Tag Archives: art

An Art Activity for Reflection and Generalization of Learning

Designed by Yuriko Noda

This is an activity designed and can be utilized effectively at the end of a series of training, seminar, course, etc. that is conducted based on the principles of experiential learning which facilitates participants learning through their experiences.

Based on the experiential learning cycle adapted from Kolb (2015), it is argued that people can learn from experiences, but just experiencing something is not enough to actually learn from it. For the effective experiential learning, the process of “Reflection” and “Generalization” are important in order to be able to “Apply” the learning in the future. Therefore, this activity is designed to be helpful for participants to reflect and generalize their learning from their experiences.


Outline of the activity:

  • Overview: The participants take time to work on their own to reflect their series of experiences, make a short story about it, and put it into an art piece. After that, the participants present it to the group, and the facilitator lead a short discussion about each presentation with the group, as well as a short reflection about this entire activity.
  • Time: 45-60 minutes
  • Number of participants: Any number more than 3
  • Age group: Any age, depending on the expected depth of the reflections, generalizations, and discussions
  • Settings: In-person or online.
    • For in-person settings, a variety of materials need to be prepared.
    • For online settings, it’s helpful to notify the participants in advance so that they can bring their own materials ready.
  • Goals: By the end of this activity, the participants would be able to
    • Become more aware of their biggest learning from the series of experiences
    • Express and present their biggest learning from the series of experiences
    • Have ideas how to apply their biggest learning from the series of experiences in their future
    • Remember their biggest learning from the series of experiences even after the completion
  • Pre-Work:
    • This 45–60-minutes activity is designed to be conducted after each participant taking time to reflect their series of experiences. So it is recommended to either give them heads-up to reflect the experiences on their own or set time for reflection together before this activity.
    • If it’s conducted online, it is also helpful to tell the participants briefly what we are going to do, and ask them to bring materials they may want to use (paper, pens, musical instruments, etc.).
  • Flow and instructions:
    • Introduction (1 min): Why we are doing this activity (purpose).
      • Presenting the learning cycle of DO – REFLECT – GENERALIZE – APPLY from the experiential learning, explain that this activity will help their reflection and generalization process of their learning and their preparation for application. DO part should have been done during the series of experiences.
      • Motivate them to try to grab the most important learning and express it in the form of art.
    • Instructions (4 min):
      • You will have 10 minutes to work on your piece of art by yourself. You are going to think and express the followings in a form of art, and present with the group after that (how to present, time to present depends on the number of the participants).
      • You can use any form of art. It could be a little one-man sketch or skit, making a song, rewriting lyrics of a famous song, drawing a picture, drawing a poster, making a sculpture using what you have at hand, write a poem, etc. But please try to avoid long sentences or wordy explanations. Using hands like handwriting is encouraged rather than typing or drawing on computer. Be creative!
      • Contents of the art is like a story which should include ALL of the following:
        1. BEFORE: How were you before this experience
        2. DURING: What you have learned the most in this experience (it could be several but the biggest one should be highlighted)
        3. AFTER: How it changed you and how/who you are right now
        4. FUTURE: How you can imagine yourself in the future (specify when) based on this experience
      • Time to work by yourself is 10 minutes. Time for you to present is 2 minutes. The facilitator will give you reminders of time (5 minutes to go, 1 mininute to go).
      • Any questions?
    • Individual crafting time (10-15 min). Playing a nice music is a good option. Set a timer and facilitator will give reminders 5 minutes and 1 minute before the end.
    • Presentation and discussion (20 min):
      • We get together after the crafting time is over.
      • Some or all of the partiicpants present their art pieces.
      • After each person’s presentation, other participants are welcome to make short comments, if any.
      • Facilitator will also acknowledge and make a comment on the presentation.
    • Small reflection of this activity (5 min):
      • Open to the floor to share their reflections and learning (if any) of this activity.
    • Wrap up (5 min):
      • Show appreciation for their works and make a brief comment by the facilitator
      • Put up the learning cycle again to highlight that in the experiential learning, it starts with DO but through the process of REFLECT and GENERALIZE, the learners can bring their learning as transferable or applicable knowledge, skills or attitudes. That’s why we did this activity and hope it will be helpful for you to utilize or apply your learning (not only the biggest one but other small ones, too) in your life in the future in different contexts

Resource:
Kolb. (2015). Experiential learning : experience as the source of learning and development (Second edition.). Pearson Education Ltd.

