METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY By Emma Lazor Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Art Education Dr. April Mandrona June 22, 2022 METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 1 Abstract This project examines new strategies that international educators can use to increase intercultural competence through art education pedagogy by providing a framework for lesson plans. In an effort to support diverse learners (students, staff, and faculty) before they enter a new cultural space, a series of lesson plans are presented using this new framework. These lesson plans are designed to challenge the participants to reflect on their own biases, engage with others, and to grow in intercultural competence and visual literacy skills through the guidance of a trained mentor. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 2 Acknowledgments This thesis would not have been possible without the loving support and encouragement of my husband, parents, siblings, and friends. I would like to thank Tracy Boyd, Vanessa Orey, Melissa Fike, Ashley Bayman, and Dr. Eric Mackintosh for your contributions to this thesis in editing, creating example lesson plans, providing ideas, and pushing my learning in directions that helped my thesis grow. Thank you to my mom, Lisa Boehme, and my husband, Adam Lazor, for making sure that I ate, rested, and got out in nature during the long days it took to complete this thesis. Thank you Mom for the metamorphosis drawings scattered through this thesis. To my thesis committee; Cynthia Hathaway thank you for giving me my very first ideas book when I was young, for inspiring me through your education and accomplishments as a designer, artist, and people connector, and for all of your time ensuring that my thesis is true to me and my ideas. To Alice Michel, thank you for believing in me and for taking time out of your already busy schedule to provide me with support, encouragement, and expertise in completing this thesis; your guidance and support as a colleague, supervisor, and friend mean the world to me. Dr. April Mandrona, thank you for welcoming me as a transfer student into the MA program and for your constant support, and ingenuity as I navigated the desire to write this interdisciplinary thesis. Your expertise and guidance have given me the confidence to extract my ideas from my brain and share them with the world. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 3 Table of Contents Chapter I: Introduction Background Problem Statement Purpose Statement Research Questions Definition of Terms Assumptions Reflective Practice Significance Statement 5 5 8 11 13 13 17 18 20 Chapter II: Literature Review Constructivism Constructionism The Brain and Embodied Practices Experiential Learning Model Deep Viewing Cross-cultural Psychology Intercultural Competency Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity Intercultural Development Continuum Socially Engaged Art 24 24 26 28 29 32 34 35 36 37 43 Chapter III: Learning Design Methodology Participants Tools Data Analysis Egg (Denial) Caterpillar (Polarization) Chrysalis (Minimalization) Butterfly (Acceptance) Flight (Adaptation) Egg Egg - Module 1: Who has culture? What is your culture? What are other cultures around you? Egg - Module 2: What do you value about other cultures around you? Caterpillar Caterpillar - Module 1: What do I see? What do I not see? 47 47 51 53 54 59 60 60 61 62 64 64 69 74 74 METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 4 Caterpillar - Module 2: What are my philosophies of possession, ownership, and entitlement? 81 Chrysalis 86 Chrysalis - Module 1: What are my intersectional identities? 86 Chrysalis - Module 2: How do I understand my biases and subjectivities? How do they impact how I see and interpret? 92 Butterfly 95 Butterfly - Module 1: How might my identities shift in new cultural contexts? 95 Butterfly - Module 2: What are my strategies for mindfully unpacking what and how I see and interpret? 100 Flight 103 Flight - Module 1: How does one mindfully navigate cultural differences by sharing, teaching, and engaging? 103 Flight - Module 2: What are some approaches I can use to foster reciprocal relationships with my host communities? How does my understanding of reciprocity change in new cultural contexts? 105 Chapter VI: Cultural Mentor Handbook Learner and Cultural Mentor Initial Meeting Guidelines Learner and Cultural Mentor IDI Results Meeting Guidelines Module Context and Instructions Encouraging a Meta-Reflexive Practice 108 108 109 111 126 Chapter VII: Reflection, Evaluation, and Follow-up Project Evaluation Follow Up Conclusion References Appendix A 132 132 134 135 137 144 METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 5 Chapter I: Introduction This thesis is a synthesis of research, reflections, and lesson plans designed for international educators to use in undergraduate and post-graduate academic contexts to enhance Learners’ competencies in intercultural communication and visual literacy. Increasing Learners’ knowledge in these areas can better prepare them to navigate cultural differences as they enter new cultural contexts through inbound and outbound mobility academic opportunities. More specifically, faculty, staff, international students, and study abroad/away students will have a better understanding of how to mindfully, respectfully, and reciprocally engage with others while they are in new cultural communities. Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? Intercultural competence “refers to the skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed to improve interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity, and so on) or across borders” (Deardorff, 2020, p. 1). By immersing ourselves in new cultural contexts, and developing relationships with people that hold different identities than we do, we can gain intercultural competencies, if we are consciously aware of how we are moving within these spaces; relationally, physically, politically, and emotionally. This consciousness can come to life through careful pre-departure preparation, mentorship, and reflection. Background During the 2020 United States elections, the polarization of the society in which I live came to a head. Deep fractures and public conflicts re-emphasized the systemic METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 6 inequities prevalent in the United States and brought social justice concerns to the forefront of the national and global conversation. The lack of physical mobility outside of familiar regions exacerbates the lack of connections to people from other cultural communities. Sixty-five percent of US citizens have never left the United States, and eleven percent have never left their home state (Fischl et al., 2016). By gaining intercultural skills and living within a community outside of their own, Americans may be better equipped to understand/and or respect perspectives and ways of life. To this effect, in July 2021, the U.S. Department of State and Education issued a joint statement of principles in support of international education called “Re-engaging the World to Make the United States Stronger at Home: A Renewed U.S. Commitment to International Education.” Included in this statement is the reiteration that “all Americans need to be equipped with global and cultural competencies to navigate the ever-changing landscapes of education, international business, scientific discovery and innovation, and the global economy” (Department of State, 2021, p. 1). Furthermore, international education “enhances cultural and linguistic diversity and helps develop cross-cultural communication skills, foreign language competencies, and enhanced self-awareness and understanding of diverse perspectives” (Department of State, 2021, p. 1). The importance of building intercultural competencies for living better together is vital at this stage of our history in the United States and beyond. As UNESCO (2013) asserts: The costs of intercultural incompetence are so high, including all the dangers of conflict and war...just as our future depends upon actions taken today, so that the METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 7 future of cultural diversity respectful of human rights in our social world depends upon our ability to gain and demonstrate intercultural competencies today. (p. 38) Technology continues to shrink the scale of the world, making it easy to collaborate across borders and begin tackling world challenges together. Executive Director of International Education Administrators (AIEA) and Affiliated Faculty at Duke University, Nelson Mandela University, and Shanghai International Studies University Darla Deardorff (2019) explains, “intercultural competencies, in essence, are about improving human interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity and so on) or across borders” (p. 5). One method for increasing the number of Americans participating in international education is through undergraduate and graduate study abroad and away programs. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the 2018-2019 academic year, only 1.8 % of American undergraduate students were participating in international study abroad programs (NAFSA, n.d). Of equal importance to increasing cultural awareness, is the presence of international students, scholars, and staff at our US institutions. The number of international students studying in the United States has increased over the past several decades (Anayah & Kuk, 2015). With increased support from the Biden administration, universities across the United States will be attempting to internationalize their campuses through many modalities including physical mobility programs. However, simply encouraging internationalization through inbound and outbound mobility programs is not enough. Mindful intervention with intercultural METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 8 learning in programming is needed, and considering the bases of how it is taught can encourage and expand learning in new ways. Our identities, subjectivities, biases, and conditioning impact how we move through new cultural spaces through how we see and interpret information. Visual literacy is the terminology used to describe how we perceive the world around us, interpret what we see, make meaning of it, and learn from it (Elkins, 2009) and it “calls more broadly for the ability to see visual shapes as images of patterns of forces that underlie our existence - the functioning of minds, of bodies, of machines, the structure of societies and ideas” (Averinou & Ericson, 1997, p.14). Therefore, by using art education as a method to teach intercultural competencies and meaning-making, participants will also be fostering skills in visual literacy simultaneously. Problem Statement It is often assumed by many international educators that by simply immersing oneself in a new cultural community, conscious learning occurs and people become more aware of themselves, and their relationships with others. However, research has indicated that intercultural learning and development only occurs when there are “intentional and deliberate pedagogical approaches, activated throughout the study abroad cycle (before, during, and after), that are designed to enhance student’s intercultural competence” (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012, p. 29). There have been many recent studies on this topic conducted by the University of Minnesota, The Georgetown Consortium Research Project, the American University Center of Provence, Willamette University and Bellarmine University, AFS Intercultural, and the Council on International Educational Exchange to name a few. In each of these studies, results show that when METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 9 comparing the intercultural learning of students who study abroad without participating in any intercultural learning interventions in pre, during, or post phases of their experience to students who have had intentional intercultural learning interventions, students grow more on the intercultural learning continuum. Data collected from these studies also revealed some important lessons about building successful intercultural learning interventions: ● Cultural mentorship. The CIEE study in particular indicated that utilizing a cultural mentor “engages Learners in ongoing discourse about their experiences, helping them better understand the intercultural nature of those encounters, and provide feedback relevant to their level of intercultural development” (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012, p. 53). ● Cultural content. Providing Learners with information regarding different traits, communication styles and ways of learning helps students become more self-aware and able to recognize cultural patterning other than their own (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012). ● Reflection. Ongoing reflection is important for students to make meaning of their experiences. Moreover, reflection encourages the challenging of personal assumptions and biases and makes space for the consideration of other cultural perspectives. ● Comprehensive experiences. Intercultural development needs to be “woven into the fabric of the larger educational experience” as the “study abroad experience takes on greater significance than it otherwise would” (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012, p. 55). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 10 ● Online learning. While studies share that on-site intercultural learning is the most effective, the Minnesota and Willamette-Bellermine studies share that online learning can have an important impact on intercultural learning. Online learning transcends borders and geographical boundaries which can connect Learners to a global environment for learning (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012). All of the aforementioned research showed that intercultural learning interventions throughout the study abroad/away cycle are impactful to the growth and development of students. However, applying art education pedagogy to increase the visual literacy of the participants is a new concept, and studies do not describe this as a modality of teaching intercultural competencies. This interdisciplinary coupling is a gap in scholarship and will provide a new lens for intercultural learning pedagogy. The majority of the universities in the United States do not build these critical intercultural learning programming elements of the international experience both for inbound international students and outbound study abroad/away students. At the institution where I am employed, the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), we offer a 60-minute Intercultural Communication Pre-Departure Orientation for outbound study abroad/away students. This orientation is successful in briefly introducing Learners to topics including culture, navigating cultural differences, understanding how identities shift and change in new cultural spaces, and providing tools to effectively manage cultural transitions and change. For international students, we offer some online self-guided information regarding navigating cultural differences, and in-person sessions on navigating the classroom environment in the United States which offers differences in communication styles, power dynamics, and academic structures. We METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 11 also offer several events throughout the year for international and domestic students to engage with and learn about other cultures, and reflective activities for students to consider the experiences they have had. While we do offer a good foundation of intercultural learning activities, there is not a pedagogical approach employed to foster intercultural competency among international and domestic students alongside one another. Between 2020 and 2021, UCSC hosted a population of 1270 undergraduate international students from 75 different countries (Division of Global Engagement, 2021). Due to the global pandemic, UCSC did not send students abroad during the 2020-2021 academic year, however, pre-pandemic in 2018- 2019, we were sending approximately 651 students on study abroad/away programs in 59 different countries around the world (Division of Global Engagement, 2021). Combining the 2020-2021 international student numbers, and our 2018-2019 numbers provides an estimation of where our numbers would have been last year if the pandemic had not occurred. The total number is 1921 students. This number represents an estimated number of undergraduate students that participate in mobility programs each year in the Division of Global Engagement at UCSC. At our institution alone, this number also represents a large group of students not able to maximize their intercultural learning competencies due to our gap in intercultural learning intervention and pedagogical approaches. Purpose Statement The purpose of this thesis is to provide a pedagogical framework for developing intercultural learning lesson plans that are relevant for students, faculty, and staff in higher education before entering new cultural communities. This pedagogical framework METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 12 is informed by art education and intercultural learning frameworks to enhance both the Learner’s intercultural and visual literacy competencies. In addition to providing the framework, there are lesson plans ready to be inputted into a learning management software that could be modified and adapted for specific needs. While this particular thesis is written to be implemented at the institution where I am employed, UCSC, with further research and testing it could be implemented more widely at other universities, and educational places such as museums, galleries, schools, businesses, and more. As of Fall 2021, there were approximately 17,864 undergraduate students enrolled at UCSC. This campus community is composed of students with the following ethnic identities: 4.7% African American, 0.6% Indigenous, 28.65% Asian, 26.7% Chicanx/Latinx, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 31.3% European American, 5.7% International and 1.9% not stated (University of California Santa Cruz, n.d.). This is a diverse community for international students to enter, and the cohorts of students going abroad and experiencing new cultural communities are also diverse. To best prepare and support students going abroad, their faculty leaders must be also included as Learners in this process. The structure of this thesis focuses specifically on the pre-departure phases of the Learner experience. However, additional emphasis and care should be taken on all aspects of the Learner experience as they enter new cultural communities, and when they return to their original cultural community. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 13 Research Questions To inform my pedagogical approach, and my proposed lesson plans, my research responded to the following questions: ● What art education methods can be used to incorporate intercultural learning and visual literacy skills into the curriculum of study abroad/away programs to address student biases, decolonization, and the process of unsettling? ● What curricular tools can be developed to support the expression of student subjectivities, experiences, and perspectives to foster meaningful and respectful relationships in new cultural communities? Definition of Terms Although multiple definitions exist, I have adopted the following meanings for each term. The below definitions were derived from various scholarly sources including Stanford University, Cambridge dictionary, Merriam-Webster dictionary, Institute of International Education, and The Forum on Education Abroad, which is a non-profit, membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. Artifact. Merriam Webster dictionary describes an Artifact as “Something characteristic of or resulting from a particular human institution, period, trend, or individual” (Merriam Webster, n.d). However, in the context of this thesis, artifacts are objects created through making and are connected to the lived experiences of their maker. I use this METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 14 term as a more accessible and inclusive definition, given that the Learners involved may consider themselves to be artists, or what they create to be art. Community. “A unified body of individuals: such as the people with common interests living in a particular area broadly; a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society; a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society; a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests; a group linked by a common policy; an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (such as species) in a common location” (Merriam Webster, n.d.). Culture. “The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time; the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. An individual can belong to several different cultural communities at once given their intersectional identities and lived experiences. In this situation, the individual might embody aspects of more than one culture simultaneously” (Merriam Webster, n.d.). Cultural Mentor. The title for the trained individual who facilitates the lesson plans that are outlined in this thesis, and mentors students through the process of intercultural METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 15 learning. Generally more experienced, the cultural mentor guides the intellectual and personal development of the mentee over time. Creator Team. The name I am using to describe a group of two or more Learners who have been assigned to work together on a collaboration. Diversity. “Individual differences (e.g., personality, learning styles, and life experiences) and group/social differences (e.g., race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, and ability, as well as cultural, political, religious, or other affiliations)” (The Forum on Education Abroad, n.d). Identity. “Who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others” (The Forum on Education Abroad, n.d). Inbound Mobility. In my own terms, inbound mobility refers to the physical mobility of students who are not citizens of the country where the institution is located. Typically, the student group who are involved with inbound mobility are international students. International Student. “Students who undertake all or part of their higher education experience in a country other than their home country or who travel across a national boundary to a country other than their home country to undertake all or part of their higher education experience” (IIE, n.d.). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 16 Learner. Refers to a person participating in the learning process outlined in this thesis. The term, Learner, was decided upon because it can be inclusive to students, faculty, and staff at academic institutions. Learning Management System (LMS). An online platform for teaching and learning. Examples of commonly used LMS systems include Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Schoology, and Moodle. Lesson Plan. Structured instructions for a Cultural Mentor to use to teach Learners particular activities and topics. Each lesson plan makes up an activity, and there are often several activities in each Module. Module. Refers to a collection of activities that are designed to guide Learners through a particular topic. Modules are aligned with each phase of the intercultural development inventory. Outbound Mobility. In my own terms, outbound mobility refers to students who are studying abroad or away as part of their degree program at a home institution. The student group involved with outbound mobility are study abroad/away students. Settler. “A person who arrives, especially from another country, in a new place in order to live there” (Cambridge English Dictionary, n.d.). