Effects of various sketching tools on visual thinking in idea development

The earth is in an environmental crisis that can only be addressed by changing human conservation attitudes. People must have the scientific knowledge to makeinformed decisions. Research identifying new promising practices, for the use of live animals that incorporate new theories of learning and factors proven to impact learning, is critical. A qualitative case study approach was used to describe the characteristics of a new method of combining live animals with Visual Thinking Strategies. The studyexplored the following research question: What characterizes the learning experiences of adults during combination live animal and Visual Thinking Strategies presentations? And the following sub-questions: 1a. What types of adult social interactions emerge during these presentations? 1b. What is the relationship between combination live animal and Visual Thinking Strategies presentations and observation skills?A purposive sample of 21 museum-going adults participated in the study over one weekend in the summer of 2010. Data was collected through Personal Meaning Maps, observations, video recordings and focus groups. All data were then coded for categories, patterns and emergent themes. Five major conclusions emerged: 1. Active participation in the "process of science" can be seen during combination live animal/Visual Thinking Strategiespresentations. 2. Emotional connections between participants and the animals were demonstrated during the presentations. This may sometimes lead to conservation attitudes. 3. There is a difference in the Visual Thinking Strategies experience at a science museum compared to the typical art museum experience. This difference might stem from the participants differing expectations between art and science. 4. The combination live animal/Visual Thinking Strategies method sometimes facilitates the learning experience through social learning. 5. Observation skills, demonstrated during the combination live animal/Visual Thinking Strategies presentation, were an important component of the characteristics of this new method of teaching with live animals. This study contributed to the understanding of how adults can actively participate in the process of learning at science museums and provides a framework for future research and implications for practice.

Integration of visual thinking strategies to undergraduate health assessment course: A mixed-method feasibility study

Pedagogy associated with engaging with the arts in social work education is a developing area of exploration and research. This conceptual article explores the potential use of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), which is a methodology where students look at artwork and discuss with peers. It draws on some existing literature on visual thinking or a similar pedagogical approach to stimulate thought and debate on the use of the methodology in contemporary social work education. The links discovered between VTS, critical inquiry and visual literacy highlight the relevance, and the potential of this methodology to contribute to student learning outcomes in direct practice social work courses through connecting skills-based competency with cognitive processes, such as critical inquiry and creativity. Engaging social work students in VTS can advance skills in observing, processing and communicating reasoning to peers in situations of ambiguity, which are critical for assessment and decision making in their future professional practice. There is a potential for students to engage with VTS in inter-professional education with medical, nursing and allied health students to facilitate communication and collaborative problem-solving. The article identifies the need for research to evaluate the use of VTS in the context of art-based pedagogies in social work.

Philosophers and scientists alike argue that wonder-that emotion or state of consciousness in which one's attention is fixed on phenomena beyond one's comprehension-is the central virtue and driving force of all education. As in general education, wonder is central to all aspects of academic medicine's tripartite mission; a sense of wonder fuels the delivery of humanized patient care, sparks scientific discoveries, and supports engagement in lifelong learning. Despite its importance throughout medicine, developing a capacity for wonder among physicians has not been a stated goal of medical education, and innovative methods to foster a capacity for wonder have not been explored. There is a growing interest in the arts and humanities in medical education, and evidence suggests that these can support the development of a diverse array of clinically relevant skills and attitudes (including close observation, critical thinking, empathy, and tolerance for ambiguity) in medical learners across the learning continuum. However, even the potential of these methods to support a capacity for wonder has not yet been fully explored. In this article, the authors explore how one of the most widely used and studied arts-based learning activities in medical education, Visual Thinking Strategies, can help develop a capacity for wonder among physicians. They illustrate how Visual Thinking Strategies support the central elements of wonder-based pedagogy (i.e., exploration, improvisation, imagination, personal interest, and the ethos of educators) previously developed in education theory.

Nurse educators are called upon to provide innovative experiences for students to prepare them to work in complex healthcare settings. As part of this preparation, developing observational and communication skills is critical for nurses and can directly affect patient outcomes. Visual thinking strategies (VTS) is a teaching method that has been studied in primary education to develop communication and observational skills. VTS has potential to improve these same skills in nursing yet only one study has been done including nursing students and none have researched what meaning VTS has for them. This research study sought to answer the following questions: What meaning does VTS have for nursing students? How do nursing students use it in caring for patients? Students at a large Midwestern university in a Bachelor of Science program were recruited for participation. Students who voluntarily participated in a previous VTS experience were invited to participate in a second one, followed by an interview. Interpretive phenomenology was used to analyze the interviews and the following themes were identified: Feeling safe in learning and seeing and thinking differently. A literature review was performed to further expand these themes. Analysis of the findings and implications for future research are discussed.

