What’s going on in this picture?

Beginning with this simple question, Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) uses student-driven conversations about specific works of art to foster vocabulary, fluency, and the critical thinking that drives both. This course prepares educators to implement VTS with children, in class or online, in a Montessori context. Participants will learn:

• How to facilitate VTS discussions
• How VTS supports language development and critical thinking
• How to incorporate VTS in Montessori classrooms
• How to select images for VTS discussions
• How to assess growth through VTS

This course includes readings, images, videos, self-guided practice sessions, and written reflections, as well as four live sessions held from 8-9pm ET on the following Tuesdays:

• September 13
• September 20
• September 27
• October 4

The companion text for this course will be Visual Thinking Strategies in Montessori Environments, which is now available on Amazon and priced at $29.95.

Paying by check: We accept payment via most credit cards. To request to pay by check, use this form. You will not be registered until your check has been received. Once your check has been received, we will enter your registration for the event and confirm via email. For questions about payment, contact payments@public-montessori.org.

Photos and Video: NCMPS may take photos or record video during this event. By participating in this event, you consent to your likeness being used for promotional purposes without compensation, and you release NCMPS from any liability related to this use. If you do not want your likeness used in this way, you may inform the event staff, and NCMPS will make its best effort to prevent such use.

Attendance Policy: To receive a certificate or (when available) CEUs, for NCMPS professional learning offerings we require participants to attend 80% of live sessions (typically this allows for two missed sessions).

About the Instructor

Katie Brown is the NCMPS Director of Research and Professional Learning. Katie manages NCMPS Professional Learning courses, trainings, and workshops, and liaises with the educational research world.

Katie holds a PhD in urban education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she studied outcomes for African American students in public Montessori schools. She is an adjunct faculty member at Whitworth University, where she teaches the Montessori Surround arc of graduate-level courses. Her recent research projects have focused on creativity, executive functions, and distance learning in Montessori schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also serves on the Breakthrough Montessori PCS Board of Trustees and the American Society Research Committee.

Katie has been working in Montessori since 2012, and with NCMPS since 2015. She also has the pleasure of being a Montessori parent. Katie lives in Cary, NC with her partner and two first-plane children.