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 17 Study Abroad. “A subtype of Education Abroad that results in progress toward an academic degree at a student’s home institution. (Or may also be defined as a subtype of Off-Campus Study that takes place outside the country where the student’s home institution is located.) This meaning, which has become standard among international educators in the U.S., excludes the pursuit of a full academic degree at a foreign institution” (The Forum on Education Abroad, n.d). Study Away. “Study that takes students entirely away from the home campus for a period of time, whether to a destination within or outside the U.S. The term tends to be used most often at campuses where the same office is responsible for both study abroad and domestic off-campus study” (The Forum on Education Abroad, n.d). Study Abroad/Away Student. “Individual learner in an education abroad/away program” (The Forum on Education Abroad, n.d). Assumptions To successfully achieve the goals of this project, I made the following assumptions: 1. Without the time of being able to test my lesson plans with real Learners, I am assuming that facilitating these lesson plans will improve a Learner's visual literacy and intercultural competency skills. I am making this assumption because the models I have used to inform the structure of the lesson plans have proven to yield positive learning outcomes. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 18 2. International students, study abroad and away students, and faculty and staff will want to actively engage in these activities and lesson plans. Facilitating these lesson plans through a learning management system is an effective way to engage students across geographic distances. 3. UCSC Global Learning, Global Programming, and International Student and Scholar Services would want to implement a cross-department model like this. Reflective Practice In 2020, the organization Diversity Abroad conducted a survey to discover the identities of the international educators working in the United States. They found that 69% of the international educators who completed the survey identified as white, and 77.9% were female (Lopez-Mcgee, 2020, p.7). As a white, cis-gendered, female settler, I share these identities. As such, I approached the development of these tools and methods to adjust the position and power of the facilitator away from the hierarchical classroom approach by encouraging reciprocal, peer-directed learning and empowering all participants to become co-teachers. I represent a majority of the population holding space in similar roles. Given that I am hoping the lesson plans I create provide fundamental skills that will encourage students to lead a more aware, open, and antiracist existence, I am conscious of how my subjectivities impact my writing and lesson plans. The students who would be learning about these topics will certainly hold different identities than I do, and in many cases, they may be part of the communities that do not have the same advantages that I was given. I wrote each lesson plan as I was reflecting on my privileges to ensure that I am focused on topics that are beneficial for everyone. To do this, I created a meta-reflexive space within the process of METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 19 developing my thesis and I want to encourage Cultural Mentors who are teaching these lesson plans to do the same. I outline my process within Chapter VI: Cultural Mentor Handbook. It is important to pay attention and deconstruct moments as they happen and be vulnerable in my process. Cultural Mentors must become constant Learners, ready to acknowledge errors as they arise, and stay open to other perspectives; always. The lesson plans I developed were designed in such a way as to empower participants to share their personal experiences and become co-teachers within the space. Lastly, it is important to recognize that I am not an expert in art education or intercultural learning pedagogy. While I find art education and intercultural learning to be intrinsic aspects of the learning process, I conducted this project as a mode of self-education, learning and unlearning, and connecting concepts that haven’t been explored historically in the past. My research process has allowed me to further educate myself and construct a framework for situating my lesson plans. However, the self-learning that I am conducting puts me in a position to think through the learning process, and what it may be like to experience it as a Learner. In using art education pedagogy, I intentionally tried to choose words and concepts that are accessible to folks with no artistic background. Being in the role of writing an academic curriculum is a position of power, and my role as the writer carries responsibility because ideas frame how we engage with others. I am conscious of how I choose to use this power and consider my responsibility to those who are reading what I write. If these lesson plans are designed to be inclusive and approachable, there should be no previous art experience required for participants and Cultural Mentors. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 20 To design this pedagogical approach and build the sample modules the following delimitation was imposed: the majority of the research, and experiences informing the context of this thesis are influenced by my experiences working in higher education in the United States. This limits the scope of the research and situates the thesis ethnocentrically in the United States system of higher education, even if the topics are relevant to Learners and institutions around the world. Significance Statement Over the past few years, I have grown more concerned about the study abroad and away field that I have dedicated my career perpetuating colonial sentiments when our students are interacting with their host communities. I have struggled with this outcome, and as I worked through this thesis, I have also worked through my understanding of how I can ensure that the work I am doing as an international educator is ethical. Sharing these experiences may have further implications for other international educators who are working through similar thoughts. While there has been significant research in intercultural learning, and in the United States there are many professionals who are interculturalists working specifically to develop new modalities of learning, there are no published studies or articles that I have found with lesson plans that teach intercultural competencies using art education methodologies. In doing so, it will advance the understanding of identities in cross-cultural contexts using intercultural learning, art, and visual literacy as an entry point. Philosopher John Dewey (2005) wrote about the importance of bringing art into everyday experiences: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 21 When artistic objects are separated from both conditions of origins and operation in experience, a wall is built around them that renders almost opaque their general significance, with which esthetic theory deals. Art is remitted to a separate realm, where it is cut off from that association with the materials and aims of every other form of human effort, undergoing, and achievement. A primary task is thus imposed upon one who undertakes to write upon the philosophy of fine arts. This task is to restore continuity between the refined and intensified forms of experience that are works of art and the everyday events, doings, and sufferings that are universally recognized to constitute experience. (p. 2) By fusing art educational pedagogy and intercultural learning, Learners will by nature find helpful artistic tools for reflecting upon their experience and enhancing their understanding of deconstructing what they see to apply context, and meaning to their experiences. To do so, we must be aware of our biases and subjectivities to understand how they impact how we place meaning on what we see and experience. Of equal importance is learning how to deconstruct our interpretations through the context of the host community. This process of reciprocity, unlearning, and relearning is rooted in the notion of decolonizing global learning experiences. While there are many definitions, the National Wildlife Federation (Dominguez & Rivera, 2021) describe colonization as “action of appropriating a place or domain for one’s use” and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (n.d.) as “the act of taking control of an area or country that is not your own, especially using force, and sending people METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 22 from your own country to live there there” both exert power and control for personal gain. International Educator, Anthony Ogden, describes many of today’s study abroad students as being similar to early colonial travelers, “colonial student who yearns to be abroad, to travel to worlds different from their own, to find excitement, to see new wonders and to have experiences of a lifetime” however, “colonial students have a sense of entitlement, as if the world is theirs for discover, if not for the taking” and “new cultures are experienced in the same way as new commodities are coveted, purchased and owned” (Ogden, 2008, p. 37). Ogden continues to share that many of these colonial students are studying abroad on short-term programs in English-speaking locations such as Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand (Ogden, 2008). Colonial students use John Urry’s postmodern notion of the tourist gaze, which refers to how visitors experience places, people, and the specific experiences they pursue is dictated largely by the tourism industry of that particular region (Urry, 2002). This particular modality of experiencing new cultural communities is harmful and needs to be reconciled. International Educators tend to build programs first, and then consider intercultural learning pedagogy after. This approach imposes “American-ethnocentric, colonial systems on the backs of our host communities and then to concern ourselves with issues of intercultural integration does little more than perpetuate notions of our elitism, power, and domination” (Ogden, 2008, p. 43). Students study abroad and away for a variety of reasons, however many do so for personal, academic, and professional growth. While these reasons are merited and important, if we are going to be sending more students abroad and away, we need to do it the right way, and not solely for the student’s gain or institutional profit. By impacting a METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 23 single student’s intercultural competencies and visual literacy skills, the people or communities that that student will come into contact with could have a more reciprocated relationship with that student. However, this intentional learning must be built into the student experience long before the student’s program begins, and not added as an afterthought once the student is on the ground. Not only does this mindful intervention have the power to decolonize study abroad and away programs, but it also impacts the student’s interactions when they return home and interact with communities close to home. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 24 Chapter II: Literature Review Approaching this particular area of overlap between intercultural learning and development and art education pedagogy required transdisciplinary research. The concepts presented in this literature review informed the methodology I developed for the lesson plans. When woven together, the theories I included provide comprehensive and holistic learning for Learners. The lesson plans are informed by cross-cultural psychology and constructivist theories. Out of these theories formed a new model, “Experiential Deep Viewing.” This model adapts Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model and combines it with Pailliotet’s Deep Viewing approach to create an experiential learning approach that also enhances visual literacy. When applied to an intercultural learning activity, learning will be enhanced through students’ experiences, reflection, and interactions with one another. Art activities will be centered around modalities of constructionism through the making of artifacts and social practice, as the interactions between people become an artistic medium. It can be assumed that one of the many benefits of gaining competencies in intercultural communication and visual literacy is increased comprehension of transcultural competencies in today’s workforce and communities. This literature review provides an overview of each concept, but how they are applied is described in greater detail in Chapter III: Learning Design. Constructivism The framework that impacts the design of intercultural learning pedagogy is constructivism. Each approach that I share in this literature review is rooted in constructivist principles. Constructivism “describes what ‘knowing is’” and how one METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 25 “comes to know” (Fosnot, 2013, p. 1). Furthermore, “knowledge not as truths to be transmitted or discovered, but as emergent, developmental, nonobjective, viable constructed explanations by humans engaged in meaning-making in cultural and social communities or discourse” (Fosnot, 2013, p. 2). In education, constructivist approaches aim to empower Learners to unpack meaning, ask and answer questions, and interpret and learn from one another’s opinions and ideas (Fosnot, 2013). Within constructivist theory is the concept of subjectivist culture. Subjectivist culture refers to the way “each of us differently organizes our perception, how we experience the world around us, the way we approach relationships, the way we organize our experience of time, for instance. The kinds of things that are part of our subjective worldview. This worldview is what constitutes subjective culture ”(Bennett & Schmidt, 2006, p. 1). Constructivists also view places of learning as relational, and that each person brings their unique experiences to the table for sources of that learning. Within the field of international education, constructivist and experiential learning paradigms are brought together through the understanding that the world is constantly changing and in flux. “Learning does not occur as the environment imprints itself on the mind; it occurs through ongoing interactions between the individual and the environment, with humans the principal agents of their own learning” (Berg et al., 2012, p. 18). The way individuals perceive their new, changing environments is largely informed by their lived experiences, and ability to perceive, consider and respond to new experiences. “People are both world makers and beings-in-the-world: they at once create their habitats, inhabit their creations, and become “inhabited” by them” (Ackermann, 2004, p. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 26 26). Constructivism at its core is “a framework for learning to understand something by making an artifact for and with other people” (Fosnot, 2013, p. 1). Bennett’s Developmental Model for Intercultural Sensitivity was born out of constructivist ideologies, and therefore, the lesson plans apply constructivist approaches to learning by encouraging the making of artifacts as a mode of learning about intercultural growth. In doing so, students will not only gain valuable intercultural skills but will also develop visual literacy skills. Constructionism Constructionism is a constructivist concept that focuses on the building of artifacts that are created through the social interactions of a group. Many constructionists believe that “modern epistemology” was also rooted in how humans can grow and react with very new perspectives to see what their senses receive and how their genetic brains and traditional cultures try to “make meanings” through what they experience (Holbert et al., 2020, p. x). The primary difference is that constructivism delves into the learning that takes place as a result of interacting with the group, and constructionism is more of an action and experiential term (Holbert et al. 2020). Constructionists commit to letting Learners control and direct their individual learning experiences. Since every Learner brings their own lived experiences, it is important to consider that “our brain/minds are set up for remembering and believing, and we treat our memories and beliefs so strongly as the reality that we seem to project them onto the world” and everything we create along the way (Holbert, Berland, Kafai, 2020, p. x). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 27 Designing Constructionist Futures: The Art, Theory and Practice of Learning Designs is a book with chapters written by a diverse group of constructionist educators who work specifically in STEM fields. Editor Paul Blikstein (2020) wrote four principles for creating and leading constructivist educational cultural experiences: 1. The Principle of Emancipatory Making: is the “Freirean assumption that humans have an ontological vocation to change and improve one’s own reality. Freire eloquently states that humans have the latent potential to go from the “consciousness of the real” to the “consciousness of the possible” by understanding “viable new alternatives.” Thus, an intrinsically valuable goal of culturally aware maker education would be to take students from the acceptance of one’s given reality to the possibility of changing it, latu sensu- which could apply to all cultures, countries, and contexts-even if “change” for many communities might mean external pressure to abandon their culture or habitat or, conversely, creatively appropriate external tools to enhance their own livelihood” (p. 124). 2. The Principle of Powerful Expressiveness in Making. This concept suggests that to inspire new ideas and solutions, there must be exposure to diverse ways of manifesting these ideas in the physical world. “ An idea that stays in the head and cannot be realized is not very useful” (Blikstein, 2020, p. 124). Providing opportunities for Learners to use high and low technology to connect the mind to the physical world is important. However, with this in mind, “there could be, also, many [I]ndigenous or high-technology tools that do not enable children to express their ideas--therefore, the value of tools and practices should be METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 28 proportional to their expressive power rather than where they come from” (Blikstein, 2020, p. 125). 3. The Principle of Learnability in Making. This final concept suggests that there is a conversation around the artifact at the end. Not all created works are created with care, consideration, and craft that create learning experiences. This conversation should be reflective and allow for an understanding of what went well, what didn’t, and what was learned (Blikstein, 2020). The Brain and Embodied Practices To understand our experiences, and how we see and interpret the world, we must start with our brain and embodied practices. In the brain, the sensory cortex is the part of the cerebral cortex that receives information about an individual’s environment (Zull, 2012, p. 180). Our senses receive information and send it to the cerebral cortex through neurons where the information is organized into patterns and imprinted into our minds. In some cases, our brain recognizes these patterns and we notice them, and consciously think about them. In other cases, our brain takes in the information and creates a memory pattern, but we are not consciously aware of this process. As we have new and unfamiliar experiences such as studying abroad, our brain naturally receives a lot of new information. However, the way we make meaning of these new experiences is through the existing patterning in our cerebral cortex. Some of these patterning processes can be considered, learned, and unlearned through the embodied practice process. Embodied practices explore the relationship between our physical being and experiences, and the energy we offer as part of our METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 29 experiences. Embodied practices require reflection and looking inward to understand our patterning and conditioning. While conducting experiential learning, and learning by doing - embodied practices are an integral part of the learning process. Kolb’s Experiential Learning model is tied to four areas of brain functionality: sensing, remembering, theorizing, and acting (Zull, 2012). These four areas cycle as we learn new things and stimulate different parts of the brain as we go through our embodied experience. Experiential Learning Model Experiential learning is a pedagogical approach popularized by John Dewey, who suggests that: Experience is simply not the same as learning. Rather, each of us learns through transactions between ourselves and the environment; what we bring to the environment- that is our genetic makeup, our cultural makeup, and the way that these things have equipped and conditioned us to learn and to know is ultimately more important than the environment in determining how we will experience it and what we will learn from it. (Berg et al. 2012, p. 20). Experiential learning approaches encourage the conventional role of the instructor to instead be conceptualized as a learning facilitator, “responsible for designing experiences for students to base learning on, rather than of teacher, responsible for lecturing on theory and concepts” (Sims & Lindholm, 1993, p. 95.) To set the stage for this model, it is suggested by Sims and Lindholm that the first class should be designed to introduce students to a modality that inspires learning from their lived experiences, METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 30 and those of others; it should also create an environment within which students can be exposed to different modes of learning and active participation through sharing experiences and applying the concepts. Figure 1 Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Note: This model was created in 1974 by David Kolb describing the process of experiential learning (Mcleod, 2013). Drawing was copied. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model was developed to inform experiential learning curriculum and activities. In Figure 1, the model cycles the Learner through four processes beginning with a concrete experience. In the concrete experience phase, the METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 31 brain is taking in physical information about what we are experiencing and perceiving it. Our perception is impacted by our emotions. Zull (2012) explains this process as: We can sense objects, people, places, processes, shapes, colors, and so forth cognitively. But each of those cognitive aspects can also have emotional meaning. We sense things through functions of the negative and positive emotion systems. We gain knowledge through feelings that come with sensory information. There are a wide range of feelings that can emerge when we become aware of what we are sensing, such as confidence, recognition, fear, attraction, and excitement. We can sense things that do not generate emotions, but if we do they have no meaning, and thus no feelings - they draw a blank. When we hear someone speaking in a foreign language, we may simply shrug our shoulders. The emotion systems are part of the sensory machinery in the brain. (p. 172). Continuing the cycle, we move into the reflective observation of that experience, which focuses on thinking through the experience and connecting it to past knowledge and experiences to make meaning of it. In this phase, there is no time limit as reflecting is a dynamic and fluid process. The next phase is “abstract conceptualization in which models, paradigms, strategies, and metaphors are applied to the results of the experience” (Sims & Lindholm, 1993, p. 95). In this theorizing phase, studies have shown that “engaging mental functions such as choosing, imagining, judging, planning and creating (among others) have been linked with activity in the front regions of the cortex and activates the positive emotions systems” (Zull, 2012, p. 176). The last phase METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 