What does it take to help someone look closely at a porcupine, an X-ray, a climate map, or a tissue specimen—and begin to reason from what they see?

Art is increasingly used in science classrooms, museums, medical schools, and clinical training to support observation, inquiry, communication, and interpretation. But art and science do not automatically combine well. Without skilled facilitation, an art-based activity may be engaging without building the habits of observation and reasoning it was intended to teach.

Much of education focuses on what learners know. VTS focuses on what they learn to do: look closely, use evidence, remain curious, consider multiple possibilities, revise ideas, and reason with others in public. These capacities matter wherever people must make meaning from complex or ambiguous visual information.

For scientists, clinicians, and educators trained in content-rich fields, this can require a shift: from supplying information and evaluating answers to making space for learners to observe, interpret, question, and revise before content is introduced. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn to facilitate VTS according to research-based standards and use art and science content purposefully—not simply as an enjoyable experience, but as a structured opportunity to build skills.

Drawing on over 30 years of VTS research and practice, the IMLS-funded VTS in Science initiative, applications in health professions education, and visual-data learning developed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the workshop will include a guest contributor from a science or clinical field.

Participants will:

• Experience and analyze VTS discussions with art and science-related content
• Practice and learn core VTS facilitation skills
• Distinguish between delivering content and developing learners’ skills
• Explore how to connect learner observations to scientific or clinical concepts without shutting down curiosity
• Develop practical applications for classrooms, museums, medical education, and clinical training

Participants must be able to attend all meetings to complete this course. In addition to class meetings, participants should plan to complete assigned readings and reflections between each class. This course is scheduled in Pacific time zone. Please check your personal time zone alignment before registering.

Class time: 9:00am – 11:00am Pacific Time (11am-1pm CT / 12-2pm ET)

• Tuesday, November 3
• Thursday, November 5
• Friday, November 6
• Tuesday, November 10
• Thursday, November 12
• Friday, November 13
• Tuesday, November 17
• Thursday, November 19
• Friday, November 20

We offer tiered pricing to keep VTS training accessible while covering program costs. Please choose the option that works for you:

• Tier 1 – $900: Subsidized Rate – For those who need a lower price to participate
• Tier 2 – $950: Standard Rate – The actual cost of the program
• Tier 3 – $1,000: Pay-It-Forward Rate – Support our programs, help another educator attend

Your choice helps us keep this training available to more educators.

Questions? Please contact us at info@vtshome.org