INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHANGES IN EDUCATION
Research Article
May 26, 2025 1 0

Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS

Christina Connors 1,
Jody S. Piro 1 *
1 Education and Educational Psychology, Western Connecticut State University, USA* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Changes in Education, 2(2), 2025, 66-79, https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
Publication date: May 26, 2025
Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

Previous research has suggested that Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) practices positively impact student performance and if so they may also affect teacher performance. The purpose of this study was to explore VTS on teachers’ perceptions of their general teaching practice. A qualitative, multiple case study was conducted to investigate the experience of teachers using VTS. Eligible teacher participants were identified through the VTS Organization and the Watershed Collaborative. The two cases – teachers practicing VTS in Kindergarten Grade 12 (K-12) setting and teachers practicing in VTS outside of the K-12 setting – were investigated separately and then compared in a crosscase analysis. An analysis of the data indicated that using VTS in teaching relates to a humanistic teaching style. These findings have implications for educators and educational institutions wishing to implement humanistic teaching practices and raise further questions pertaining to VTS and humanistic education practices that might be explored through future research.

KEYWORDS

Visual Thinking Strategies humanistic learning education humanistic teaching teaching practices relational teaching student engagement safe learning environment

CITATION (APA)

Connors, C., & Piro, J. S. (2025). Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS. International Journal of Changes in Education, 2(2), 66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
Harvard
Connors, C., and Piro, J. S. (2025). Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS. International Journal of Changes in Education, 2(2), pp. 66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
Vancouver
Connors C, Piro JS. Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS. International Journal of Changes in Education. 2025;2(2):66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
AMA
Connors C, Piro JS. Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS. International Journal of Changes in Education. 2025;2(2), 66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
Chicago
Connors, Christina, and Jody S. Piro. "Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS". International Journal of Changes in Education 2025 2 no. 2 (2025): 66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990
MLA
Connors, Christina et al. "Visual Thinking Strategies as Humanistic Education: A Qualitative Study of Teachers Using VTS". International Journal of Changes in Education, vol. 2, no. 2, 2025, pp. 66-79. https://doi.org/10.47852/bonviewIJCE42022990