32 of the cycle is active experimentation where the learned concepts are put into practice, and a new experience is created, thus cycling back to the concrete experience phase again. This model influenced how I structured each lesson plan, however, I adapted it slightly to incorporate the Deep Viewing process of enhancing visual literacy skills which are further explained in Chapter III: Learning Design. Incorporating Deep Viewing into this process continues the need to find and assign meaning to our experiences, and as Zull explained, not cause blank moments of learning. Deep Viewing Dr. Ann Watts Pailliotet at the Visual Literacy Association developed a concept called Deep Viewing as a modality for improving a Learner’s visual literacy skills. Pailliotet describes that “deep viewing encourages participants to draw from their past experiences, to critically analyze; and to become aware of their own mental processes of meaning making” (Pailliotet,1993, p. 3). The process involves cycling through three phases: literal observation, interpretation, and evaluation/application (Pailliotet, 1998). In literal observation, participants gather as much information as possible about what they are viewing, taking note to only account for what they see literally and not applying their interpretations at this stage (Pailiotet, 1997). Common questions that are asked at this stage might include: Who do I see? What do I see? What are the characteristics of the people and objects? What symbols do I see? After collecting as much information as possible, the participant moves to the next phase, interpretation. In this phase participants “explore and construct a range of METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 33 understandings” to synthesize the information and “summarize ideas, create hypotheses, connect information with the past and present experiences, identify and describe their strategies of analysis and express mutual understandings” (Palliotet, 1997, p. 35). Questions that are asked during this phase may include: How does this make you feel? Where else have you seen this represented? How does this connect to your own experiences? What are the most important aspects of what you see? Why? What do the symbols/materials represent? What meaning does the movement you are witnessing resemble? The last phase of Deep Viewing is evaluation and application. During this final process, participants are considering the application of what they have learned through this process. They also conduct additional research and evaluate what they have experienced in a practical manner. Example questions for this phase are: What underlying messages are being shared through what you see? Could you learn/teach something in relation to what you are seeing? Who is excluded and why? Is this culturally biased? What is this history of what you see? By incorporating this cycle into the learning process, students may gain valuable visual literacy skills that will apply to all aspects of their lives. How we take in the world visually and make meaning from what we see is directly correlated to how we interpret our cultural experiences. As Avgerinou & Ericson describe, "visual thinking calls, more broadly for the ability to see visual shapes as images of the patterns of forces that underlie our existence - the functioning of minds, of bodies, of machines, the structure of societies or ideas" (Avgerinou & Ericson, 1997, p.14). Thus, by improving both skills METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 34 simultaneously students may move to an intercultural mindset with additional tools in their toolboxes. Cross-cultural Psychology Our brain functionality and psychology greatly impact how we interpret and engage with cultural differences because of the engrained patterning and experiences. The field of cross-cultural psychology specifically studies “similarities and differences in individual psychological and social functioning in various cultures and ethnic groups” (Kagitcibasi & Berry, 1989, p. 494). Cross-cultural psychologists study the relationships between “(a) psychological variables at the individual (micro) level, and (b) cultural, social, economic, ecological, and biological variables at the population (macro) level” (Kagitcibasi & Berry, 1989, p. 494). Historically, cross-cultural psychology has been primarily focused on cultural communities that are defined by geography, rather than identities. Cross-cultural psychologist Gerard Hofstede developed the Six Cultural Dimensions model, which suggests that regional cultures have differences in these particular areas: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, long-term vs. short-term orientation, indulgence vs. restraint (Hofstede, 2011). While this work is valuable and important to understanding cultural differences, it is binary. Intercultural competency expands the tenements of cross-cultural psychology with the awareness that cultural differences are more nuanced. While there are cross-cultural differences apparent from one region or nationality to another, there are also cultural differences based on other cultural groups such as race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, religion, and more. Intercultural METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 35 learning honors nuance and intersectionality as it acknowledges that human beings are simultaneously part of multiple cultural groups. While our nationality and regional experiences shape who we are, our multiple cultural groups impact the way we think about the world and each other. It is important to think of each individual as a constant reflective entity, absorbing our experiences and learning new behaviors as information is processed and becomes part of our daily behaviors. Intercultural Competency The goal of this thesis is to build intercultural competencies in undergraduate students participating in study abroad and away programs. In Darla Deardorff’s (2019) words, “intercultural competencies, in essence, are about improving human interactions across difference, whether within a society (differences due to age, gender, religion, socio-economic status, political affiliation, ethnicity and so on) or across borders” (p. 5). Intercultural competency is described by as a multidimensional construct that is comprised of three variables (Wei et al., 2021): 1) a cognitive component (e.g., awareness and understanding of cultural differences, knowledge of other cultural groups) 2) an affective/motivational component (e.g., appreciation of cultural differences, positive emotions, and attitudes toward other cultural groups); and 3) a behavioral component (e.g., skills and abilities, as well as self-confidence and self- efficacy). (p. 221). The book Student Learning Abroad edited by Michale Vande Berg and colleagues (2012), includes chapters written by international educators. The editors explain that “nearly everything students learn abroad is informed by the way they frame their METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 36 interactions in new cultural contexts within which they find themselves” (p. xiv). The editors further explain that the research that they have conducted and explored throughout the book exemplifies that, unless educators intervene to provide a foundation of intercultural skills to promote deeper understanding and perspectives of cultural differences, it is unlikely that students participating in global learning programs will intuitively learn about negotiating cultural differences (Berg et al., 2012, p. xiv). The process of gaining intercultural competency skills involves “increasing cultural self-awareness; deepening understanding of the experiences, values, perceptions, and behaviors of people from diverse cultural communities; and expanding the capability to shift cultural perspective and adapt behavior to bridge across cultural differences” (Hammer, 2012, p. 116). Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity There are several models used in the field of International Education to measure intercultural competencies. Most of these models were derived from Dr. Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), which was proposed initially in 1986. The DMIS utilizes methodology from constructivist psychology and communication theory to organize phases of an individual’s experiences on a continuum from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism (IDRInstitute, 2021). Ethnocentrism refers to the “experience of one’s own culture as central to reality” and ethnorelativism is the “experience of one’s own and other cultures as relative to context” (IDRInstitute, 2021, para. 3). According to Bennett, while people move from ethnocentrism to ethnorelativism abilities, they transition through the following phases: denial, defense, METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 37 minimization, acceptance, adaptation, and integration (IDRInstitute, 2021). Bennett describes the phases as a one-way, permanent process that applies to anything defined as a cultural difference (IDRInstitute, 2021). Furthermore, Bennett explains that being unfamiliar with new cultures does not change a person’s ability to be culturally sensitive. Intercultural Development Continuum The Intercultural Development Continuum is a revision of Bennett’s original DMIS model by Dr. Mitchell Hammer. This model is a guiding principle concept for my lesson plans as there is a plethora of research that has demonstrated its validity. International Educators Michael Vande Berg, R. Michael Paige, and Kriss Hemming Lou provide an analysis of successful student learning abroad in their book Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students are Learning and What They’re Not and What We Can Do About it. They reviewed studies conducted all over the world and found that using the IDC provides a constructivist approach to learning and a successful framework for tailoring the learning process to where students are developmentally (Paige & Vande Berg, 2012). In the IDC model in Figure 2, instead of moving from ethnocentric to ethnorelative perspectives, Hammer’s version of the continuum moves from a monocultural to intercultural mindset phasing through slightly modified mindsets from the DMIS: denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance, and adaptation. Denial and polarization are described as monocultural, as they reflect the view that a person’s self-culture is central to reality (Hammer, 2012). On the other hand, acceptance and adaptation are on the opposite side of the continuum and represent intercultural frames METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 38 of thinking. Individuals who can think interculturally do not consider one culture as more central to reality than any other. Figure 2 Intercultural Development Continuum Note: The Intercultural Development Continuum diagram displaying a trajectory from denial to adaptation phases. This image was copied by hand from the IDI report in Appendix A. While in the Denial mindset, Hammer argued that people have less capacity for understanding others and their differences. Characteristics that appear in individuals while in Denial include stereotyping and generalizing about their host community, maintaining a distance, and a lack of interest in learning about their host culture (Hammer, 2012). When experienced, this mentality can cause Learners to feel METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 39 overwhelmed when they arrive in a new community, and can easily be interpreted by host community members as the learner misunderstanding them, being confused, or exhibiting increased frustration (Hammer, 2012, p. 121). According to Hammer’s research, the best approach for working with individuals in the Denial phase is to “help individuals or groups notice and confront cultural differences” (Hammer, 2012, p. 121). To do so, a Cultural Mentor could share visible areas of cultural difference by observing human behavior beginning with more obvious things such as clothing, food, art, dance, and music. Next, the