METHODS FOR DISCUSSING ART
- Art Exploration
- Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)
VTS encourages students to examine and think about art, listen to others, communicate their ideas, and consider multiple interpretations. Through this students gain an appreciation and understanding of art.
- After asking each of three questions--What's going on here? What do you see that makes you say that? What else do you see?--educators repeat what students say using neutral, nonjudgmental phrasing that incorporates and reinforces important visual Vocabulary while encouraging new language acquisition and critical thinking.
- For more information, examples, and instructional videos, visit Visual Thinking Strategies.
- Socratic Questioning
To start a discussion about art, no matter what style you prefer, visit our Art Exploration page. As a class, discuss the six objects posted here and review the How Is It Made? pages before visiting the museum.
- Socratic questioning uses different types of queries to encourage students to think about and question what they say and what they think. Questions encourage students to expand on ideas, question their assumptions, support their arguments, and question their perspective.
- Open-ended Questioning
- Open-ended questioning is similar to the inquiry method. Questions encourage students to think more critically by avoiding yes or no answers and one word replies.
- Formalism
- Formal analysis focuses on aesthetic elements, such as line, color, shape, composition, texture, etc. Discussing the artistic method or technique used to make an object is useful for formal analysis. To help your students understand the different types of production possible, visit our How Is It Made? page.
Explore Ball State University Museum of Art online