*This activity was designed by Yuriko Noda, a PhD stuent at from Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University

Music and the Mobilization of Nonviolence: Conflict Skills/Peacemaking Facilitation Activity

Designed by Yong June Kim

Background/Contents

Art is a powerful medium to de-escalate the tension of conflict when it is utilized at an appropriate time. Especially, music could bring strong emotional connectivity among people worldwide; it has been constantly used as a simple but strong tool to overcome social oppression and to strengthen the voice of the public with a nonviolent approach. This activity, Music and the Mobilization of Nonviolence, aims to teach how music could greatly impact emotional connectivity and de-escalation of conflict and contribute to a significant nonviolent movement against conflicts we face in our society. The activity was fully conducted online; due to this condition, the online meeting software Zoom was the main tool to proceed with the activity. Since Zoom provided an interactive whiteboard and screen-sharing option which enable the participants to be simultaneously engaged throughout the activity, it was sufficient to facilitate the exchange of emotions and ideas that are stimulated from the session. The resources for this activity are gathered based on self-research; one song deeply connected to social conflicts is selected per genre: Blues, Gospel, Rock, Hip-hop, Classic, Grassroot music, etc.

This type of education could be effectively utilized in any group regardless of age or community level when it is conducted in an informal setting since it is based on experiential learning; however, it could be especially practical for students at the K-12 level. As music itself contains entertaining elements, it could help the students maintain their focus and be fully engaged by actively listening and watching music videos during the activity. The debriefing questions are also based on their emotions and feelings that are directly reflected by the musical contents; this simple discussion could make them feel comfortable and safe to learn the key points of this activity that music itself could connect people and contribute to peacebuilding processes in the long term perspective. Furthermore, they will have the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the backgrounds of musical genres and pieces that they are used to listen but are not actually aware of the hidden stories they embody.

Implementation

  • Activity Time Duration: 45-60 minutes, depending on the number of songs an educator would like to use.
    • 3 min: Brief introduction and learning objectives
    • 10 min: introduction of a particular genre (it would be helpful to go through research or ask for support from those who have musical expertise during the preparation.)
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #1
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #2
    • 10 min: Music introduction, listening (4-5 min) and debriefing (5 min) activities #3
    • 10-15 min: Review of the activity, simple quiz activities about the music based on debriefing
  • Orientation of the Session: The educator may have multiple sessions, introducing one genre for each session. The first session, however, needs to introduce the overall learning point, which is the music’s impact on peacebuilding and the mobilization of the nonviolence movement in society. Guiding the main theme at the beginning session will help both educators and students to be consistent with understanding the music’s role in the strategic peacebuilding process while engaging in the activity throughout the sessions. For example, sessions could be categorized like the example below:
    • Session 1: Introduction_How Music Helps Strategic Peacebuilding?
    • Session 2: Understanding the Origin of Blues Through Learning the Black History
    • Session 3: Learning Gospel through Analyzing Amazing Grace
    • Session 4: How did Hip-hop Become a Powerful Medium for Raising Voices for Social Issues
    • Session 5: Rock for Peace
  • Each session will start by introducing two to three songs that are relevant to the genre. The educator may briefly introduce the background of the songs and share the lyrics with the participants to help them have a better understanding of the contexts. The facilitator could also have a simple quiz about the music so that the participants can guess the information about the music, providing much more interaction during the session.
  • After appreciating those musical pieces, the educator can move into a debriefing session. When it is conducted online, shared whiteboard and brainstorming programs  through Zoom or Mural could be utilized to have students engaged in the activity. When it is conducted in person, however, the educator may use a large size of paper so that the participants could simultaneously add their thoughts of impression and engaged emotions to the paper. The Questions after listening to the musical pieces could be like below:
    • Let’s share your thoughts; what was the most impressive part for you when thinking of peacebuilding, nonviolence, and conflict?
    • What were the implications of the lyrics, rhythms, melodies?
    • Are there any other elements that seem powerful for the nonviolent process? Why?
    • If you want to introduce other songs you particularly find relevant, please share and explain why it is connected to the topic.

