Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a Montessori-friendly technique for supporting critical thinking and open-ended discussions.

“Relevant from primary through 5th grade, uniquely applicable to students receiving SPED services, and especially beneficial to English language learners.”

Developed over a decade ago at the Museum of Modern Art, VTS is a simple yet profound approach to facilitating conversations about a shared experience. Classroom teachers can use VTS with children of any age to get interesting discussions started and keep them going, and to support critical thinking, vocabulary development, language fluency, and evidence-based articulation of ideas.

Participants in this course will learn:

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

Participants will need access to the book Visual Thinking Strategies in Montessori Environments, available on Amazon.

Format

• one-day intensive
• Wednesday, August 13th, 12-4pm ET
• four hours of readings, videos, self-guided practice sessions, and written reflections

Attendance and certificates: Certificates of attendance are available for participants who attend 80% or more of live sessions. Participants who successfully complete the course are eligible to request Continuing Education Units (CEUs) from Lander University for an additional fee of $25.

Live session recordings: When available, recordings of live sessions are accessible to participants for six months after the date of the session. 

Financial aid: Financial support for professional learning courses is sometimes available. Priority is given to NCMPS individual members serving in public schools. Apply for financial aid using this form.

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. We confirm payment and registration via email. Questions about payment? Contact payments@public-montessori.org.

Photos and video: NCMPS may take photos or record video during this course. 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 course staff, and NCMPS will make its best effort to prevent such use.

Can’t make this course? Bring this course to you! Please email pd@public-montessori.org for information about hosting this course as a face-to-face or virtual workshop at your school.

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 has served on the Breakthrough Montessori PCS Board of Trustees, the Laura Holland Uzzell Foundation Board of Directors, and the American Montessori 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 children.