Event Descriptions

VTS Workshops & Presentations
One-day workshops introducing VTS practice and theory for those who are curious about VTS, scheduled in different locations throughout the year, and can also be contracted for a particular site and time.

VTS Practicums
Three-day workshops focused on developing VTS facilitation skills. Beginning/ intermediate level is for people who have had little or no exposure and minimal experience. Advanced level is for those who have attended other workshops and been practicing VTS for some time. While some time is allotted to examining theoretical underpinnings of VTS, the focus is helping participants learn to do VTS well.

Lead Teacher Institutes
Two four-day workshops, separated by the first year of implementing VTS, designed to prepare teams of two or (preferably) three mentor teachers to return to their schools to introduce VTS, coordinate implementation by their teacher colleagues, and conduct intermittent debriefings, all in consultation with VTS experts.

Professional Development Institutes
Formerly referred to by VUE as trainer training, these institutes prepare people for helping others use VTS. They consist of three four-day workshops separated by enough time to give participants a chance to use and reflect on what was addressed in the previous session. The goal is to develop participants' practical expertise at facilitating VTS as well as discussions of teaching practice, research data, theoretical writing, and assessment of learning, in other words, to teach participants how to maximize discussion as a tool for collaborative learning, whether the subject is art, other still and moving images, text, or observed behavior. Participants get a solid grounding in the theory and research findings on which VTS is based including understanding the learning that VTS nurtures, its transfer, and its effects on test scores. They address practical and logistical issues that arise during VTS implementations including what to expect at different points in the process. They practice using a variety of web-based tools available to support professional development in others.