Goal

The objective is to connect music with peacebuilding and the nonviolence movement by emphasizing its contribution to emotional connectivity between groups, individuals, and communities. Through such experiential learning processes utilizing basic senses that are based on auditory, visionary, and somatic senses, it aims to help students to maintain their interest in learning in non-academic approaches. Also, this activity could help the students have better accessibility to understanding past and current major conflicts that are occurring worldwide by appreciating the musical pieces that directly reflect them. By doing so, it could facilitate the process of conscientization (Freire, 1970), which enables the participants to understand the social issues that could be directly related to themselves in a critical manner. The contents illustrated below could be the main learning objectives:

Resources Used for the Activity

Musical pieces that are used for the activity could various depending on the educator’s preferences or participants’ suggestions through discussion at the beginning of the session:

  1. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Seabury Press.
  2. B.   Shank, M., & Schirch, L. (2008). Strategic Arts-Based Peacebuilding. Peace & Change, 33(2), 217–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0130.2008.00490.
  3. 12 years a slave – choir song – ”roll jordan roll” 2013
  4. President Obama Sings Amazing Grace (C-SPAN)
  5. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message (Official Video)
  6. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
  7. ‘Stop the war in Ukraine’: Orchestra plays national anthem in central Kyiv as Russians advance
  8. [경향신문]19차 촛불집회 광화문에 울려퍼진 ‘임을 위한 행진곡’

*This activity was designed by Yong June Kim, an undergraduate student at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, based on Dr. Arthur Romano’s Graduate Course (CONF 695) “Peace and Conflict Resolution Pedagogy” in Fall 2022. 

Inside Out: a global participatory art project


“I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we’ll turn the world…INSIDE OUT.” – JR

Connecting with people across lines of difference is a fundamental goal in conflict resolution and this process has, in some ways, become more accessible due to the presence of the internet and social media tools. Through a course I am taking focusing on Art as a means of social change, I came across a project called the Inside Out Project started by a Parisian street artists known as JR. Winner of the TED Prize in 2011 (awarded annually to an exceptional individual who receives $100,000 and, much more important, “One Wish to Change the World”), this project tackles causes like peace, diversity, sustainability, and justice through photography as well are large scale displays of these works. According to the inside out project website http://www.insideoutproject.net:

INSIDE OUT is a large-scale participatory art project that transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work. Everyone is challenged to use black and white photographic portraits to discover, reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world. These digitally uploaded images will be made into posters and sent back to the project’s co-creators for them to exhibit in their own communities. People can participate as an individual or in a group; posters can be placed anywhere, from a solitary image in an office window to a wall of portraits on an abandoned building or a full stadium. These exhibitions will be documented, archived and viewable virtually.

This resource presents a unique opportunity to actively engage students in a global movement aimed at highlighting identity and diversity.  The project can either used a stimulated visual example in the classroom that would display the ways in which people around the world are getting involeved in social justice and human rights issues creativily, or you could chose to collaborate!  For example, this nonprofit group in Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Olhar Coletivo, an organization that seeks to empower impoverished youth between the ages of 13 and 15 through the art of photography) participated in the project.

Inside out project is an ambitious experiment in civic engagement through art and would serve to facilitate dialogue about social issues like freedom and diversity as well as actively engage student in a global initiative to respond creatively and nonviolently to response to the political, social, and religious conflicts that are prolific in our contemporary landscape.

