Newfields

The Viewfinders Program is a school partnership program active in many elementary schools throughout the city of Indianapolis. Through Viewfinders, Newfields trains classroom teachers to utilize Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), a teaching technique that gives students the opportunity to share their ideas, build new perspectives, and learn to disagree respectfully – all while looking at and talking about works of art.

The Viewfinders Program uses VTS because it is a research-based teaching method that has been shown to improve the critical thinking and language skills of students who consistently participate in these open-ended discussions. Though the discussion is about a work of art, the skills that students develop as they make observations and support their ideas with evidence are relevant in all subject areas. VTS can be easy to learn and offers teachers a proven strategy to meet the current demands of the classroom. Find out more about Visual Thinking Strategies.

The Viewfinders Program provides teachers with professional development throughout the school year with workshops and in-class coaching. Teachers facilitate a number of VTS lessons with students using carefully selected artworks. These lessons help students develop their looking, thinking, and communication skills while exposing them to a wide variety of artworks. The final component of the program provides students the opportunity to visit The IMA at Newfields in the spring to exercise their new skills in front of real works of art.

The Viewfinders Program meets many existing Indiana Academic Standards.

For more information about the Viewfinders program, contact the Coordinator of School and Group Services.

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