REFERENCES

  1. Yenawine, P. (2013). Visual thinking strategies: Using art to deepen learning across school disciplines. UK: Harvard Education Press.
  2. Albert, C. N., Mihai, M., & Mudure-Iacob, I. (2022). Visual thinking strategies Theory and applied areas of insertion. Sustainability, 14(12), 7195. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127195
  3. Housen, A. C. (1997). Eye of the beholder: Research, theory, and practice. In Aesthetic and art education: A transdisciplinary approach, 1–30.
  4. Miterianifa, M., Ashadi, A., Saputro, S., & Suciati, S. (2021). Higher order thinking skills in the 21st century: Critical thinking. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Social Science, Humanities, Education and Society Development, 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.4108/eai.30-11-2020.2303766
  5. Bachmann, C. (2022). Theory and practice of visual thinking strategies in secondary education. Educational Forum, 34, 105–123. https://doi.org/10.34862/fo.2022.8
  6. Smolkowski, K., Strycker, L. A., Anderson, L., Marconi, P., & Abia-Smith, L. (2020). The visual thinking strategies approach to teaching argument writing: A professional development model. The Elementary School Journal, 121(1), 100–124. https://doi.org/10.1086/709984
  7. Clark-Gareca, B., & Meyer, T. (2023). Visual thinking strategies for English learners: Learning language through the power of art. TESOL Journal, 14(2), e698. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.698
  8. Ishiguro, C., Takagishi, H., Sato, Y., Seow, A. W., Takahashi, A., Abe, Y., ..., & Kato, E. (2021). Effect of dialogical appreciation based on visual thinking strategies on artviewing strategies. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(1), 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000258
  9. Agarwal, G. G., McNulty, M., Santiago, K. M., Torrents, H., & Caban-Martinez, A. J. (2020). Impact of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) on the analysis of clinical images: A prepost study of VTS in first-year medical students. Journal of Medical Humanities, 41(4), 561–572. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-020-09652-4
  10. Nolan, S. (2022). VTS in the English language classroom in Sweden: Visuality, paraphrasing and collective thinking in support of language learning. Educare, (4), 127–144. https://doi.org/10.24834/educare.2022.4.6
  11. DeSantis, K., & Housen, A. (2001). A brief guide to developmental theory and aesthetic development. USA: Visual Understanding in Education.
  12. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. USA: Harvard University Press.
  13. Lee, A., Cronin, S., & Gibbon, F. (2021). Visual thinking strategies for speech and language therapy students. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 13(2), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.62707/aishej.v13i2.573
  14. Chisolm, M. S., Kelly-Hedrick, M., & Wright, S. M. (2021). How visual arts-based education can promote clinical excellence. Academic Medicine, 96(8), 1100–1104. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003862
  15. Curva, F., Milton, S., Wood, S., Palmer, D., Nahmias, C., Radcliffe, B., & Youngblood, T. (2005). Artful citizen project: Three-year project report. USA: Curva and Associates.
  16. Poirier, T. I., Newman, K., & Ronald, K. (2020). An exploratory study using visual thinking strategies to improve undergraduate students’ observational skills. America Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 84(4), 7600. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7600
  17. Zuhai, A. R., & Hassan, F. A. (2021). The effect of the strategy of visual thinking networks in developing the conceptual comprehension of the students of the Department of Art Education in the subject of general teaching methods. Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, 12(7), 8908–8934.
  18. Ferrara, V., Shaholli, D., Iovino, A., Cavallino, S., Colizzi, M. A., della Rocca, C., & la Torre, G. (2022). Visual thinking strategies as a tool for reducing burnout and improving skills in healthcare workers: Results of a randomized controlled study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(24), 7501. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11247501
  19. Choi, J., Lee, S. E., Choi, S., Kang, B., Kim, S. H., Bae, J., ..., & Son, Y. J. (2022). Integration of visual thinking strategies to undergraduate health assessment course: A mixed-method feasibility study. Nurse Education Today, 113, 105374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105374
  20. Lynch, D. (2022). Integrating visual thinking strategies in social work education: Opportunities for the future? The British Journal of Social Work, 52(3), 1643–1661. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcab121
  21. Bellaera, L., Weinstein-Jones, Y., Ilie, S., & Baker, S. T. (2021). Critical thinking in practice: The priorities and practices of instructors teaching in higher education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 41, 100856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100856
  22. Adams, M., Foutz, S., Luke, J., & Stein, J. (2006). Thinking through art Isabella Stewart Gardner museum school partnership program year 3 preliminary research results. Retrieved from: https://vtshome.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/3Gardner-Museum-Thinking-Through-Art.pdf
  23. Ishiguro, C., Sato, Y., Takahashi, A., Abe, Y., Kakizaki, H., Okada, H., ..., & Takagishi, H. (2021). Comparing effects of visual thinking strategies in a classroom and a museum. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(4), 735. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000326
  24. DeCarvalho, R. J. (1991). The humanistic paradigm in education. The Humanistic Psychologist, 19(1), 88–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/08873267.1991.9986754
  25. Zajda, J. (2021). Constructivist learning theory and creating effective learning environments. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Globalisation and education reforms: Creating effective learning environments (pp. 35–50). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71575-5_3
  26. Kirschenbaum, H., & Henderson, V. L. (1989). The Carl Rogers reader. USA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
  27. Hamzah, L. M. B., Majid, S., Yusof, N. M., & Hussien, S. B. (2024). The impacts of democratic learning environment on students’ self-enhancement: A case study in a Malaysian Public University. Asian Journal of University Education, 20(1), 197–205.
  28. Hanley, T., Winter, L. A., & Burrell, K. (2020). Supporting emotional well-being in schools in the context of austerity: An ecologically informed humanistic perspective. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12275
  29. Wentzel, K. R. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 411–419. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.411
  30. Sadoughi, M., & Hejazi, S. Y. (2021). Teacher support and academic engagement among EFL learners: The role of positive academic emotions. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 70, 101060. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101060
  31. Treve, M. (2021). Study of humanistic education: Concerns, implications, and applications. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 12(11), 6303–6310.
  32. Bas, G. (2011). Teacher student control ideology and burnout: Their correlation. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(4), 84–94. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.327124573824690
  33. Opdenakker, M. C., & van Damme, J. (2006). Teacher characteristics and teaching styles as effectiveness enhancing factors of classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.07.008
