Portrait of Possibility Revisited
4th Grade, ELL Cluster Class, 50 minutes.
As mentioned before, "Student A" was one who was excited about looking at the images and noticed many things. This student has a personality that tends to cause distractions by talking out, or saying things that seemed slightly off. Whether this was a genuine statement or one that was meant to be stilly to gain attention was not quite clear.
Throughout our weeks practicing VTS, "Student A" is still one to notice many things. With his bold personality, I have been proud of how well this student and peers have been able to agree and disagree with each other respectfully (at least during the VTS discussions.) When we talk, even if (s)he appears off task for one minute, "Student A" can hop right back into the discussion with many things to say. Sadly, there are times when I think "Student A" might be trying to say silly things, because they will look at the class as if they are waiting for attention. Also, this student is one of the ones who likes to come right up to the picture and point out the many things they notice, to stand in front of the class and be the center of attention. Most of the not icings are acceptable, but occasionally they will throw in a curve ball to try and get a reaction from the class.
In my first blog post, I mentioned that if this behavior continued I would have a side conversation with them, which I have not. Instead, I tried to focus on the class as whole because we have multiple students with similar problems during VTS. I kept the expectations clear at the start of every lesson. I even started reminding them that they should only tell me one thing they notice at a time, to help limit those like "Student A" from a huge list of observations. I even made a poster to hang right next to the Smartboard with all of these reminders. Then, on our last discussion, I had to tell the class that they would go back to their seats if they were disrupting the class at the carpet. "Student A" was one student I had to send back to his seat for behavior problems. This was sad because I do think he is 100% capable of contributing to the conversation, just lacks the self control to participate appropriately. If the student said something that was potentially meant to be silly, I accepted it with the same neutrality, paraphrased very briefly, and moved on quickly. This seemed to stop it from getting out of hand most of the time.
Hopefully, I am predicting this student will have one of the longest post-assessments because of their tendency to be aware of so many details in an image. That keeps me hopeful to remember that this class, while very difficult with behavior issues during the process, is making connections and has the potential to say wonderful things...if we can just learn to sit still and speak one at a time.
Your VTS teaching with this class this semester has been nothing short of inspiring. Despite what I'm sure have been moments (or longer?) of frustration, you have been persistent and are beginning to impact change. I really do wish there was a way to get your Student A into a smaller group where (s)he could practice VTS skills with frequent opportunities to respond appropriately and get positive feedback for it. They say for boys (if this student is indeed a boy), they need to feel that an assignment is not only engaging, but purposeful and useful. I feel confident that in a smaller group of students who shared similar interests, you could select images and create "VTesque" experiences that this student felt were purposeful and useful - a detective game where solving a visual mystery would earn him some kind of reward (and not necessarily a material one; priviledge or status might be a motivator for this child.) I'd love to design a VTS-based remediational protocol for this student and follow her/him longitudinally. In view of the small yet discernible gains you've made with this student in 13-14 short weeks, I feel like 2-3 years would make a really significant difference in his learning and future potential! You've done a fantastic job, Lori. I hope you'll keep up the VTS!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the awesomely patient great work Lori! Your student of interest sounds like they have a lot going on inside their head. It does sound like you've figured out ways to cope with this student. Mary's ideas of having a smaller group of like minded students sounds very interesting. I wonder if a student were to feel good about themselves academically thought VTS if they would still feel the need to be the center of attention? Have a great rest of your school year. Things should only get easier!
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