Week 10 Reading & Reflection

Which of Rath’s “thinking operations” are supported by VTS?

Relate VTS to the “new curriculum model” described by Wasserman?

Rath’s “thinking operations” are these;

Comparing

Interpreting data

Observing

Summarizing

Classifying

Making decisions

Suggesting Hypotheses

Imagining and creating

Criticizing and evaluating

Designing projects and investigations

Indentifying assumption

Applying principles in new situations

Gathering and organizing data

Coding to become aware of certain patterns of thinking

I think Rath’s most thinking operations could be supported by VTS. VTS participants basically discuss based on what they observe. Especially stage1 and stage2 viewers frequently use their ability to imagine and create when they interpret the elements inside the image. This process could encourage students to suggest hypotheses and give the evidences to support the hypotheses.  While interacting with participants, VTS also enables students to compare their opinions to others and summarize other’s opinion to refuse, agree or make decision. Criticizing and evaluating are also available in VTS discussion while agreeing and disagreeing with others. Needless to say, VTS discussion is welcome students’ investigation through the open-ended discussion. Finding evidences in order to identify assumption, students could activate a high level thinking skills.     

Wasserman’s new curriculum model for activating the thinking operations and its each stage remind me of VTS’s aesthetic development theory. Both are pretty similar in terms of classification of the stage according to level of thinking skills. And it is also similar that both are very systematic which could be efficiently used when developing students’ high level thinking skills. One thing significantly different between these I think is that while VTS’s aesthetic development stages are designed based on students’ spontaneous development through continues VTS experiences without instructor’s stronger requests or demands, Wasserman’s new curriculum model’s each stage requires instructor’s specific stimulations and directions in order to get students involved in the each process of the stage.