Allowing people to learn for themselves is the most effective means of education. Vue cofounder abigail housen gives an account of how she began her study of aesthetic development, how she came up with her research methodology, and the overall findings of her 20 years of research. This method is called visual thinking strategies vts and it was developed by cognitive psychologist abigail housen and philip yenawine. Visual thinking strategies for improved comprehension ld. Developed by abigail housen and philipyenawine the visual thinking strategies a an approach that encourages critical thinking skills that can be transfered to other texts and applications. Our approach eric carle museum of picture book art. She defined five incremental stages of aesthetic development. He is cofounding director of the watershed collective, a non profit educational organization that develops online resources for teachers. Visual thinking strategies vts challenges the standard model of teaching by encouraging a reflectionandresponse style of learning. What happens if complete chaos ensues and of course, thats when the head of school decides to do a popin.
Initially developed over 30 years ago by cognitive psychologist abigail housen and veteran museum educator. Visual thinking strategies for improved comprehension. I am a visual thinking strategies facilitator in grades 35 via the honeywell foundation in wabash, indiana. In the late 1980s, cognitive psychologist abigail housen and veteran museum educator. Abigail housen and philip yenawine developed visual thinking strategies vts. Visual thinking strategies vts uses art to teach visual. Awakening socially just mindsets through visual thinking. This distinction emerges because the whole book approach also draws inspiration from the visual thinking strategies vts, an elementary school curriculum developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine that uses a learnercentered method to examine and find meaning in visual art.
Visual thinking strategies could be used with analyzing primary source material in a social studies class. Phillip yenawine was the firstever gardner museum educatorinresidence in 2012. Solving problems and selling ideas with pictures by dan roam, the sketchnote handbook. Visual thinking strategies is a researchbased education nonprofit that believes. Learning to think and communicate through art housen, abigail on. This insightful book unpacks a technique that transforms classrooms into engaging, exciting laboratories for the critical thinking and communication skills our children need to master. Visual thinking strategy throughher research, cognitivepsychologist, abigail housen20012002 studies how people think when they look at art. While vts is the name of an entire curriculum that grew out of the research of cognitive psychologist abigail housen and the experience of museum educator philip yenawine, the heart of the method is a framework for looking at an isolated image. D from harvard in 1983 and has pioneered aesthetic development research for over 30 years. Vts is a technique developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine that uses art in facilitated discussions to encourage participation, critical thinking, and close looking as well as synthesis of different points of views and complex thinking.
The concept can be applied to virtually any subject. The result, after much research, was visual thinking strategies, a method that uses particular questions and techniques to facilitate close observation, critical thinking, and a wide range of communication skills. Philip yenawine was director of education at the museum of modern art from 1983. The funding organization had no role in the 1 design or conduct of. Through the creative use of these competencies, he is able to communicate with others. Visual thinking strategies vts is a program developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine to increase student interaction with and understanding of art. Visual thinking strategies in the composition classroom summer hess, justin young, and heidi arbogast. It confirms what advocates of noninstitutionalized learning believe. Housen also briefly discusses how she applied what she learned to creating the visual thinking strategies curriculum. Read download visual thinking strategies pdf pdf download. Awakening socially just mindsets through visual thinking strategies and diverse picturebooks. The visual thinking strategies vts the visual thinking strategies vts approach was codeveloped by abigail housen and philip yenawine 30 years ago.
Mar 10, 2016 visual thinking strategies vts is an inquirybased teaching method developed by philip yenawine 20, former education director of new yorks museum of modern art, and abigail housen, a cognitive psychologist in the harvard graduate school of education. Visual thinking strategies is a curriculum developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine, designed to foster critical thinking skills through interaction w. It involves a set of skills ranging from simple identification naming what one sees to. Risd alum michelle grohe helps bostons gardner museum.
Visual thinking strategies have a very, very positive impact on classrooms. Visual thinking strategies vts is an elementary school curriculum developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine. Vts encourages close looking and critical thinking. The strategy grew out of abigail housens research on aesthetic thinking, leading to the creation of an aesthetic development stage theory to understand how we.
Extending visual thinking strategies art, books, and. It finds meaning in imagery and develops visual literacy skills through learning in the arts, fostering thinking and communication skills through listening carefully and expressing oneself. Philip yenawine creative director watershed collaborative. The visual thinking strategies approach 51 objects, symbols, natural or manmade, that he encounters in his environment. Visual thinking strategy throughher research, cognitivepsychologist, abigail housen 20012002 studies how people think when they look at art. Shes doing so in part by implementing inclusive visual thinking strategies vts pioneered by cognitive.