This study sought to determine the effectiveness of the Visual Thinking strategy in enhancing the viewing skills of Grade 9 students.The participants of the study were 133 students from four different public schools in Davao City, Philippines.A 30-item test was formulated.Cronbach's coefficient was 0.914 for all items which had an excellent level of reliability.For the statistical interpretation of the data, frequency count, weighted mean, and t-test were utilized.Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that the implementation of visual thinking strategies can have a significant positive impact on the viewing skills of Grade 9 students.This is a promising result that suggests that incorporating such strategies into educational programs can be an effective way to enhance students' abilities to critically analyze and interpret visual information.

BackgroundComfort with ambiguity, mostly associated with the acceptance of multiple meanings, is a core characteristic of successful clinicians. Yet past studies indicate that medical students and junior physicians feel uncomfortable with ambiguity. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a pedagogic approach involving discussions of art works and deciphering the different possible meanings entailed in them. However, the contribution of art to the possible enhancement of the tolerance for ambiguity among medical students has not yet been adequately investigated. We aimed to offer a novel perspective on the effect of art, as it is experienced through VTS, on medical students’ tolerance of ambiguity and its possible relation to empathy.MethodsQuantitative method utilizing a short survey administered after an interactive VTS session conducted within mandatory medical humanities course for first-year medical students. The intervention consisted of a 90-min session in the form of a combined lecture and interactive discussions about art images. The VTS session and survey were filled by 67 students in two consecutive rounds of first-year students.Results.67% of the respondents thought that the intervention contributed to their acceptance of multiple possible meanings, 52% thought their visual observation ability was enhanced and 34% thought that their ability to feel the sufferings of other was being enhanced. Statistically significant moderate-to-high correlations were found between the contribution to ambiguity tolerance and contribution to empathy (0.528–0.744; p ≤ 0.01).ConclusionsArt may contribute especially to the development of medical students’ tolerance of ambiguity, also related to the enhancement of empathy. The potential contribution of visual art works used in VTS to the enhancement of tolerance for ambiguity and empathy is explained based on relevant literature regarding the embeddedness of ambiguity within art works, coupled with reference to John Dewey’s theory of learning. Given the situational nature of the tolerance for ambiguity in this context, VTS provides a path for enhancing ambiguity tolerance that is less conditioned by character traits. Moreover, the modest form of VTS we utilized, not requesting a significant alteration in the pre-clinical curricula, suggests that enhancing the tolerance of ambiguity and empathy among medical students may be particularly feasible.

BackgroundArts-based pedagogical tools have been increasingly incorporated into medical education. Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a research-based, constructivist teaching methodology that aims to improve visual literacy, critical thinking, and communication skills through the process of investigating works of art. Harvard Medical School pioneered the application of VTS within medical education in 2004. While there are several studies investigating the use of VTS, there is a need to systematically assess the different programs that exist for medical education and their efficacy in improving relevant clinical skills. This systematic review aims to critically analyse the available evidence of the effectiveness of VTS in medical education to guide future research and provide a framework to adapt medical curricula.MethodsA systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases (through November 2022) was conducted to identify studies of VTS-based interventions in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Two reviewers independently screened citations for inclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. The extracted data was then narratively synthesized.ResultsOf 5759 unique citations, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. After reference review, one additional study was included. Therefore, 11 studies were included in our review. Of these, eight reported VTS-based interventions for undergraduate medical students and three reported interventions in residency training, specifically in dermatology and ophthalmology. The main goal of most studies was to increase observational or visual diagnostic skills. Three of the studies in undergraduate medical education and two in postgraduate achieved a statistically significant improvement in observational skills in post-course evaluations. Some studies reported increased tolerance for ambiguity and empathy.ConclusionsAlthough the studies varied considerably in study design, learning objectives, and outcomes, findings consistently indicate that the VTS approach can serve as a vehicle to develop crucial clinical competencies, encouraging more in-depth visual analysis that could be applied when observing a patient. Despite some limitations of the included studies (lack of control groups, self-selection bias, or non-standard outcome measures), the results of this review provide support for greater inclusion of VTS training in the medical curriculum.

An Exploratory Study Using Visual Thinking Strategies to Improve Undergraduate Students’ Observational Skills

Whole personhood in medical education: Visual thinking strategy, close reading, and creative practice with a diversity and equity lens.

ART-UP: Making the case for visual thinking strategies in art therapy pedagogy, practice, and research

To address health inequities, emergency physicians must understand the structural underpinnings of health disparities, including social determinants of health (SDoH), and must critically reflect on the integration of SDoH into clinical practice. SDoH education should include reflective knowledge acquisition, while incorporating systemic sociohistorical forces and individual factors, such as bias, which propagate inequities but are rarely emphasized in graduate medical education (GME). The health humanities (HH), an inclusive transdisciplinary field combining arts, humanities, and social justice, may represent a novel unexplored approach toward incorporating SDoH in GME. We sought to implement and evaluate a GME HH-based curriculum focused on SDoH. An interprofessional team applied Kern's framework to create a longitudinal HH curriculum integrating narrative medicine and visual thinking strategies with evidence-based practices for addressing SDoH in clinical practice. This curriculum was implemented for 52 residents in an EM program in 2019-2020; sessions were initially held in the classroom and community and then virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives included encouraging (1) critical thinking about SDoH, (2) engagement with patients and communities, (3) self-reflection, and (4) translation of SDoH to patient care. Descriptive statistics and a constructivist paradigm were applied to results of a postcurriculum survey and focus group, respectively. A curriculum evaluation survey completed by 32/52 residents (61.5%) revealed agreement (75%-90%) that objectives were met. 93.1% of respondents thought humanities were important in residency training. Qualitative analysis of a focus group with 10 participants revealed additional impacts on individual growth, transformation of departmental culture, and transformation of patient care. Curriculum implementation was inexpensive and relied on interprofessional collaboration. The HH represent a promising collaborative framework for integrating SDoH in GME and may inspire transformation of learners' attitudes and practices in EM, though clinical impacts still need to be established.

This study investigated how secondary history teachers who participated in a Teaching American History grant in Western Michigan thought about using images to teach racial history. Seeking to fill gaps in our understanding of what sorts of methodologies are being employed to integrate visuals into the history classroom, this research examined how these teachers conceptualized and integrated images into their curriculum. The study employed multiple-case study methodology through semi-structured interviews with four teachers as they reflected on how they used racial images within their lesson plans. Data from this study was used to answer the following questions: What did teachers’ lesson plans disclose about their use of images to teach racial history? How did professional development workshops, conducted in conjunction with this study, affect (or not) teachers’ employment of images to teach racial history?. What challenges, if any, did history teachers face when employing images of race in the classroom? The study identified four major themes through cross-case analysis that utilized Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), Werner’s model, and Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge (RPCK). These themes highlighted the teachers interest in using images as primary and secondary sources to teach racial history, the strategies they employed, and how their environments supported or limited their ability to implement this curriculum. The findings indicated the teachers made conscious decisions about the specific goals of each presentation and sought out images that would help students develop historical knowledge and empathy. The teachers’ exhibited the ability to convey complex racial narratives to varying degrees, based on teaching environments, personal commitments and beliefs. As a result of the Teaching American History grant, the teachers experimented with new ways of integrating images in their curriculum and several of the teachers experienced shifts in their personal beliefs. In addition, this study found that history teachers faced a range of challenges when using images to teach racial history. Future research recommendations included examining how history teachers use images within image based narratives as secondary sources, an expansion of visual literacy models to encompass historical thinking skills, and an expansion of RPCK to further develop empathy across racial lines.

Engineering education traditionally focuses on technical content and problem-solving, leaving little room in the curriculum to examine broader environmental and socio-technical impacts of engineering work. However, if engineers wish to have intentional, positive influences on these broader impacts, skills for reflective thinking and ethical decision-making are essential. The arts and humanities can provide important and often neglected perspectives for engineers in developing such skills. In a recent seminar course for civil/environmental engineers, we explored ways of developing these skills through activities including Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), in-class readings & discussions, essay writing, and portfolio assignments. In this paper, we present selected findings from this experimental course. While the class was small, comprised of a dozen graduate students, results were encouraging. For example, findings from qualitative thematic analysis of pre- and post-course essays showed an increase in recognition of the importance of breadth of knowledge and/or perspective. Similarly, pre-post Likert-type survey results showed a statistically significant increase (p<;0.005, d=1, n=10) in Contextual Competence, a self-reported measure of ability to anticipate and understand the impacts and constraints of broader contexts on engineering solutions. These findings are preliminary but suggest the course helped students develop capacity for reflection through arts- and humanities-based activities.

VTS (VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES) AND OTHER VISUAL TEACHING METHODS IN THE ESP (ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES) CLASSROOM. A CASE STUDY FOR LANDSCAPING AND HORTICULTURE STUDENTS