A common mistake is to ask: 'What is the meaning of this text?', or 'What do you think this text means?'.
Those questions imply at least two things:
1. There is only one meaning to the text, it cannot 'mean' anything but that one thing.
2. The reader's job is not to think for themselves, but to go in search of that meaning, as if they were treasure hunters, single-mindedly digging for that one treasure. The text is not a territory to explore and think from anymore, it becomes simply an enigma that needs to be deciphered.
It goes without saying that two two consequences of asking 'What does it mean?' are not motivating for the reader, and hardly inspiring for the teacher. It is also a betrayal of what Art is all about, and of the reader's agency.
At the same time, there is comfort in that question for the teacher: once the 'meaning' has been found (i.e. what the teacher wants to hear), we can all move on, and there will be no surprises, nor will there be any pressure on the teachers to engage with different interpretations.
But that comfort is what you do NOT want: you want to give the opportunity to everyone to read something in the text, to put something of themselves in it - in short, you are looking for possible interpretations and not for one meaning.
Interpreting means simply assigning possible meanings to e.g. a text, based on the information contained in that text - that information that you adduce in the Observing phase (who, where, how, when, what, gestures, words, attitudes etc.).
As a teacher, you are looking for such possible meanings as they reflect the readers' diversity and individuality, as well as giving them (and you) material to think from, and to think with - to explore differences and similarities, to expand ideas and ways to see the world.
Do not reduce a text (or an image) to just one meaning: use it instead to explore the range of reactions and understandings - of possible meaningS.
A crucial move here is to systematically ask your learners to substantiate their interpretation with evidence from the text - that is, use textual (or visual) evidence to justify their claims. It is not enough to say 'For me, it means this', they must use the text to support their views, which can then be discussed and evaluated.
This dichotomy meaning/interpretation is of course strongly linked to the Authorial fallacy.