All of the education programs at the eric carle museum of picture book art are built on the premise that picture books. The course was based on the visual thinking strategies methodology 10, 11 and facilitated by professional art educators. Publications by abigail housen visual thinking strategies. The strategy grew out of abigail housen s research on aesthetic thinking, leading to the creation of an aesthetic development stage theory to understand how we. Jul 10, 2008 observation exercises were facilitated by art educators trained in visual thinking strategies, a methodology that uses art discussion to develop critical thinking, communication skills, and visual literacy. Visual thinking strategies streaming video king county. Visual thinking strategy vts castellani art museum. An introduction to visual thinking strategies carle museum. For artworks with a specific cultural meaning, avoid using vts. For those of you unfamiliar with visual thinking strategies, it is an inquirybased teaching method developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine more than twenty years ago and used in museums and school classrooms across the country. Allowing the students spontaneous questions and reactions to drive the discussion creates authentic learning and deeper engagement with the book as a whole, instead of just the storyline or your knockout performance. The meaning of visual thinking strategies for nursing students. The use of visual arts as a window to diagnosing medical pathologies. The visual thinking strategies vts method was created by abigail housen, a cognitive psychologist in the harvard graduate school of education.
Visual thinking strategies vts is an inquirybased teaching method. It provided a focused structure for the use of fine art to build these skills. Formal art observation training improves medical students. Visual thinking strategies in the composition classroom summer hess, justin young, and heidi arbogast english instruction at the k12 and college levels includes practice in multimodal communication and multiliteracies. Philip yenawine developed visual thinking strategies vts as an. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Psychologist abigail housen has been studying aesthetic thought since the early 1970s and has found it to encompass. Vts, developed by philip yenawine and abigail housen, is another method of inquiry that allows people to fully explore a work of art. Frank serafini offers a variety of approaches to reading and analyzing visual texts. This workshop uses visual thinking strategies see table 1 to teach visual literacy 6. Working with housen 20002001, we conducted field research, in conjunction with the development of a curriculum called visual thinking strategies, to see if our choices had the desired impact. Yenawine is cofounder with cognitive psychologist abigail housen of visual understanding in education vue, and together they are the authors and creators of visual thinking strategies, an. For the past two decades, the overall discourse regarding visual thinking strategies vts has been the subject of rather thorny debate.
Today, vts is a wellknown program used in museums both locally and internationally, as well as in schools, colleges and universities. Whos who at the learning network the new york times. Apr 29, 2014 for those of you unfamiliar with visual thinking strategies, it is an inquirybased teaching method developed by abigail housen and philip yenawine more than twenty years ago and used in museums and school classrooms across the country. Yenawine is cofounder with cognitive psychologist abigail housen of visual understanding in education vue, and together they are the authors and creators of visual thinking strategies, an artbased elementary curriculum. You dont have to convince me of the power art has to open the mind to new ways of seeing and thinking. One underutilized critical thinking strategy centers on understanding visual mediums such as art. His two most recent books, visual thinking strategies vts, were published by harvard. Determined to improve every aspect of the visitor experience at bostons isabella stewart gardner museum, michelle grohe ma 02the newly appointed esther stiles eastman curator of educationis transforming the relationship between the 115yearold landmark and the community it serves.
Vts is implemented in schools, universities, and cultural institutions worldwide. The oftencited conversation between philip yenawine and danielle rice at the 1999 national docent symposium. Extending visual thinking strategies art, books, and creativity. After 10 happy years as an english teachernewspaper adviser at e. Housen identified aesthetic stages that mark the development of skills helping to define visual lit eracy. It also presents a very effective method for tapping into students background knowledge. Through the appreciative use of these competencies, he is able to comprehend and enjoy the master.
With just one session a month during the school year, students improve their visual literacy, communication skills, and critical thinking. Our staff of 50 childrens and teen librarians had just received training in visual thinking strategies vts. Posts about abigail housen written by mike murawski. Visual thinking strategies is a questioning process that support the development. Using art to deepen learning across school disciplines. The oftencited conversation between philip yenawine and danielle rice at the 1999 national docent symposium published in 2002 productively drew out many of the disagreements about the role of information in museum teaching, especially. Abigail housen is currently considered a single author. Designed as a way of teaching viewers to find meaning and pleasure in works of art, these strategies are based on the work of cognitive psychologist abigail housen and veteran museum educator, philip yenawine. Yenawine describes what vts is in his latest book, visual thinking strategies. They had newfound knowledge that could bring these images to. A simple, whats going on in this picture, can lead to increased child interest. The meaning of visual thinking strategies for nursing students by margaret m.
The use of visual arts as a window to diagnosing medical. Apr 24, 2015 this chapter roots these ideas in the theory and research of cognitive psychologist abigail housen, coauthor of visual thinking sttategies vts with museum educator philip yenawine. Visual thinking strategies with co founder philip yenawine. Vts is essentially a teacherled discussion that follows a certain schematic. He cocreated visual thinking strategies vts with abigail housen. Actually, using the visual thinking strategy questions support student engagement with the text. Jun 26, 2009 when i heard that the district of columbia public library was receiving a set of highquality posters of american art for each sitethanks to the nehala picturing america granti couldnt have been more excited.
