Rebecca Stevenson 1

Vulnerability and Visual Thinking Strategies

Unit 3 Paper

Is being vulnerable healthy for you? Being vulnerable in any situation allows one to

expose their fears and weaknesses. In everyday life, people take risks by putting themselves in

vulnerable situations. However, exposing oneself to a vulnerable state is something most people

want to run away from. This is the story of my life because Im a very shy person, so I try to

encourage myself to be more vulnerable in school. Therefore, when I put myself in a state of

vulnerability, I feel as though I have created more experiences and meaning to my life.

Sometimes teachers expect his/her students to be vulnerable. Consequently, students feel the

pressure to act surer than they really are, so it is important that he/she knows that in art there isnt

a right answer. All students must have ample opportunity to point out what they see in the art

they examine and express their opinions about it (Housen & Yenawine, n.d., p. 64). According

to Housen and Yenawine, it is critical that students have the platform to be heard, understood and

valued when assessing art (n.d.).

In order for my students to feel safe when being vulnerable, I would use visual thinking

strategies. For example, I would project an image on the screen and ask them a series of

questions to provoke many thoughtful responses to what is seen in the images (Housen &

Yenawine, n.d., p. 65). First, I would ask whats going on in this picture? This way students can

speak out what they think is going on in the image and they can feel comfortable in their answer.

Next, I would ask what do you see that makes you say that? I would acknowledge the students

responses by giving positive feedback in front of the class. Finally, I would ask what more can

we find? This allows other students to expand upon what the students before already talked

about. Giving them the platform to talk to the class and ask questions can give my students the

tools for my lesson objective. The students will interpret their own definition of vulnerability and
Rebecca Stevenson 2
Vulnerability and Visual Thinking Strategies

talk about a time when they have been vulnerable to the classmate sitting next to them. Then,

they would bring into class an object or picture that reflects when theyve been vulnerable and

tell the class the story behind it. Humans are not ideally set up to understand logic; they are

ideally set up to understand stories (Schank as cited in Pink, 2006, p.102). If they dont feel

comfortable speaking out, then I would ask those students to write a short paper. Allowing my

students to tell their stories gives them an opportunity to understand vulnerability rather than just

telling me what it means.

Rebecca Stevenson 3
Vulnerability and Visual Thinking Strategies

References

Housen, A. & Yenawine, P. (n.d.) Visual thinking strategies: Understanding the basics.

Retrieved from http://www.vtshome.org/research/articles-other-readings

Pink, D. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: The

Berkeley Group.