial scenarios into the classroom. Collaborative learning in this context is interesting for all and allows students to develop ideas at their own rate as the group spends time observing a common image. Everyone is challenged, given freedom to express their opinions, and develop communication skills in addition to the benefits of exposure to new pieces of art.
I believe I mentioned this to you at the conclusion of this VTS session, but I want to put it in the official record because I think it is a facilitor behavior that you are using VERY successfully; that is kneeling on one knee as you facilitate VTS with these boys. As a tall person, you can still gesture to all parts of the image as needed, but it puts you closer to their level which adds a degree of confidence, trust, and even comraderie. You have an easy-going manner and smile constantly as you "VTS," which I'm sure makes them feel that their comments are valued and respected. I know they respond well to you in large part because of your mannerisms and affect.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Word Wall was a motivator and boys who made additions to it were clearly proud! We will need to make it a regular feature of our club meetings!