Yesterday’s field trip to the VMFA was a great way to experience and observe what a field trip might look like. My field trips in special education are strikingly different so I really enjoyed the insight. I really liked how in the front room, the VMFA provided different cards for students to use to think about art differently. Each card provided a prompt for students to answer and/or think about when they were observing the art. I thought that this was a good strategy for students to utilize creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration on the field trip. To target observational skills, I really liked the way that with each piece of art we observed, the guide moved us through phases of 1. What do you see? 2. What do you notice? and 3. What do you wonder? I think that provided a good opportunity for students to take notes and then possibly complete a journal entry or short writing prompt about their own reflections from the trip. My favorite room in the VMFA was the interactive music and art space. Engaging students in both art and music is very important to me in my classroom, as I would think it would be in my general education classroom. I loved that there were opportunities for students to create their own music, listen to music and art in other languages, and engage with braille activities. I did think that the distance learning was a great way for students to engage without actually traveling to the location; however, after the presentation, I was disappointed to learn that this option isn’t even available to elementary classrooms per the current grant.
2 thoughts on “Week 7”
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Stephanie, I appreciate your thorough reflection of your experience at the VMFA. You picked up on details that will be important when planning a field trip for your future students. I like your lesson plan idea of having students write about their experience in a journal entry or other type of writing prompt. I think that would be a good opportunity to help students reflect upon their experience. You might even add to that a chance for students to pair-share their reflections. This would allow students to engage in discussions about art and learn about the perspectives of others. I am glad you had a good experience at the VMFA.
I’d love to know more about how your field trips in special education differ from this experience. Do you think you could use the ideas suggested with your students?
I too love the interactive space and would like to go back to explore it more fully. I’m usually so focused on the galleries that I forget that space is there.
I too was disappointed that the virtual field trips are currently only available to 6-12, but I was encouraged when they said they believe it will be extended to upper elementary grades next year.