  34. Lavy, S., & Naama-Ghanayim, E. (2020). Why care about caring? Linking teachers’ caring and sense of meaning at work with students’ self-esteem, well-being, and school engagement. Teaching and Teacher Education, 91, 103046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103046
  35. Cornelius-White, J. (2007). Learner-centered teacher-student relationships are effective: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 113–143. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298563
  36. Hod, Y., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2018). Co-development patterns of knowledge, experience, and self in humanistic knowledge building communities. Instructional Science, 46(4), 593–169. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9459-z
  37. Ferguson, D. L., Hanreddy, A., & Draxton, S. (2011). Giving students voice as a strategy for improving teacher practice. London Review of Education, 9(1), 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/14748460.2011.550435
  38. González-Sanz, M., Wilson-Daily, A. E., Feliu-Torruella, M., & Ibanez-Etxeberria, A. (2023). What type of learning methods do pupils prefer in museums and at school? Elementary school pupil’s perceptions of visual thinking strategies as applied at the Barcelona Picasso Museum. Sage Open, 13(4), 21582440231209690. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231209690
  39. Weinstock, M., Assor, A., & Broide, G. (2009). Schools as promoters of moral judgment: The essential role of teachers’ encouragement of critical thinking. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 12(1), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-008-9068-9
  40. Reeve, J. (2013). How students create motivationally supportive learning environments for themselves: The concept of agentic engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 579–595. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032690
  41. Mielkov, Y., Bakhov, I., Bilyakovska, O., Kostenko, L., & Nych, T. (2021). Higher education strategies for the 21st century: Philosophical foundations and the humanist approach. Revista Tempos e Espaços em Educação, 14(33), e15524. http://dx.doi.org/10.20952/revtee.v14i33.15524
  42. Nickel, K. L. (2022). Growing literacy skills with visual thinking strategies on virtual art museum tours. Literacy Practice and Research, 47(1), 3.
  43. Paul, A., Mercado, N., Block, L., DeVoe, B., Richner, N., & Goldberg, G. R. (2023). Visual thinking strategies for interprofessional education and promoting collaborative competencies. The Clinical Teacher, 20(5), e13644. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13644
  44. Keogh, F. M., Lee, A., & Gibbon, F. (2020). Visual thinking strategies: Experiences of an arts-based curriculum in an Irish University Medicine and Health Faculty. All Ireland Journal of Higher Education, 12(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.62707/aishej.v12i1.408
  45. Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. USA: Guilford Press.
  46. Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Salda˜na, J. (2020). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (4th ed.). USA: Sage Publications.
  47. Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill.
  48. Whitehead, D., & Whitehead, L. (2020). Data collection and sampling in qualitative research. In D. Whitehead, C. Ferguson, G. LoBiondo-Wood & J. Haber (Eds.), Nursing and midwifery research: Methods and appraisal for evidence based practice (6th ed., pp. 118–135). Elsevier.
  49. Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research: Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. USA: Sage Publications.
  50. Carlson, J. A. (2010). Avoiding traps in member checking. Qualitative Report, 15(5), 1102–1113. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2010.1332
  51. Williams, M., & Moser, T. (2019). The art of coding and thematic exploration in qualitative research. International Management Review, 15(1), 45–55.
  52. Reyes, V., Bogumil, E., & Welch, L. E. (2024). The living codebook: Documenting the process of qualitative data analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 53(1), 89–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124120986185
  53. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. USA: Sage Publications.
  54. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2023). Toward good practice in thematic analysis: Avoiding common problems and be(com)ing a knowing researcher. International Journal of Transgender Health, 24(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2129597
  55. Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods (5th ed.). USA: Pearson.
  56. Salda˜na, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. USA: Sage Publications.
  57. Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. USA: Follett Publishing Company.
  58. Maslow, A. (1968). Some educational implications of the humanistic psychologies. Harvard Educational Review, 38(4), 685–696. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.38.4.j07288786v86w660
  59. Rogers, C. R. (1977). Beyond the watershed: And where now? Educational Leadership, 34(8), 623–631.
  60. Knowles, M. (1973). The adult learner: A neglected species. USA: Gulf Publishing Company.
  61. Hod, Y., Bielaczyc, K., & Ben-Zvi, D. (2018). Revisiting learning communities: Innovations in theory and practice. Instructional Science, 46(4), 489–506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9467-z
  62. Rogers, C. R., Lyon, H. C., & Tausch, R. (2014). On becoming an effective teacher: Person-centered teaching, psychology, philosophy, and dialogues with Carl R. Rogers and Harold Lyon. USA: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203725672
  63. Patterson, C. H. (1977). Foundations for a theory of instruction and educational psychology. USA: Harper & Row.
  64. Yenawine, P. (1998). Visual art and student-centered discussions. Theory into Practice, 37(4), 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849809543821
  65. Willers, J. C. (1975). Humanistic education: Concepts, criteria, and criticism. Peabody Journal of Education, 53(1), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956750953804
  66. Yayuk, E., Purwanto, As’ari, A. R., & Subanji. (2020). Primary school students’ creative thinking skills in mathematics problem solving. European Journal of Educational Research, 9(3), 1281–1295. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.9.3.1281
  67. Pozas, M., Letzel, V., & Schneider, C. (2020). Teachers and differentiated instruction: Exploring differentiation practices to address student diversity. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20(3), 217–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12481
  68. Freeman, Q., Flores, R., Garz´on, D., Gumina, D., Sambolín Morales, A. N., Silva Diaz, E., & Stamatis, K. M. (2020). Collaborating towards humanizing pedagogies: Culture circles in teacher educator preparation. The New Educator, 16(1), 86–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688X.2019.1671567
  69. Stiggins, R., & Chappuis, J. (2018). Using student-involved classroom assessment to close achievement gaps. Theory into Practice, 44(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4401_3
  70. Clark, C. M., & Yinger, R. J. (1977). Research on teacher thinking. Curriculum Inquiry, 7(4), 279–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/03626784.1977.11076224
  71. Pica-Smith, C., & Scannell, C. (2020). Teaching and learning for this moment: How a trauma-informed lens can guide our praxis. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 5(1), 76–83. https://doi.org/10.32674/jimphe.v5i1.2627

LICENSE

Creative Commons License
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.