1. Diversity: Students explore their ethnicity, heritage, and identity, becoming sensitized to the rich heritage of others through a series of activities with the teaching artist and the classroom teacher.
2. Visual Thinking Strategies: Students view a selection of portraits and self-portraits from the Everson's collection and others. They analyze these works through the lens of Visual Thinking Strategies, a developmentally based approach.
3. Artist in residence: Students use the knowledge gained through diversity training and Visual Thinking Strategies to help create a personality portrait. This year students are creating fabric dolls of family members who reflect the personality traits they esteem as valuable.
4. CD Production: Students create a CD portfolio. This CD contains a photograph of the student's personality portrait and an artist's statements for each year the student is involved in the project.
5. Museum Visits: This is a great experience for students! They will tour the museum with docents and their classroom teachers using Visual Thinking Strategies. 
   

Professional Development goals
Teachers are introduced to Visual Thinking Strategies, Diversity, and assessment techniques. Ongoing support is given as the project progresses.

Student Pictures
Writing about the Artwork

Lesson Objective; Types of assessment used
Action research Project 2004-2005: All students in grades 2 and 3 were given a pre-test in October and a post-test in June by the school’s reading specialist. She showed a slide of the painting above (Allegory of Painting, by Johannes Vermeer,1665, Kunsthistorishes Museum,Vienna) to students and simply asked the question, “What’s going on in this picture?” Students were given as much time as they needed to answer the question. A team of teachers, parents, and museum staff will look at the pre and post tests later this summer and ask ourselves the question, “What kind of changes do we see in student responses?” A number of representative samples are included here.

Actual Evidence of Student Learning over time
Student Responses Reported by Student #, Pre- and Mid-. Teacher: Van De Carr:

Student #1: 10/25/04

A prson is panting because he has a pant brush and paning aq intmint and his wife is not barther him his panting looks like fruit.

Student #1.: 6/2/05

I think that a man is painting a self portrait of a woman and that the woman is holding a book and a trombone. And they are in a house. I see a painting and she’s posing nere a window. I think it is in the old times because of their clothes and the candel lear. I see bright colors like red, white, and tan. I see drawings on the table and I see cloth.

Student #5: 10/25/04

I see a lady panting a pecher of a girl holding a book. I think that because one of the ladays is at an ESL walthe other lady is reeding a book for the pose.

Student #5: 5/31/05

I see an artist panting a picher of a lady. What I see that makes mesay this is because it looks like the person sitting down is holding something and I see some droung on a peac of papper. Some other things I see are a dog what makes mesay that is because I see a dog like thing on a table. I also see a velvit crutun what makes me say that is because I see some thing in left corner of the peicher that looks likes a certin.

Student # 17:10/25/04

I see a panter our the grl has a pahte brus. I see a muntun. I see a map

Student # 17: 1/31/05

I see a panter and what makes me say this is that the prson has pant bush in that prsans hand. And thir is a nuther prsan in the room that that prsan is in a pose. But the panter is draing hor and what maks me say this is I looked on the pise of paper thet the panter is ysing and I see part of the prsan in the pose. I all so see the big mapin the room and whate amks me say this is that I just look on the picer. I thing that this piter is but a ful. This is way I mite look it up some wheir.

Teachers: Fiacchi/O’Rourke, grade 3:

Student #1: 1/025/04

I see a lady sitting on a stool. I see that because she is not standing or kneeling. The lady sitting on the stool is drawing or painting. I see that because I see a easle (with picture of easel). I looks like there is a checkers board for a floor. I see that because there are black and white squares. I see a little girl maybe her daughter. I see that because she is kind of short and looks like a kid. I think it might be a scene in a play because I see some curtain over the picture.

Student #1: 5/31/05

I see a lady painting a picture of her daughter who is standing next to her. I think that because I see the tip of the little girls hat on the painting. The little girl is holding a book. I see a checkered floor. I see that because it is a pattern with black and white squares. I see a curtain. I think that because it is in a form of an open curtain. I see a table with some kind of cloth on it. I think that because I know what a table lookslike and the cloth is just cloth.

Student # 9: 10/25/04

I grl is dousing a pecter because the gril looks like it and the boy looks like a areits.

Student # 9:

It looks like the man is doing a porite of the wman. Also it looks like it is very spechel to hur. It looks like he is doing a porite because she is very still he looks like as thow he is look at her and panting her. It looks like she is holding a book it could be her favorite book it could not be. It looks like the 15’000because of there clouas and no electricity so they are using candles and natrul light. In the background ther is a map it looks like a map of the island of a kingdom. It looks like it is very hot outside and because it look bright.

Neri, grade 3: Student #4: 10/26/04 I see someone panting I say that beuse I see an easel. I see people working. I say beuse they have a books. I see a wood block because.

Student #4: 5/31/05

I see a Aiasan table cloth. I think that because the colors look aiasan. I see a stoole. Some one is sitting on it. I see a curtin. I say that because it is folded like one. I think a girl is playing a trombone. I think that because she has it close to her mouth. A person is panting. I know that because he has things that he needs to paint. It is old because it has some things that are different from now.

Critical Peer opinion of ESL
VTS Whole Group Assessment

Class: EdSmith
Date: 3/14/05
Session#: 6
Facilitator: Mahan
Observer: Roeder
Image: Depression Era photo
Time discussion began: 2:41
Time discussion ended: 2:55
Length of Discussion: 14 min.

Simple Observation (listing): 7 times
Assertion(no evidence): 3 times
Assertion with Evidence: 3 times
Narrative(Emerging story): 3 times
Idiosyncratic Comments: 2 times
Scaffolding: 4 times

Do not mark any comments that are made as a response to the teacher prompt: What do you see that makes you say that?

Further comments:

VTS Whole Group Assessment

Class: Blodgett
Date: 5/08/05
Session#: 3
Facilitator: Fiorenza
Observer: Roeder
Image: Rousseau Playing Ball
Time discussion began:
Time discussion ended:
Length of Discussion:

Simple Observation (listing): 8 times
Assertion (no evidence): 11 times
Assertion with Evidence: 1 time
Narrative (Emerging story): 0 times
Idiosyncratic Comments: 0 times
Scaffolding: 1 time

Do not mark any comments that are made as a response to the teacher prompt: What do you see that makes you say that?

School Name:
Edward Smith Elementary School

School Location:
Syracuse, NY

Partner Agency Name:
Everson Museum of Art

Partner Agency Location:
Syracuse, NY

Grade Level(s):
K, 4, 5, 6