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Nobel Education

The 14th Dalai Lama: Art for Cross-Cultural Communication

In this challenge, students will use art to facilitate cross-cultural communication. They will study how art is used to share important messages, exploring public art, both formal and informal. Students will then use art to share the story of an identity being challenged. As a final step, they’ll share their artwork with students in other communities to spark cross-cultural dialogue and discussion.

Students will use the design process to create purposeful art and gather feedback to help them refine and better communicate through their art. Feel free to tailor this experience to meet the needs and interests of your students, retaining following essential elements:

Students should keep “the right to identity” as the central theme of their artwork

Students should share their art with others both for feedback to iterate, and as a tool to facilitate cross cultural dialogue with students in another community

Students should follow the 5 steps in the design process to guide their design challenge.

OVERVIEW

To begin, students will explore how art is used as a communication tool. They will explore how people around the globe have used a variety of art forms to share important messages and spark communication.


Allow students to explore different artists and art forms that have been used to communicate powerful messages and create dialogue around an important issue.

Option 1: guide students in their learning by pointing them to selected artists and artwork in books, online, or even by visiting a local museum or public art in your community.

Option 2: allow students to do their own research to learn how different artists who have used art to communicate important messages and stir conversation around social issues. If you choose this option, give your students parameters to help them focus their research and to ensure they explore only appropriate content.

Art As a Communication Tool

After students have explored different artists and artwork used to communicate and spark communication around social issues, have them brainstorm the 

central message they want their art to communicate

 Explain to students that before they think about the type of art they want to create, they must identify the important issue they want their art to address, and what specifically about that issue their art will communicate.

Remind students that the type of communication this design challenge focuses on is “cross-cultural dialogue,” so their art should not only communicate something about a social issue, it should also engage the audience to ask questions and spark further discussion.

Use the student worksheet “What Will My Art Say?” to help students identify the central message they want their art to communicate, and explain how it will foster cross-cultural dialogue.

 Next, ask students to brainstorm a list of different forms of art that they can use in this design challenge. The goal is to help them understand that “art” is not limited to painting, drawing, and sculpture.

Following, have students brainstorm different mediums and tools they can use to create their art.

 Finally, have students bring everything together by deciding what kind of art they will create to facilitate cross-cultural communication on the social issue they chose.

Remind students to pick an art form that interests them and plays to their personal strengths and talents.

Students can work individually or in pairs or small groups on their artwork.

What Will My Art Say?

Once your students have identified an issue they want to address, but before they begin planning for their artwork, guide them through the first step of the design process: Empathize.

Review the student worksheet for this step in the design process.

Explain to students that the way to empathize for this design challenge is to spend time learning as much about the social cause they want their art to facilitate communication around, and explore what others in their community and outside their community are already saying about this topic.

Students can learn more about their selected issue and the dialogue that already exists around it by doing “research,” that can take any of the following forms:

Exploring social media from trusted sources

Design process step 1: Empathize

Once your students have spent time learning about the issue their art will address, and the current communication already happening around this issue, they’ll use step 2 of the design process to explain why cross-cultural dialogue around this issue is important.

By the end of this step, the goal is that students have a specific and clear problem statement that will guide the rest of their Design Challenge.

Student worksheet: Step 2: Define the Problem

1. Review the student worksheet for this step in the design process.

2. Focus students’ attention on the following during this step:

What are the problems that cross-cultural dialogue can help solve?

 problem that can be solved by cross-cultural dialogue for this design challenge.

3. In addition to the student worksheet, you may have students use any of the following additional strategies to help them define the problem and create their problem statement:

Sharing possible actions with people affected by the problem (if possible) for feedback

Design process step 2: Define the Problem

Now that your students have narrowed down one specific problem that cross-cultural dialogue can help solve, they are ready to have some fun coming up with ideas for the artwork they will create!

As students ideate, and encourage them to be bold, creative, and unafraid of listing as many possible ideas as they have to complete this challenge. Let them dream big and go for quantity—the more ideas the better!

During this step, students can brainstorm both different forms of art they might create, and different elements they want to include in their artwork.

Design process step 3: Ideate

In this stage of the design process, students create a sketch, storyboard, quick model, or other “blueprint” to illustrate the artwork they will create. The idea is to come up with a plan to ensure their artwork communicates the message they intend, and invites others to join the conversation. (In the next step, they will need this prototype to get feedback from others which they can use to improve, or even to scrap their plan all together and circle back to step 3 (Ideate) to continue brainstorming or choose a different idea.)

2. Remind students that a prototype should be a quick mock-up of what they intend to create to get feedback before they invest time and energy into their actual project

This means they do not have to use the same medium to prototype that they intend to use for their artwork. For example, a student who wants to create a sculpture does not have to create a “mini-sculpture” or even a 3-D model. A simple sketch of the sculpture will do. A student who wants to write a song does not have to write a complete song, but might start by putting a few lines to a beat.

Design process step 4: Prototype

Once your students have a basic prototype, it's time to test it to see if their planned art will communicate the central idea they wish to express, and invite others to ask questions and join in the conversation.

Review the student worksheets for this step in the design process.

Help students connect with others for feedback. Ideally, students can connect with peers from a different community to make sure their key message comes across as they intend, and that it invites others in (and doesn’t alienate or make others feel afraid to join the conversation around this issue.)

Make sure students record the feedback they receive, and encourage them to think critically about what feedback they will choose to incorporate.

