ACTIVITIES

Project Workshops

June 15 & 16, 2000
K-Life Virtual Partners Workshop: Introduction to the Visual Thinking Strategies
Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA).
Information

This workshop focused on strategies for integrating art into regular classroom instruction. Two graduate credit hours were available as well as CRUs for teacher re-licensing. No workshop fees were charged. Teachers who wrote an instructional plan according to workshop criteria were paid $100.

Introduction to the Visual Thinking Strategies
The Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a teaching model for students and teachers, founded on the premise that finding meaning in works of visual art involves a rich range of thinking skills. The VTS encourages:

• a personal connection to art from diverse cultures, times and places
  
• confidence in one's ability to construct meaning from it
  
• active class discussions and group problem solving
  
• development of thinking and communication skills
  
• transference of these skills to other subject areas
  
• the motivation and curiosity to acquire additional information*
  * (Adapted from Visual Understanding in Education's "Introduction to Visual Thinking Strategies")
  

Workshop participants learned about, interacted with, and reflected on the strategies and developed ways to use them with their students.

"One of the things I find most interesting about VTS is how the skills learned can be applied to other areas of the learner's life, whether it is language arts or conflict resolution." - Troy Smythe, Manager of Teacher and School Programs, IMA