Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS)

powerful learning experiences with art

Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a groundbreaking educational approach authored by Abigail Housen, Ph.D, and Philip Yenawine.

A facilitation approach, VTS transforms teachers from transmitters of knowledge into savvy guides of collective inquiry based on deep listening and careful language. It has been seen to embolden professional learning communities towards learning culture along the way, for decades.

For learners, VTS has been shown to expand capacity in observation, critical thinking, and attitudes towards teamwork.

Of the many things we love about it, we celebrate its genesis. Housen and Yenawine created it of two simple aspirations:

Expand access to art

Center enjoyment of art

Over twenty years of innovation with VTS in medical learning

A trained VTS Facilitator and Trainer, ArtsPractica Founder Alexa Miller has been a force in popularizing the use of VTS in medical teaching and research for over twenty years.

“Don’t just ‘do VTS’…

change healthcare”

Our Approach to VTS

  • Centers profound and provocative experiences with art, first and foremost

  • Emphasizes key linkages between VTS facilitation and patient care excellence

  • Targets specific issues in health and healthcare, sequencing VTS with didactics, reflections, and clear takeaways

  • Never loses connection with the why: better patient care

Up your game in VTS Facilitation