Results show VTS causes critical-thinking growth and transfer of critical thinking to other contexts and content. A five-year study with Byron School District, Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, and VUE looked for evidence that VTS develops critical thinking, its transfer, and tested the effect of VTS in stimulating aesthetic growth. Results show that over time VTS accelerates growth and enables students' critical thinking in other areas. (Byron, Minnesota; 1993)

San Antonio Independent School District students who completed VTS lessons significantly outperformed students who did not receive VTS, in aesthetic and critical-thinking growth. Students with VTS transferred critical-thinking skills to individual art-viewing experiences independently, and transferred those skills fostered by VTS discussions to individual viewing of non-art objects. Results of this study convinced the San Antonio Independent School District to implement VTS system-wide. (San Antonio, Texas; 2000-2002)

In 2003, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) partnered with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) in a three-year grant from the Department of Education to research students' learning from an art museum multiple-visit program. The study concluded that participating students generated significantly more instances of critical thinking skills, said more, and were more likely to provide evidence for their thinking. (Boston, MA; 2003-2007)

A pilot program funded by the U.S. DOE in partnership with Wolfsonian-FIU and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Understanding the relationship between visual literacy and other academic skills, VTS was a major piece of the Artful Citizenship project. The study produced significant findings about efficacy of VTS, including a strong relationship between growth in visual literacy and growth in reading and mathematics. Program Evaluation conducted by Curva and Associate. (Miami, FL; 2005)

Visual Arts Research. 2008. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Originally appearing in the April 2008 issue of NAEA News, the authors respond to an article by Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland