LTC 8750 Summer 2018 1

Visual Thinking Strategies between Peers: Develop a

Deeper Understanding of One’s Artistic Being

Kelsi Brosnahan

University of Missouri
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 2

Abstract

Students discussing their artwork is a large factor in their artistic growth which allows

them to become a successful creative figure. Many times, this is done in a critic style format

where the students put their work at the front of the room and everyone discussed what they

think works and what does not. This research is purposing that educators take the traditional

questions from Visual Thinking Strategies (i.e. What is going on in this image? What do you see

that makes you say that? What more can you find?) and allow their students the opportunity to

discuss their artwork through this framework. This research study will focus on how students

can use these visual thinking strategies with their peers to analyze their work. Through this

study the hope is to see a growth of investment in students work and create an increased

ability to participate in artistic dialogue. Having this in turn will then be a building block for a

strong classroom culture where students have the freedom to fully invest in their art without

fear of failure or the seeking of validation from the teacher.

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 3

Statement of Problem

Since utilizing Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) in the classroom is mainly focused on the facilitator (teacher)

asking the three questions to their observers (students) a knowledge building of artistic thinking has taken place.

Students are now starting to understand how to think in an artistic manner while observing and participating in a

traditional VTS discussion. Utilizing VTS in a traditional manner can be beneficial for students’ visual growth,

however there is no extensive look at how students using VTS on peers’ artwork can benefit their personal

artistic growth. There is a hole in the information in how students can utilize VTS on each other that needs to be

explored further. Connections between peers can be made through this type of artistic review which can build a

positive safe classroom culture that allows students to create a piece of work that has a deeper meaning. When

the fear of failure is eliminated from the classroom then students will be more willing to invest in their pieces and

take the risks to get an outcome of a product they are proud of.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this research is to get a better understanding of how a student can develop in their artistic

process. This research will produce a deeper understand for students in their artistic process and give educators a

better understanding on how to utilize VTS beyond the image. Through the use of VTS students create a

connection with a piece of artwork that is not their own which in turn develops a value for the piece within the

student. Many art educators have the problem with students not being invested in their own works of art

because they fail to see the personal connections with their pieces. This is due to the disconnect that students

have with their piece of art or just art in general. Using VTS in the classroom can heighten their investment… “By

engaging students dialogically in investigations of complex and compelling visual texts, we have observed strong

investigative initiative and the genuine desire to learn.” (Franco & Unrath, 2014) This research is important since
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 4

it looks at how taking a visual strategy that is designed to get students connected to a piece of work into using

this strategy on their own pieces. Since this is such a powerful approach that develops a value in the student

without them realizing it should lead to the development of a deeper connection to one’s own artwork.

Research Questions

For the purpose of this study, the following questions will be addressed:

1. How does utilizing visual thinking strategies for peer reflecting develop a deeper

understanding for one’s own art process and product at the elementary level?

2. How is the creation process of a student’s art developed through peer VTS?

3. Does peer VTSing affect the final product of a student’s art piece?

4. Would VTSing peer’s art pieces produce an ownership for one's own piece and art

program?

Definition of Terms

1. Grounded Theory - a procedural approach to collect and analyze qualitative data.

2. Ontology - philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as

well as the basic categories of being and their relations.

3. Epistemology - investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.

4. Case Study - qualitative study to gain understanding characterized by intensive

descriptions and analysis of a single unit or bounded system.

5. Art Based - the systematic use of the artistic process

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 5

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of this study is that students can develop a deeper

understanding of their artistic process and their artwork from using visual thinking strategies on

their artwork alongside their peers. This can be done through the use of a grounded theory

method, collecting the data first to see the trends of development through the process. Glaser

and Strauss developed this theory in 1967 and describe it as …”an inquiry that was developed

as a procedural approach to collect and analyze qualitative data.” (Olsen & Rizk) Grounded

theory allows for the collection of the data first before coming to a final hypothesis for the

research. Since there is not a significant amount of research on this topic already grounded

theory will be the best option to construct a solid line of flight.

Literature Review

Literature for this type of specific visual thinking strategy between peers is non-existent.

Visual Thinking Strategies is a relatively new concept, however there are several pieces of

literature that are helpful in finding the development of meaning making through the use of

VTS. There are three main ideas that are the subject of this research and literature that can

project this research future.

Visual Thinking Strategies

Visual Thinking Strategies was developed as a way to get art viewers cognitively engaged

with the pieces that they were observing in 1991. Phillip Yenawine was working for the New

York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) when he realized that the people taking the tours of

the art pieces were not remembering the pieces or seemed to have little interest in them. With
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 6

the help of a cognitive psychologist they found that the people needed… “Consent to use their

powerful eyes and intelligent minds. Time to noodle and figure things out. The go ahead to use

what they already know to reflect on what they don’t: the first steps in learning.” (Yenawine,

2013) Small children are always asking why and Yenawine calls this the permission to wonder.

Allowing observes to wonder what the meanings are and build upon their own knowledge leads

to unexpected growth.