Visual Peacemakers

Image

Connecting with people across lines of difference is a fundamental goal in conflict resolution and this process has, in some ways, become more accessible due to the presence of the internet and social media tools.  Through a course I am taking focusing on Art as a means of social change, I came across the online resource visualpeacemaker.org.  This site is essentially a host for the collaborative project coordinated by the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers.  Working with such partners as Peace Catalyst International, the Guild of visual artist and photographers challenge stereotypes and prejudices by capturing the beauty of diversity.

The International Guild of Visual Peacemakers resource consists of collections of photographs, documentaries, and photo blogs that work to promote the message of the Guild as described in their manifesto.  By capturing the human elements of cultures, the project seeks to build peace.

Throughout history people have fallen into the trap of making enemies with, demonizing, stereotyping, and fighting the “other.” There has been a flood of conflict based on ethnic, cultural, and religious identity in the post-cold war era that has ended the lives of millions, destroyed economies, and torn apart families.

Much of this has been fueled by the growing availability of technology, especially photography and videography. While the written word carries an expectation for honesty, there is a void regarding the ethics of images due to their subjective nature. This void has opened the door for photographers to exploit people’s desire to confirm their thoughts about the “other”—mobilizing innumerable people towards slander, violence, and other fear-based responses.

Since 9/11, conflicts between Muslim cultures and western cultures have been growing in intensity. There are deep misunderstandings and stereotypes that are producing widespread fear and anger.

The International Guild of Visual Peacemakers (IGVP) was created to build bridges of peace across ethnic, cultural, and religious lines through visual communication that is both accountable to an ethical standard and created by those who authentically care about people.

This resource can be used in both the formal and informal learning space due to its accessibility and the intelligible nature of the content.  Visually the images are powerful and the stories that the pictures tell are worth sharing with students and learners of all ages.  This resource can incite discussions about toleration, diversity, and the beauty and dignity of human life which is aptly illustrated in this project.  This approach to facilitating understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures while also educating the international audience about global issues is creative response to the political, social, and religious conflicts that are prolific in our contemporary landscape.

Using this resources students will not only be exposed to global conflict as humanized by the International Guild of Visual Peacemakers, but will also gain insight into the varied approaches experts in the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution are tackling and implementing.

Art + Sports = Peace Education!

In order to meet children where they are developmentally and intellectually, the Arts Olympiad program combines art, sports, and technology in a multi-level program to teach children aged eight to 12 years about peace. The program, implemented by the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF), is a worldwide initiative that engages children in peace-building on local (classroom), national, regional, and global levels, teaching them cooperation, positive identity formation, empathy, creativity, leadership, and multiculturalism (see more information here).

This specific program is intended be utilized by elementary school teachers (and possibly after-school childcare providers and other informal educators), and adaptations of it could be effective for children from early elementary school through middle school. By employing media that are universally accessible – visual art and sports – this program is both highly inclusive and successful at connecting children from vastly different regions and cultures. At the same time, the elements of collaboration and cooperation built into the program (for example, classes work together to select which artworks will be submitted to the next level of the competition) teach children tolerance and community.

Participation in the Arts Olympiad could be easily implemented in classrooms as well as in informal settings. Because the only materials required are art supplies (crayons, markers, paper, pencils), this project needs virtually no preparation. Ninety minutes should be plenty of time for children to draw their favorite sport, share their artworks, and decide together which pieces will be entered to the next level of the competition. Teachers should supplement the project with a discussion of sports in an international context, such as exploring the Olympic Games or the World Cup. They could even go one step further and use sports as a metaphor to talk to young students about conflict, collaboration, and healthy behaviors.

The Arts Olympiad supports learning about cooperation, tolerance, identity, empathy, creativity, and leadership throughout the four levels of the competition, as children are increasingly exposed to their larger local, national, regional, and global communities. It teaches multiculturalism and international relations in a way young children can understand, and exposes them to the understanding that, though people may have many differences, they also have much in common.

(By Emily Ludwin Miller, emillerk@gmu.edu)