*Visual Thinking Strategies*

   The value of facilitating a discussion about works of art is that it encourages students to express their thought process and ideas. The teacher makes them feel important since there is no right or wrong and students are more likely to participate in the discussion. I think it is fascinating to see a child's thought process and how they genuinely engage in the questions their teacher asks them. As can see below, the young men that I used to analyze a painting didn't really take it seriously.
It is important to teach students to examine works of art since it is an opportunity for self-expression and creativity. When the students study math for example, there is usually one correct answer, but when it comes to art and VTS it is up to the students to lead the discussion. It is also an opportunity for students to engage with their classmates and feed off from what other students say.


         I chose "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh since it is a very popular painting and can be interpreted in different ways. I asked student male college students  and one male high school student.

        The first question that I asked was: What do you see in the painting.  The first response came from the high school student and he said that it the painting looked like it was outer space. Then one college student said that it looked more like a setting in a Harry Potter movie, like it looked magical. When I asked the reason for the magic then the other students agreed that it was a magical piece since there are starts, several suns and the strokes of the paint. One college student said that the black figure looked like a castle, like the one in Beauty and the Beast. Then they started joking that it also looked like a scene in Aladdin when Jasmine and Aladdin are flying on the magic carpet.
I then asked them what they thought about the artist's purpose in painting the piece. They answered by saying that he was probably bored or drunk. I re-directed the conversation to something more serious. I asked them why they thought that the main figure in the painting was black. They first said it was a castle, but then one student said it looked more like fire and it depicted the dark side of the world. And I asked why fire, and they said that maybe it was a painting a depiction of the end of the world. I asked them how they came with that conclusion; they said it looked like the end of the world because it seemed like a storm was coming and that it seemed that a wave was coming from the right side of the painting. Then one student said that the round figures in the sky were the planets and that they were aligning since the world was ending.
Only one student knew who the artist was.
The conversation lasted about 15 minutes since they weren't sure what the purpose of my questions were and lost interest.