Philip yenawine, former education director of new yorks museum of modern art and cocreator of the curriculum outlined in visual thinking strategies harvard education press, 20, writes engagingly about his years of experience with young students in the classroom. Use vts with artworks that are narrative and open to multiple interpretations. Visual thinking strategies linkedin learning, formerly. He was an early member of visualaids and one of the initiators of day without. Abigail housen, and patricia foley of visual understanding in education. A clinical ethicist kab leads the session, which introduces students to the. Using visual thinking strategies to conduct picturing america. Apr 23, 2020 he is cofounder of visual thinking strategies vts and the vts curriculum with cognitive psychologist abigail housen. Each of these programs draws on visual thinking strategies vts, which is an evidencebased, widely used method of museum art education that lends. The visual thinking strategies vts teaching method has been successfully implemented in schools, districts, and cultural institutions nationwide, including bilingual schools in california, west orange public schools in new jersey, and the san francisco museum of modern art. For example if the source was a diary from a settlers life, students could extend their thinking past what is being told to them and into the paper type and writing instrument used and what that may tell them. Visual thinking strategies from the museum to the library.
He writes about art and has many books including six for children. Sep 12, 2014 find out how visual thinking strategies, the look and think teaching methodology, can help educators bridge the gap between teaching and learning in the classroom. Visual thinking strategies vts offers teaching librarians a unique opportunity to integrate a work of art directly into their instruction. Vts is targeted at developing creativity and thinking skills.
His most recent book, visual thinking strategies, was published by harvard education. The abbreviated suggestions that follow derive from our findings and are meant to aid. He worked with cognitive psychologist abigail housen to create a new and effective means of engaging people with images. He cocreated visual thinking strategies with abigail housen. Housen identified aesthetic stages that mark the development of skills helping to define visual literacy. Based on these findings, visual thinking strategies vts has been developed as a method initiated by teacher facilitated discussions of art images see yenawine, 20. Using visual thinking strategies to conduct picturing america programs. Visual thinking strategies and english learners tesol blog. A simple, whats going on in this picture, can lead to increased child.
Abigail housen developed rigorous research methods based on her work. Visual thinking strategies in the composition classroom. A theory of how individuals develop the ability to construct meaning from visual art was developed by abigail housen, the cofounder of visual understanding in education and coauthor of the visual thinking strategies curriculum. Visual thinking strategies vts uses art to teach thinking, communication skills, and visual literacy to young people. Her research is also the basis of vts, a method of engaging learners in deep.
Using visual thinking strategies to conduct picturing. Lori candela, examination committee chair associate professor of nursing university of nevada, las vegas nurse educators are called upon to provide creative, innovative experiences for students in order to prepare nurses to work in complex healthcare settings. Key art terms for beginners, and has written six childrens books about art. He reveals how the vts curriculum was developed, and demonstrates how teachers are using art to increase a variety of skills. This chapter roots these ideas in the theory and research of cognitive psychologist abigail housen, coauthor of visual thinking sttategies vts with museum educator philip yenawine. Philip yenawine is cofounder with cognitive psychologist abigail housen of visual understanding in education, a nonprofit educational research organization that develops and studies programs that train teachers to use art to teach thinking. Murrow high school in brooklyn, she spent nine years as a freelance literacy consultant and curriculum writer. Katherine schulten, who has been the editor of the learning network since 2006, first taught as a member of the jesuit volunteer corps in 19845, then spent a semester teaching english to businessmen in tokyo. The whole book approach master mary newell depalma.
It was created by psychologist abigail housen and the then director of the education. Abigail housen abigail housen is the cofounder of visual understanding in education and the coauthor of the vts curriculum. Yorks museum of modern art, and abigail housen, a cognitive psychologist in the. Visual thinking strategies from the perspective of museum educators. Abigail housen and philip yenawine developed visual thinking strategies vts in the late 1980s. In their recent book teaching in the art museum, rika burnham and elliot kaikee frame vts as a. It uses a learnercentered method to examine and find meaning in visual art through a sequence of carefully selected fine art images. Designed by art educator philip yenawine and developmental psychologist abigail housen, vts relies on childrens natural ability to observe, using imagery as the starting point for learning. Visual thinking strategies vts is an inquirybased teaching method developed by philip yenawine 20, former education director of new yorks museum of modern art, and abigail housen, a cognitive psychologist in the harvard graduate school of education. Yenawine describes what vts is in his latest book, visual thinking.
308 1053 1454 796 646 691 362 1208 1135 1620 1627 516 586 622 1071 1330 1034 1683 1220 1161 48 1164 1014 1514 679 984 1390 806 16 54 154 1050 561 880 1256 212 1287 193 723 1025 151 1466 581