Visual Thinking Strategies: A Powerful Critical Thinking Training Method Hidden in Plain Sight

Visual Thinking Strategies Overview?

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a powerful and evidence-based methodology where learners observe and analyze carefully selected visual arts and exchange their thoughts through dynamic dialogues guided by a set of open-ended questions. Research has shown VTS is a time-tested and innovative way to develop thinking and leadership skills in critical thinking, communication, empathy, resilience, and adaptability to uncertain and complex situations across industries.

Developed in the early 1990s by cognitive psychologist Abigail Housen and museum educator Philip Yenawine , the power of VTS is unlocked through 3 simple yet repeatable questions:?

Question 1: What's going on in this image?

Question 2: What do you see that makes you say that?

Question 3: What more can you find?

The Critical Role of Feedback

Once the learners shared their observations, the facilitator or their peers needs to reiterate or paraphrase what’s have been shared, and say ” Here is what I hear you say…” This is a critical step, as it helps their learning pals to supply words and phrases and even thinking frameworks for each other. Through rich group discussions centered around carefully crafted questions, learners learn to support their views and build on others' ideas. “It is all about meeting learners where they are and leveraging peer powers to bring them further toward the destination,” Philip said.?

The Role of the Facilitator?

Rather than a sage on the stage, the facilitator acts like a skilled guide, a coach, or even a peer. The facilitator facilitates the discussion by paraphrasing learner comments and linking different perspectives. Your own opinions do matter, but try not to share them or correct "wrong" answers. The goal is to create a safe space for all learners to contribute their viewpoints freely. As we wrap up the whole VTS session, learners can summarize the main ideas and reflect on what they learned. You can then connect back to key themes or the intended learning objectives.

Grouping Strategies?

An effective strategy is to group peers with reachable levels of competency. Assuming that you have a mixture of learners with skill competency levels ranging from 1 to 5. Instead of grouping level 1 and 5, try to group levels 1 and 2 or 3 together. Based on the zone of proximal development (ZPD), learners develop new competencies progressively when the difficulty level of a particular task is challenging yet achievable. Such a grouping strategy puts learners in a sweet spot, where their peer's competency is higher yet achievable.??

The Selection of Visual Arts

How you select the images plays a critical role. As a general guideline, the image needs to be ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations. Paintings and photographs work very well, but any visual like advertisements or diagrams can be used. There are three basic criteria for selecting images.?

1. Narrative: the image needs to tell a story. People are attracted to stories, this is how to keep them engaged.??
2. Relatable: the image needs to contain some familiar and relatable elements. This helps them find connections between the images and their daily situations.
3. Ambiguous: an image with clear-cut messages will restrict the level of discussions. The image needs to contain some level of ambiguity and some puzzling elements.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence

According to Philip, the curation of images usually takes most of the time during preparation and planning. With the advancement of #artificial intelligence, we can potentially ask AI to curate images specifically based on these three criteria.?

(I have personally tried to use AI to create images based on specific prompts, but it has been inconsistent and time-consuming at the moment. But it may get better later.)

Industry-wide VTS Applications & Benefits

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) has expanded into diverse industries beyond its origins in museum education, demonstrating versatile applications:

The New York Times "What's Going On in This Picture?" feature applies VTS for broad public engagement. Inviting online responses to provocative photos stimulates critical thinking and civil discourse.

In medical training, VTS builds clinical observation, visual literacy, and diagnostic reasoning skills. Discussing paintings develops medical professionals' capacities for perceptive, compassionate patient care.

In the business leadership development space, VTS creates psychologically safe spaces in workplaces by establishing ground rules where all perspectives are valued. Leader-facilitated VTS sessions foster skills like active listening, suspending judgment, and integrating diverse views - strengthening organizations. Consultancies like The Hailey Group adapt VTS to workplace needs using art to promote reflection on leadership, self-awareness, empathy, communication, inclusion, and equity. We will be writing about her approach shortly!

VTS's flexible framework allows contextualization for professionals across sectors. Analyzing images guides evidence-based thinking and self-expression, catalyzing personal and collective growth. As VTS continues proliferating, its impacts keep unfolding.

Reference:

Aspden, T.J., Egan, J.P., Bye, L., & Petersen, L. (2021). Using Visual Thinking Strategies to Support Pharmacy Student Competency Development to Enable Person-Centered Care. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 8607.

Hendrickson, M. (2019). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Visual Thinking Strategies.

Kakim, S., & Priest, K.L. (2019). Developing Leadership Capacity Using Visual Thinking Strategies. Journal of Leadership Education.

Landorf, H. (2006). What's Going on in This Picture? Visual Thinking Strategies and Adult Learning. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 20, 28-32.

Santis, S.D., Giuliani, C., Staffoli, C., & Ferrara, V. (2016). Visual Thinking Strategies in Nursing: a systematic review. Senses and Sciences, 3, 297-302.

?? Community Connections ??

?? If you are curious and want to learn more, check out Visual Thinking Strategies at https://vtshome.org/

?? Share your specific questions, we may ask our guests in the MAGICademy podcast. ??

Thank:?

Philip Yenawine for golden insights of VTS

Research & writing assistant: https://claude.ai

Visual images: https://playgroundai.com

Gif making: https://talltweets.com

Grammar check: https://app.grammarly.com