Connections to art are usually highly personal experiences. This can turn people away from

participating in a piece if they feel like there is no connection for them. Yenawine discusses how

through the research of VTSing within the museum setting they found that spectators could

often make sense of a piece built off of their own experiences, but once a portion of knowledge

about the piece was revealed they often light their experience was “not the right experience”

with the piece. This can lead them to tune out to the artwork itself and disconnect from it

completely. This often happens in the classroom when students observe art pieces. They feel

like there is some kind of answer or a meaning that they are supposed to get right away. The

permission to take time and fully take in a piece on your own accord has been eliminated in

education due to the highly demanding test building skills being taught. Using Visual Thinking

Strategies allows students to slow down, collect their previous knowledge, build from their

peers’ knowledge, and develop new understandings in a respectful atmosphere.

Engagement

Engaging students in artwork can be difficult, this is due to the findings that Yenawine

found where observers feel like their personal connections to the piece are not “correct”.

However, there is research done by Dr. Mary Franco and Dr. Kathleen Unrath were the
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 7

intellectual development in students can actually increase through the use of VTS. Also, a

student’s engagement in art piece can be heightened due to the fact that they are able to

develop a personal connection with a piece without the fear of rejection. In Franco’s findings

with her Young Men as Writers club she found that VTS had developed a type of active

engagement in the young boys. She noted that there were three facets that took place through

this active engagement. “…behaviorally, as focused attention and persistent effort to construct

meaning from various works; emotionally, as genuine interest and eagerness to participate in a

rigorous process that was nonetheless within their grasp; and cognitively, through the

construction of grounded interpretations and the creative elaboration of ideas.” (Franco &

Unrath, 2015) Through this a positive classroom culture was developed and a genuine interest

in the art pieces. So much so that Franco discusses how early arrivers would take part in their

own discussion of the artwork without the facilitator driving the questions.

This is the doorway into this research of peer visual thinking strategies. Through the

utilization of VTS in the classroom a positive, safe, and respectful classroom environment was

developed. Franco worked with struggling readers/writers in her research of using VTS to help

students develop Common Core Skills. Even though this boosted these young boys core skills it

boosted their own confidence to take ownership of their ideas and respectful listen to other

ideas. This type of atmosphere that is developed through VTS allows students even with lower

IQs to feel comfortable with discussing their thoughts and develop in a safe place. When

students begin to feel comfortable with each other and are able to discuss pieces with each

other and are able to respectfully listen without a facilitator a deeper connection with a piece

of art can possibly to made.

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 8

Mentor/Mentee relationships

Through the Visual Thinking Strategies students are set up to be a mentor and a mentee

to their peers. Even though looking from the outside the connection does not seem clear, it is

apparent by the knowledge building that students use inputs from each other. In Dr. Amy

Roupp and Dr. Kathleen Unrath’s research of the mentor/mentee relationship they found that

this relationship is fluid. Roupp discusses how the traditional view of mentor is one a

hierarchical standpoint has been seen but she leads into how this relationship is actually one of

a holistic standpoint. Through this research an art piece was created by Dr. Roupp and Dr.

Unrath with the idea of how the mentor/mentee relationship relates and interacts with each

other. Through this process trust was a large factor in the exchange of roles as mentor/mentee.

When two people are developing a piece of artwork there is a boundary of trust that both must

feel comfortable with. Through the study the two started out hesitant working on their own

side of the window and feeding off of each other’s mark making. In the end, they end up

coming together to work on the final product of the piece.

Trust is a foundation that is being laid down through Visual Thinking Strategies in the

classroom. Allowing students to take the time to processes their ideas on their own accord and

allowing the opportunity to share these thoughts without judgement takes trust. Through Dr.

Roupp and Dr. Unrath’s research trust was built and their ideas and thoughts were shared

without judgment. Through this finding students can be this for each other.

Methodology

This research is a qualitative descriptive case study that will take place throughout the

school year. Research will be done with upper elementary levels third and fourth grade.
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 9

Through the conduction of this research Visual Thinking Strategies will be utilized in a

traditional facilitator (teacher) and observer (student) manner to keep students’ fresh on the

workings of VTS. Also, Visual Thinking Strategies will be used between the students when

discussing their own piece of artwork. Through this process students will show how they have

built their artistic thinking and meaning making with the use of VTSing with their peers.

Research Design

The design of the study will be centered around upper elementary students through the

use of the grounded theory approach. This will be a qualitative data collection of students using

their own pieces of artwork in a visual thinking strategy. This research is designed to find the

connection that students create through using VTS with their peers on their personal pieces of

artwork. All together this will be a case study in grounded theory.