Design process step 5: Test

Because the goal of this design challenge was for students to use art to foster cross-cultural dialogue, sharing their art is a critical final step. There are many different ways students can share their art—an exhibit in your school or community, at a local art museum, or even through an online webpage. Ideally the way they share their art not only allows others to view or experience it, but has a space for viewers to interact, ask questions, and “join in” the conversation.


Celebrate your students' hard work and achievements! Consider having a class celebration where students or groups can share the story of the journey they took in this design challenge. Invite others to come and look, listen, and ask questions. Remind your students (and any invited audience) that this Design Challenge was not simply a “school project,” but rather the same exact process designers, engineers, scientists, and many others use in the real world every day to develop solutions to complex challenges.

Share & Reflect

Common Sense Education: “Curate a Gallery”

Teacher resources for Design Challenge:

Students will understand the importance of standing up for your own and others beliefs and identities

Students will understand that cross-cultural dialogue is an important tool for understanding and promoting tolerance.

3-5 images from history or present depicting people advocating for the right to their own identity and fair treatment for their community (see lesson slides for examples)

Enlarged images for “Gallery Walk” activity

Computer with internet access and screen to allow students to view a brief video

The 14th Dalai Lama: Protector of the Tibetan Identity & Nobel Peace Laureate

Prepare for “Gallery Walk” by selecting 5-7 images and either blowing them up large and posting or placing them around the classroom. You may use the images provided in the appendix of the Powerpoint for this lesson, or use those as inspiration and choose your own images that are more relevant to your geography, curriculum, or students’ interests.

TEACHERS PREPARATION BEFORE LESSON

1. Introduce the Dalai Lama and today’s lesson:

The 14th Dalai Lama is the religious leader of millions of Tibetan Buddhists.

He champions non-violence to protect the historical and cultural heritage of his people 

2. Introduce students to the idea that we each are complex individuals made of multiple identities:

Share this quote by the poet Rumi: “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the ocean in a drop.”

Each of us is a unique combination of identities, histories, experiences, beliefs, and values

Share a list of identities that you (teacher) have made about yourself with students

Ask students to spend a few minutes jotting down a list of “identities” that make up who they are as a unique individual. Explain that:

This list won’t and does not have to be comprehensive or complete

Identities can be complicated and very personal, so please only jot down what you feel comfortable jotting down for this exercise,

You will not be asked to share this list with anyone—it is only for your own personal reflection.

3. Have students independently reflect on their identities list. 

Use the following questions to help guide students’ reflection:

Was it easy to identify many identities, or did you get stuck after a few?

Were there any identities you hesitated to list? (you do not have to share, just reflect silently on what those might be and why you didn not include them)

INTRODUCTION

1. Explain to students the context for thinking about the unique identities we all carry:

Today we will learn about the 14th Dalai Lama and how he used democratic tools to fight for the right to your own identity

Ask students to share what they might already know about the 14th Dalai Lama.

Share the lesson slides with the class to teach them key facts about the history and accomplishments of the Dalai Lama

2. Show students a short video made by the Dalai Lama , “Living Together.”

Ask students to make a prediction about what they’ll see in the video based on the title and what they’ve learned about the Dalai Lama

After watching the video, ask students to think about some common identities they might share.

Remind students to be thoughtful and try not to make assumptions, as not all identities are visible or known. If needed, give examples such as “student,” “learner,” “classmate,” “resident of____,” “human being,” etc.

Have students talk with a peer or in a small group to share their understanding of the following terms:

GUIDED LEARNING

Explain to students they will now be “visiting a small museum exhibit” right here in the classroom.

They will examine the photographs and images in this exhibit and take notes on what they see.

As they circulate, students should think about the identities being threatened, and what people in the images are doing (or not doing) about it.

Have students circulate around the room in small groups, pausing at each photograph or image to fill in notes on their worksheet, “The Right to Identity”

GALLERY WALK

Ask students to think back to the brief video by the Dalai Lama they watched at the beginning of this lesson.

Share this quote from the video: “Mentally, emotionally, physically, we are same” (-The 14th Dalai Lama)

Ask students to discuss the following question with a partner, or journal individually:

How can we each be complex, unique individuals shaped by a wide variety of experiences—and at the same time, be so similar, and so interconnected?

SHARE AND REFLECT

Students will learn about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the 14th Dalai Lama, and how he used nonviolent opposition to set up educational, cultural, and religious institutions. Students will reflect on their own identities and the fact that we are both complex individuals made of multiple identities, and also unite as human beings by certain shared identities. They will then go on a “gallery walk” in the classroom to explore images from history and present that show people fighting for their right to identity.

14th DALAI LAMA

What's this lesson about

Learning goals

Materials

LESSON

TEACHERS PREPARATION BEFORE LESSON

INTRODUCTION (5 MIN)

GUIDED LEARNING (20 MIN)

GALLERY WALK (20 MIN)

SHARE AND REFLECT (5 MIN)

Design challenge

OVERVIEW

ART AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL

WHAT WILL MY ART SAY?

DESIGN PROCESS STEP 1: EMPATHIZE

DESIGN PROCESS STEP 2: DEFINE THE PROBLEM

DESIGN PROCESS STEP 3: IDEATE

DESIGN PROCESS STEP 4: PROTOTYPE

DESIGN PROCESS STEP 5: TEST

SHARE & REFLECT

TEACHER RESOURCES FOR DESIGN CHALLENGE:

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