Making Thinking Visible (MTV) Thinking Routine in Art

        Source: https://smartprimaryed.com/2016/04/16/ideas-visible-thinking-thinking-routines-part-3/

What

MTV (Making Thinking Visible) Thinking Routines are tools designed to help students externalize their thinking processes, making their ideas, reasoning, and creative thought more explicit and visible in the classroom. These routines are particularly useful in the art classroom to foster deeper understanding, reflection, and inquiry as students engage with artworks and creative tasks. MTV Thinking Routines promote metacognition and support students in organizing their thoughts, making connections, and exploring ideas more systematically.

How

CAIT 5 (Explores possibilities and generates novel and useful ideas) and CAIT 6 (Evaluates and refines ideas to formulate novel and useful solutions) 

• Providing structured prompts that guide students through a process of idea generation, evaluation, and refinement. These routines encourage students to reflect on their thinking and articulate their creative processes more clearly.

Examples of MTV Thinking Routines

1. See-Think-Wonder

   • A routine that encourages observation, interpretation, and inquiry. Students begin by describing what they see, then move on to thinking about what it could mean, and finally, they generate questions about what they wonder.

   • Ask:

     • See: What do you see in this artwork? Describe the colors, shapes, textures.

     • Think: What do you think is happening here? What might the artist be trying to express?

     • Wonder: What are you curious about? What questions do you have about this artwork?

2. Think-Puzzle-Explore

   • This routine encourages students to think critically about a topic, identify puzzles or challenges, and consider ways to explore further.

   • Ask:

     • Think: What do you think you know about this art style or technique?

     • Puzzle: What puzzles or confuses you about it?

     • Explore: What strategies or questions could you use to explore it further?

3. Creative Questions

   • A routine that helps students generate rich, creative questions to push their thinking and inquiry.

   • Ask:

     • Why…? How would it change if…? What if…? What’s another way to…?

4. Connect-Extend-Challenge

   • This routine asks students to make connections between what they know, extend their understanding, and identify challenges in their thinking.

   • Ask:

     • Connect: How does this artwork connect to something you already know or have seen?

     • Extend: What new ideas or techniques did you discover that extended your thinking?

     • Challenge: What challenges or difficulties did you encounter as you created or analyzed this artwork?

5. Color-Symbol-Image

   • A routine that encourages students to represent their thinking through metaphors. They choose a color, a symbol, and an image to represent their understanding or feelings about an artwork or concept.

   • Ask:

     • Color: What color represents the mood or emotion of this artwork?

     • Symbol: What symbol represents the main idea or message?

     • Image: What image captures the essence of the work?

Suggested Strategies for Fostering 'Inventive Thinking' Through MTV Thinking Routines

1. Begin Art Projects with See-Think-Wonder

• Use See-Think-Wonder as an introductory routine for analyzing artworks or artistic challenges. It helps students slow down and think deeply about what they are creating or viewing.

• Example Activity: Before starting a painting, ask students to observe a famous artwork and use See-Think-Wonder to generate ideas about the artist's intention, technique, and message. This helps students set a foundation for their own artistic expression.

2. Use Think-Puzzle-Explore for Creative Exploration

• Before diving into new materials or techniques, use Think-Puzzle-Explore to stimulate curiosity and problem-solving. This routine encourages students to ask questions about the artistic process.

• Example Activity: Before introducing a new medium like clay, ask students to think about what they already know about working with clay, identify puzzles (e.g., how do you avoid cracking?), and explore possible solutions.

3. Incorporate Creative Questions During Art Critique

• Use the Creative Questions routine during peer critiques or self-reflections to help students challenge assumptions and think outside the box.

• Example Question: “What if you used different textures in your sculpture? How would that change the impact?”

4. Use Connect-Extend-Challenge to Deepen Reflection

• After completing a project, guide students in reflecting on their learning and growth using the Connect-Extend-Challenge routine.

• Example Reflection: Ask students to connect their work to previous projects or lessons, discuss how their understanding of an art technique extended during the process, and consider what challenged them the most.

5. Encourage Metaphorical Thinking with Color-Symbol-Image

• Use Color-Symbol-Image to help students represent abstract ideas visually, fostering inventive thinking and encouraging them to explore metaphors and symbols in their artwork.

• Example Activity: After a lesson on abstract art, ask students to reflect on the mood of their artwork by selecting a color that best represents it, a symbol that conveys its theme, and an image that captures the overall feel.

6. Combine Multiple Thinking Routines in Group Work

• In collaborative art projects, combine different MTV routines to ensure a comprehensive and varied approach to thinking.

• Example Activity: During a group mural project, start with See-Think-Wonder to generate ideas about a chosen theme. Follow with Creative Questions to push the group's thinking further, and finish with Connect-Extend-Challenge to reflect on the collaborative process.

7. Scaffold Inquiry-Based Projects with Think-Puzzle-Explore

• Guide students in inquiry-based projects by having them continuously reflect on their progress using Think-Puzzle-Explore. This encourages self-directed learning and inventive problem-solving throughout the creative process.

• Example: If students are working on a long-term project like designing an art installation, use this routine at different stages to help them think critically about their direction and next steps.

References

Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.