As grounded theory suggest that one collects the data first in order to project their

hypothesis. This data collection will be done through a series of video records of students using

the visual thinking strategies on their own pieces of work with their peers. Observations of the

students’ connections and behaviors will also be recorded for data use. This will be useful in

replaying occurrences that take place during the actual peer VTS discussions. Interviews, audio

or visual, will be sources of data collection as well to find the connections that students are

making. Having this data source is an authentic way to collect students’ personal thoughts on

the process and how this has affected their art making decisions. A collection of artist

statement will also be a data source for this research. With current Visual Thinking Strategy

research, it has been found that writing capabilities increase through the use of VTS on

different images.
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 10

Sampling

The sampling for the research will be conducted on upper elementary, three third grade

classes and two fourth grade classes in the Cole Camp R-1 School District. This will allow for a

diverse group of students in many different aspects. Students will have a distribution of male

and female, socioeconomic classes, learning disabilities, and artistic skill bases. This will allow

for several different types of students to develop artistically and cognitively through the

research. The participants in this research will range from the ages of eight to ten years old.

Data Collection and Analysis

Data collection will take place over the entire course of the school year. This will be done

through the use of peer visual thinking strategies video recordings, observations of behaviors,

interviews of student’s responses to the experience, students written artist statements that go

with their finish art piece.

Video recordings of students conducting their peer VTS will be collected as data that can

be looked over after the experience. With the video records the connections that students

made and the development that took place can be looked over again. This will allow for time to

listen and even replay comments that are critical to the development of the student’s artistic

process.

Observations of student’s behavior during these interactions will be collected by the

teacher. This will be done through the use of dialoging the occurrences as they happen in the

discussion. As the research, it will be impossible to do this for each group of VTSing peers the

video records will come in use for this type of data collection as well. These observations of
LTC 8750 Summer 2018 11

behavior can be taken as interaction time, about of information given, conversation, and active

participation in another peer work through VTS.

Interviews of student’s experiences will be collected as a way to hear the thoughts of the

students that were being peer VTSed. This is an informal way for students to just talk about

their feelings on the VTS and share their thoughts. Having this record will allow for time to re-

listen to the comments and find connections and development within the students.

Artist statements will be collect as data as well. These will give a solid piece of data that

can be used as a quantitative piece if needed. The amount that the students write and the

vocabulary that was used can be shown through the students written statement. These can also

be used as a qualitative data piece as the connections and growth of the student’s piece will

reflect in their artist statement.

Protection of Human Rights

This research will be conducted with the respect of the student’s personal space and

ideas. Within the district that this research will take place the students can participate in any

type of academic publication activity within our district (county newspaper, school website, etc)

unless a parent signs a non-participatory paper. This research will be conducted within the

classroom and no additional time will be taken from students. If there is a student that does not

feel comfortable with peer VTSing their own artwork they will not be required to participate.

For publishing this research as a research then an RBI form will need to be signed by the

student’s guardian. Confidentiality will be a priority and if this research is to be published then

student identities will be covered from the public eye.

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 12

Discussion

The goal of this research is to give educators insight on how students can develop their

artistic process and meaning making through the use of peer visual thinking strategies. Within

the art room students should be free to express their thoughts and ideas with their peers

without the fear of judgment. Through the bonding that Visual Thinking Strategies gives

students relationships will improve which in turn will create a positive inviting classroom

culture. Creating this freedom of knowledge building through communication on their artistic

process and product will further develop an investment in one’s pieces that often seems to be

lacking. Through this research a new way of peer critiquing that is uplifting and confidence

building for students will be produced.

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 13

References

Buffington, M. L., & McKay, S. W. (2013). Practice Theory: Seeing the power of art teacher

researchers. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.

Franco, M., & Unrath, K. (2014). Carpe Diem: Seizing the Common Core with Visual Thinking

Strategies in the Visual Arts Classroom. Art Education,67(1), 28-32.

doi:10.1080/00043125.2014.11519255

Franco, M. J., & Unrath, K. (2015). The Art of Engaging Young Men as Writers. Art

Education,68(3), 26-31. doi:10.1080/00043125.2015.11519319

Miraglia, K. M., & Smilan, C. (2014). Inquiry in action: Paradigms, methodologies, and

perspectives in art education research. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.

Moeller, M., Cutler, K., Fiedler, D., & Weier, L. (2013). Visual thinking strategies = creative and

critical thinking. Kappan,95(3), 56-60. Retrieved June 14, 2018.

Olsen, N., & Rizak, S. (n.d.). GROUNDED THEORY. Retrieved June 14, 2018, from

https://groundedtheory.weebly.com/

Unrath, K., & Ruopp, A. (2016). Cultivating potential-harvesting wisdom: An a/r/tographical

illumination of mentorship. Visual Inquiry,5(3), 433-447. doi:10.1386/vi.5.3.433_1

LTC 8750 Summer 2018 14

Yenawine, P. (2013, November). Visual Thinking Strategies: Learning How to Teach With Art

... Retrieved June 14, 2018, from https://www.utne.com/arts/learning-how-to-teach-with-

art-ze0z1311zbla?PageId=1#axzz2kgQeZ4cs

Yenawine, P. (2014). Visual thinking strategies: Using art to deepen learning across school

disciplines. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Zapata, A., Fugit, M., & Moss, D. (2017). Awakening Socially Just Mindsets Through Visual

Thinking Strategies and Diverse Picturebooks. JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE,43(2), 62-

69. Retrieved June 14, 2018.