Since 2017, students across the Commonwealth have been experiencing the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts right in their own classrooms, interacting live with a museum educator.
Launched in 2017, the Evans Distance Learning program is critical to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ efforts to bring art experiences to the Commonwealth. Students from Abingdon to Norfolk and Winchester can experience VMFA from their own classrooms, interacting in real time with a museum educator streaming live from one of the galleries. During these hour-long sessions, works of art become catalysts for conversation. Students are encouraged to look deeply to enhance their understanding and provoke curiosity about topics across the curriculum.
“VMFA’s distance learning program is designed to be student-centered,” explains Sarah Rasich, senior coordinator of school and teacher content. “Sessions embrace student curiosity and help hone critical and creative thinking skills in a fun way. What we love most about this approach is that students bring a fresh perspective to the galleries, and the ideas they share have really opened our eyes to what the collection has to say.”
While a work of art is the starting point, the breadth of VMFA’s collection provides rich connections to many subjects, themes, and skills. Looking at an artist’s techniques can spark conversations about changes in technology. Considering how an artist employs geometry helps students articulate their understanding of spatial and numerical relationships.
The distance learning program is one of several ways VMFA helps educators integrate art into their classrooms. Each topic is paired with additional resources from the museum’s Learn site that can be used to prepare for an upcoming virtual visit or deepen engagement. These lesson concepts and hands-on activities, like the distance learning sessions, are aligned with Virginia’s Standards of Learning. VMFA also recently developed an online course that builds upon its popular teacher workshops. “Creative and Critical Thinking with Art,” offered through Virtual Virginia, provides teachers with innovative ideas for interdisciplinary learning across subjects and grade levels.
More than 3,600 students across 122 school districts participated in the program last year, making distance learning essential to VMFA’s statewide mission.
You can help the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts to continue enriching the lives of students for years to come with a planned gift. Contact Marie Hawthorne, Senior Development Officer, at 804.340.1335 and marie.hawthorne@vmfa.museum to learn more.