group/individual might move to less obvious aspects of cultural differences such as customs, gestures, beliefs, values, and ideologies. Hammer states that “the individual’s or group’s development across the continuum is aided through increased interaction with people from different cultures under communicatively supportive conditions, and by having the individual or group closely observe things that are perceived to be both common and different” (Hammer, 2012, p. 121). In the Polarization mindset, individuals can be judgemental and form an oppositional perspective. Hammer suggests that Polarization can take form in either a defensive position, where individuals feel like their own culture is better than their host culture; or in reversal, where individuals feel other cultures are better than their own culture (Hammer, 2012). In Defense, cultural differences can feel more divisive, whereas, in Reversal, individuals tend to idealize their host culture. Regardless of which type of Polarization is occurring, host community members can often feel uncomfortable (Hammer, 2012). Hammer’s strategy for this mindset is for a Cultural Mentor to guide the individual and “help them recognize when they are overemphasizing differences without fully understanding them, and second to help them search for commonalities METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 40 and adopt a less evaluative stance toward understanding differences” (Hammer, 2012, p. 122). The transitional mindset toward an intercultural way of thinking is Minimization. Minimization marks the point at which an individual can begin to recognize “universal values and principles that mask a deeper understanding and consideration of cultural differences” (Hammer, 2012, p. 122). This can take place in two different ways; the first occurs when an individual feels that there are cultural similarities because their cultural self-awareness may be limited. This is commonly seen with individuals whose identities represent dominant cultural groups. The second way that Minimization is often portrayed is when the individual “highlights similarities more deliberately as a strategy for navigating the values and practices largely determined by the dominant culture group, which is more commonly experienced by non-dominant group members within a larger cultural community” (Hammer, 2012, p. 122). Learners in this mindset can often form commonalities and create bridges between different cultural practices and are genuinely interested in learning about their host community. The developmental strategy that Hammer recommends for Learners at this phase is to encourage a greater sense of self-awareness, specifically concerning identities and power, and privilege (Hammer, 2012). The two mindsets that are considered intercultural mindsets are Acceptance and Adaptation. When individuals are in an Acceptance mindset, they can begin to understand how cultural patterning and behavior make sense within a different cultural community. Acceptance “ involves increased self-reflection in which one is able to experience others as both different from oneself yet equally human” (Hammer, 2012, p. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 41 123). Hammer goes on to explain that when “Acceptance is present, diversity feels “understood” (Hammer, 2012). Many of the Learners who enter into an Acceptance mindset experience other concerns abroad as they are aware of shifts of power and privilege, and this can lead to moral and ethical dilemmas related to how they have interacted with others. These personal reflections are often a result of a Learner’s most salient identities shifting as they enter new cultural spaces. Therefore, it is important to provide students in this phase with contextual understandings of their host community and assist them in “developing strategies for making ethical judgments by fully considering what a particular practice means from their cultural perspective, and the meaning and value that a cultural practice represents in a different cultural community” (Hammer, 2012, p. 124). The last phase in the continuum is Adaptation, which is a mindset that can change cultural perspective and behavior while still maintaining a sense of authenticity and cultural appropriateness. This mindset occurs when there is “both deep cultural bridging across diverse communities and an increased repertoire of cultural frameworks and practices available to draw upon in reconciling commonalities and differences” furthermore, Adaptation creates a foundation where “diversity feels “valued and involved” (Hammer, 2012, p. 124). Learners at this phase may need to experience being a cultural mediator between multiple cultural groups to support and encourage productive relations. This task can help encourage a further understanding of “cultural patterns of difference and incorporate adaptive strategies when interacting across cultural diversity” (Hammer, 2012, p. 124). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 42 The Figure 2 IDC model diagram suggests that individuals linearly experience this process, however, most people experience this cycle through the continuum at different phases retreating from Adaption back to Minimization. For example, depending on the different cultural situations. While the IDC model diagram does not share this, Hammer’s writing does insinuate that the process is not simply linear. This is a contrast between Bennett’s linear model, provides nuance, and suggests a cyclical learning process. In every phase, the presence of a Cultural Mentor to help support learning development is of paramount importance. Intercultural Development Inventory The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was designed by Mitchell Hammer as a tool to measure intercultural competence using the theoretical foundation of Bennet’s DMIS and the IDC. It is commonly used to design undergraduate study abroad and away programs, and evaluate the success of programs concerning a student's learning. It is a 50-item questionnaire that can be completed in 15-20 minutes and offers options in 13 different languages (Hammer, 2012). The assessment includes questions that ask participants to “describe their intercultural experiences in terms of (a) their cross-cultural goals, (b) the challenges they face navigating cultural differences (c) critical incidents they encounter around cultural differences (d) ways they navigate through those cultural differences” (Hammer, 2012, p. 117). This assessment also takes into consideration cultural disengagement, which “is the degree to which an individual or group experiences a sense of disconnection from a primary cultural community” (Hammer, 2012, p. 120). After completing the IDI, participants are scored through an online analytic assessment in an Individual Profile Report. Participants are arranged METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 43 along the intercultural development continuum based on the scores from the questionnaire. From there, an Intercultural Development Plan is provided to each participant which shows how and what that individual might further develop their intercultural competencies. To use the IDI, the Cultural Mentor must be trained as a Qualified Administrator, and join the worldwide network of QAs in over thirty countries. Using the IDI as an initial assessment tool for individuals and groups helps a Cultural Mentor have a starting point to tailor the lesson plans and suggested collaborative activities to meet Learners where they are at. My model and lesson plans use this tool as a way to customize lesson plans for each student and encourage self-guided learning from the student. Socially Engaged Art Given the importance of the experience and the process within constructionist learning, it is important to incorporate other elements of social and experiential practice within art into the process of designing the learning experience. The lesson plans I have developed incorporate the creation of artifacts, and the creation of dialog through collaborative action. Socially Engaged Art (SEA) was influenced by Bourriaud’s concept of relational aesthetics and is a modality of creating that involves the public in participatory and collaborative elements of the work. Relational aesthetics is the “tendancy to make art based on, or inspired by, human relations, and their social context” (Tate, n.d.). In his book What We Made: Conversations on Art and Social Practice, Tom Finkelpearll (2013) defined socially engaged art as social interaction as art. Socially Engaged Art “avoids evocations for both the modern role of the artist (as an METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 44 illuminated visionary) and the postmodern version of the artist (as a self-conscious critical being). Instead, the term democratizes the construct, making the artist into an individual whose specialty includes working with society in a professional capacity” (Helguera, 2011, p. 3). Socially engaged art is born from the realization and merging of subjects and problems that are most commonly associated with other disciplines, which coincidentally moves the subjects into spaces of ambiguity and involves the public as a medium, and the main component of the work. “It is this temporary snatching away of subjects into the realm of art-making that brings new insights to a particular problem or condition and in turn makes it visible to other disciplines” (Helguera, 2011, p. 5). Socially engaged art projects are designed to expand participation well beyond those who consider themselves to be artists, however, it is important for those facilitating these projects to “understand the social context in which it will take place and how it will be negotiated with the participants or audience in question” (Helgurera, 2011, p. 3). Instead of focusing primarily on the creation and object or artifact, the main intention behind SEA’s focus is around situations of social exchange and interpersonal interactions. This philosophy is rooted in social exchange theory, which is a 1950s psychological and sociological concept that posits that individual relationships are based on a social economy (Helguera, 2011). Socially engaged art also uses the Socratic method of conversation as a primary medium, as “conversation is the center of sociality, of collective understanding and organization” (Helguera, 2011, p. 40). In doing so, even an organized talk that promotes engagement, community, learning together, and sharing experiences can be considered SEA. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 45 In Pablo Helguera’s book “Education for Socially Engaged Art,” Helguera (2011) argued that SEA projects should be designed around four components: a comprehensive understanding of the methodological approaches of social centered disciplines, the possibility of reconstruction and reconfiguring itself based on the needs and interests of the students, and experiential approach towards art in the world that offers a stimulating challenge to the student and a refunctioned curriculum of art history and art technique, including a history of the way these things have been taught in the past. (p. 86). Many SEA projects are transpedagogical, meaning that they have been created by artists and collectives that combine “educational processes and art-making in works that offer an experience that is different from conventional art academics or formal art education” (Helguera, 2011, p. 78). This approach emphasizes the process, rather than the artifact or item, that was created as a result of the collaboration. These works often exist in an ambiguous space between different disciplines, bridging them. Lesson plans I developed include SEA and constructionist projects. The balance of using SEA and creating artifacts provides creative experiential learning approaches that aim to improve a student’s ability to make meaning from their experiences and what they see. “People are both world makers and beings-in-the-world: they at once create their habitats, inhabit their creations, and become “inhabited” by them” (Ackermann, 2004, p. 26). Constructivism at its core is “a framework for learning to understand something by making an artifact for and with other people”(Fosnot, 2013, p. 1). Bennett’s Developmental Model for Intercultural Sensitivity was born out of constructivist METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 46 ideologies, and therefore, the lesson plans apply constructivist approaches to learning by encouraging the making of artifacts and SEA as modalities of learning about intercultural growth. In doing so, students will not only gain valuable intercultural skills but will also develop visual literacy skills. Many concepts outlined in this literature review are not traditionally paired together, however, the interdisciplinary nature of this work draws upon many fields to create space and fluidity for adaptable learning and design. It is also important to note that there are concepts and ideas that were not referenced in this section, but could have wide applicability to these topics. Cultural Mentors should take this section as a foundation to build upon, incorporating and drawing from other fields as they adapt and customize the lesson plans. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 47 Chapter III: Learning Design Methodology In Kate Berardo and Darla Deardorff’s book “Building Cultural Competence” (2012) the authors share that “it may be in the course of a session that this learning needs changing because of increased understanding and intercultural awareness” or “the reverse may happen: the learning outcomes might have to be reformulated in terms of the level of challenge a group of participants can absorb” (p. 5). Therefore, the structure of the modules must be dynamic. Berardo and Deardorff suggest that a dynamic model to apply is Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model. Figure 3 below shows Kolb’s experiential learning process repeated through time, as intercultural development continues to grow in an individual Learner. Given that my model of Experiential Deep Viewing is an adaptation of the experiential learning model, this diagram is particularly relevant in understanding how the cycles connect over time to encourage intercultural development. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 48 Figure 3 Process of Developing Intercultural Competence through the Full Cycles of Learning Note: Diagram shows Kolb’s experiential learning process repeated over time as a successful modality of intercultural development. Hand drawn from Building Cultural Competence (p. 25), by K. Berardo & D. Deardorff, 2012, Stylus Publishing LLC. Each lesson plan proposed follows a hybrid model that I developed which combines Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model and Pailliotet’s Deep Viewing Model to create what I call the “Experiential Deep Viewing Cycle.” By combining experiential METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 49 learning and deep viewing, Learners will garner both intercultural learning and visual literacy skills. Figure 4 Experiential Deep Viewing Cycle Note: Cycle combines Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle and Pailliotet’s Deep Viewing phases to create a model that will encourage the development of visual literacy skills through experiential learning. As shown in Figure 4, the first phase of the Experiential Deep Viewing Cycle is informed by Kolb’s Concrete Experience, which begins when a Learner encounters an experience (new or reimagined familiar experience). When working in a group, Learners can participate in the concrete experience by observing, hearing, or reading about someone else’s experiences. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 50 After the initial phase, Learners enter the Reflective and Literal Observation phase, which combines Kolb’s Reflective Observation and Palliotet’s Literal Observation phase. In this modality, Learners step back to think about their concrete experience and recall it by memory. They ask questions, discuss the experience with others, and gather the information that helps them make sense of their experience. Learners can share diverse points of view, and discuss any patterns, symbols, characteristics, or traits that they noticed. Common questions that may be asked during this phase could include: Who do I see? What characteristics do I notice? What language is being used and how formal is it? Next, Learners move into the Abstract Interpretation phase, which combines Kolb’s Abstract Conceptualization and Palliotet’s interpretation phases. During this phase, Learners create a hypothesis by connecting past experiences and knowledge. They use this hypothesis to consider new real-life applications by exploring and constructing new understandings. Questions that might be asked during this phase include: What does this story tell? Who is missing, and why? Where else have I seen this? What is most important and how can I tell? What does this mean? What do I need to learn to better understand this? The fourth and final phase is Active Evaluative Experimentation which combines Paillotet’s Evaluation/Application phase and Kolb’s Active Experimentation phase. In this phase, the lessons learned from this experience have inspired different approaches that are now being tested. This phase triggers a new concrete experience that resets the cycle and allows the process to start again from the beginning, creating an endless METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 51 cycle of growth. The key questions in this phase are: How can I now apply this to another situation? If I was to try this again, what would an alternative approach be? I have designed two modules for each category in the Intercultural Development Continuum. The modules were developed specifically considering constructionist approaches to artifact making and SEA to encourage Learners to consider context and meaning in how they see the world around them. While the modules I have developed are a starting point, Cultural Mentors need to adapt the lesson plans and add their own experiences and contexts to the lesson plans. These lesson plans are structured openly, to allow for customization and to honor the lived experiences of each Cultural Mentor. The modules I have included are designed in such a way that they could be built out directly into a learning management system. Participants These lesson plans were specifically designed for the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) students (both inbound and outbound) and faculty instructors before they enter new cultural communities, known as Learners. Learners may include international students before they come to the United States, domestic students from the United States who plan to study abroad, and faculty instructors who lead and guide students on global programs. Another important participant to address is the Cultural Mentor. This individual would be highly trained, and responsible for guiding these lesson plans and activities after having received IDI certification. Faculty instructors may often fill this role, although it’s not limited to faculty for the Cultural Mentor role as this could also include professional support staff and trained administrators. In addition to IDI certification, it’s METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 52 crucial that the Cultural Mentor has mentorship experience and holds shared identities with the Learners they are working with. Ideally, the person filling the role of the Cultural Mentor would be someone associated with the institution that these Learners will be affiliated with for a majority of their degree. Unless the modules are associated with academic credit, the Cultural Mentor does not need to be a faculty member. However, they should have experience in working with group learning, facilitating discussions, and creating safe spaces for Learners who hold different identities and positions of power. Cultural Mentors are responsible for: ● Preparing themselves to facilitate this process by doing regular self-reflection on their own identities, privileges, and subjectivities. ● Adapting the lesson plans according to the Experiential Deep Viewing process, and suggested learning outcomes for each level of the intercultural development continuum. ● Setting up the modules in the Learning Management System. ● Meeting with each Learner as they sign up to participate, getting to know each Learner, and setting the expectations for this experience. ● Preparing a report for each Learner that recommends modules based on their results. ● Having a conversation with each Learner after they receive their test results to co-create a structured module plan for the Learner. ● Coaching the Learner through the ambiguity of the continuum, considering that they may test into earlier stages of the continuum than they anticipate. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 53 ● Tracking the enrollment of each module and opening them when minimum enrollment occurs. ● Facilitating the conversation and activities in each module and ensuring that modules that have additional Cultural Mentor tasks are completed. ● Coaching and mentoring Learners through the process. Tools The most integral instrument used in this process is the Intercultural Development Inventory. All Learners will take the IDI and then have a conversation with their Cultural Mentor to discuss their results. This conversation should be designed as a modality of negotiating the standardized test results, with the idea that each Learner may also consider themselves to be at a different place in the continuum. Appendix A shares an example IDI report that could be adapted to shape the conversation. This conversation will guide the Learner and Cultural Mentor to create a structure of suggested modules. While each Learner can self-select their first module and the number of modules they’d like to complete, the Cultural Mentor will recommend specific modules based on their current knowledge level of intercultural competence. Each module is intended to be designed and administered using a learning management system (LMS) such as Canvas, Brightspace, or Blackboard enabling Learners to join remotely from wherever they are located. Each module will have an estimated time for completion so that Learners can opt into modules that make sense for their converging commitments. This will also allow for Learners to join in at different phases throughout the year, which would work well for Learners who may be preparing to enter their new cultural community on a rolling basis. For example, international METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 54 students who are doing a four-year undergraduate degree in the United States may want to begin these modules in May or June before coming to the United States in August or September. However, Learners who plan to study abroad in January in a country outside of the United States might want to start the modules in September. While Learners could be entering the LMS platform at various times, they would be able to opt into modules that start once enough students select the module. For example, a module that requires at least five Learners to participate collaboratively would only open once five students have opted into participating in it. The Cultural Mentor would be responsible for module enrollment and participant management within the system. Data Analysis To properly assess the success of this curriculum, Learners will be asked to take the IDI before they start the modules, and after they complete their intercultural experience in their new cultural community. The results will be analyzed and compared with a control group of Learners who had a more traditional pre-departure process. Both the control group and the Learners participating in these modules would take the IDI before and after their time in their new cultural environment. IDI results would be compared to determine if the Learners who participated in these modules had greater growth on the intercultural development continuum. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 55 Chapter IV: Lesson Plan Overview Each lesson plan is positioned around a question to encourage reciprocal learning, and space for multiple responses and reflections. The use of questions is also important because it inherently considers the following: How do we ask questions? What is the value of asking questions? Using questions as a framework for each lesson plan will encourage Learners to inquire, and remain open-minded. Questions can challenge our conditioning and biases by creating space for the perspectives of others, and reframing thoughts. The key principles that impact successful intercultural learning experiences are: meet the participants where they are; clarify specific outcomes of the program; create an appropriate learning environment; evaluate and assess the program and learning outcomes; and create an organized experience (Berardo & Deardorff, 2012, p. 24). Each of these elements was considered in the design of the modules. Constructionist educational pedagogy is built upon meeting Learners where they are at and valuing the unique experiences each Learner brings into the learning environment. To meet Learners where they are, all Learners will begin this process by meeting with the Cultural Mentor for one hour. Behavioral changes in individuals cannot happen in circumstances where we don’t know each other and feel open to learning. The goal of this meeting is for the Cultural Mentor and the Learner to get to know one another, to set the stage for the learning that will take place in this process, explain why it is important and encourage the Learner to be open to this process. Specific guiding questions for this meeting can be found in Chapter VI: Cultural Mentor Handbook. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 56 Next, the Cultural Mentor will arrange for Learners to take the IDI to discover their current level of intercultural competence. Then, the Cultural Mentor and Learners will have a meeting to discuss the Learner’s results. Before sharing the Learner’s results the Cultural Mentor will ask the Learner about what it was like taking the test, explain the module labeling in the butterfly metamorphosis cycle, and most importantly share that every person goes through the intercultural development continuum multiple times throughout their lives, based on their lived experiences and learning environments. For example, a person may be in Flight/Adaptation after an experience they have in one cultural environment, but then, when in a new situation, they may revert to Caterpillar/Polarization. Figure 5 below reimagines the intercultural development continuum using the butterfly metamorphosis terminology where the cycle is fluid, and possible to revert forward or ahead in different circumstances. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 57 Figure 5 Intercultural Development Continuum as Fluid Metamorphosis Note: Each phase of the metamorphosis cycle represents a phase in the intercultural development continuum. However, the process is not one way and linear, thus the drawings are not in order and there is ambiguity between each. In this conversation, the Cultural Mentor will ask the Learner where they believe their score was in the continuum. Next, the Cultural Mentor would review the individual intercultural competency guide that will unpack their results, and decide together on which modules would be important in the learning process. Guides for this conversation can be found in Chapter VI: Cultural Mentor handbook. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 58 Learners will be instructed to enter the LMS platform and create an account, where they can sign up to participate in the modules that they choose. As each module reaches the minimum number of enrolled Learners, it will unlock and send the student an email prompt to let them know that module will be available for enrollment. Learners will be instructed to begin the modules three months before entering their new cultural community, and complete the modules of their choice at their own pace. The Cultural Mentor would have an active role in guiding the Learners through the process, facilitating the technology, and tracking the student’s progress. Furthermore, the Cultural Mentor is responsible for monitoring the rate at which the modules are filling; if modules are taking too long to fill, the Cultural Mentor would need to intervene and encourage other Learners to participate or close the module for enrollment. The learning outcomes would be outlined clearly in the Learner’s personalized intercultural competency guide based on the example in Appendix A. Additionally, each module would have a clear description of the learning outcomes that participants would read before beginning the module. Ideally, many of these modules would have a different impact if the Learners were conducting the modules in person with one another. However, given that the physical locations of the Learners may vary around the world, and Learners will be joining the modules at different times throughout the year, the most appropriate learning environment is online. Encouraging participation and interaction online can be challenging, increasing the importance of the Cultural Mentor’s role in ensuring each Learner is engaged. It will be vital for the Cultural Mentor to create an environment of trust, openness, and mutual respect within this online space. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 59 Academic credit or certification could be associated with the completion of the modules to incentivize the Learners to engage. The developmental conflicts and learning outcomes for each category within the Intercultural Development Continuum below are based on Berardo and Deardorff’s (2021) adaptations of the DMIS. These learning objectives are widely established and used repeatedly after they were tested in multiple situations in the United States. The lesson plans shared later in this section are formed around questions that were developed to match the learning outcomes. The lesson plans are not an exhaustive list of what could be possible, but rather a starting point with the intention that additional modules can be added to, adapted, and refined after assessment and feedback. The analogy of a caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly’s cycle of metamorphosis visualizes the experiences of the learning process. Each phase of metamorphosis is valued and important as part of the transformation process, as is each phase of the intercultural development continuum. Egg (Denial) In this phase, Learners have the most room for growth in their awareness of diversity. The learning outcomes are: ● Acknowledge and increase awareness of cultural difference ● Develop curiosity and appreciation of cultural difference ● Suspend judgment in circumstances where there is cultural ambiguity ● Explore and understand situations before placing judgment Module topics: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 60 ● Who has culture? What is your culture? What are other cultures around you? ● What do you value about other cultures around you? Caterpillar (Polarization) While Learners experience polarization they exhibit ethnocentric behavior towards diversity. The learning outcomes are: ● Describe differences and similarities between their own culture and others ● Make appropriate cultural generalizations ● Reflect on their underlying values and those of others ● Comprehend other worldviews and identify shared solutions to common problems Module topics: ● What do I see? What do I not see? ● What are my ideas of possession, ownership, and entitlement? Chrysalis (Minimalization) In minimization, Learners tend to assume similarity and make stretches to connect their own culture and experience to that of their host community. The learning outcomes are: ● Differentiate between what is similar vs. what is equal but different ● Understand that there are no underlying principles valid in all cultures ● Accept that values and beliefs include similarities and differences across cultures METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 61 ● Connect causes for behavioral ambiguity to the underlying cultural differences, while understanding that there is always variance Module topics: ● What are my intersectional identities? ● How do I understand my biases and subjectivities and how do they impact how I see and interpret them? Butterfly (Acceptance) Deardorff and Barardo (2012) describe the developmental conflict in this phase as “paralyzing equifinality” because individuals tend to make connections and assumptions about similarities and differences that can be harmful to relationships across cultures (p. 33). The learning outcomes are: ● Identify solutions to the social problems within one’s cultural context within the host cultural community ● Reflect before reacting in terms of one’s behavioral responses ● Develop new forms of behavior that are more appropriate within the new cultural context ● Select when to change one’s behavior in new cultural contexts Module topics: ● How might my identity shift and change in new cultural contexts? ● What are my strategies for mindfully unpacking what and how I see and interpret? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 62 Flight (Adaptation) The final phase occurs when Learners can practice and create inclusivity in their interactions across cultures. The learning outcomes are: ● Develop a new outlook on identity, related to the awareness of the self as a cultural being ● Create mindful communication and behavioral styles that are appropriate and adaptable in different cultural contexts ● Navigate positive intercultural dialogue and mediate intercultural conflicts ● Accept responsibility for making ethical decisions that are more inclusive and reciprocal with varying cultural communities Module topics: ● How does one mindfully navigate cultural differences by sharing, teaching, and engaging? ● What are some approaches I can use to foster reciprocal relationships with my host communities? How does my understanding of reciprocity change in new cultural contexts? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 63 Chapter V: Lesson Plans Each lesson plan is designed in such a way that the Cultural Mentor could easily build out the modules in an LMS platform. Cultural Mentors should adapt the lesson plans as they see fit, to incorporate their unique experiences that would bring variety and personalization to the learning. At the beginning of each lesson plan are the learning objectives, the number of Learners required for the module to open, the approximate time it would take to complete the module, and required materials/resources for the Learners to participate. I have also included the particular phase in the Experiential Deep Viewing model in parenthesis to explain the structure of the lesson plans. Any adaptations to the lesson plans should fit within each proposed phase of the Experiential Deep Viewing model to continue the cycle of learning these modules are structured around. The sample lesson plans below are a starting point. Within the LMS platform, there should be space for public and private posts. Public posts should only be viewable by Learners who are participating in the module at the same time as each other, and the Cultural Mentor working with this group of students. Public and private posts are indicated in each lesson plan accordingly. Learners will interact with others who are participating in the same module as them at the same time. Depending on the number of students participating in this process at once, Learners could work with different people for every module. This section begins by providing each module which is composed of one to four activities. At the end of this section is a Cultural Mentor Handbook. The Cultural Mentor Handbook breaks down the steps that a Cultural Mentor would need to do to set up and facilitate each module. It is not an exhaustive list and should be adapted as each METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 64 Cultural Mentor identifies appropriate steps for themselves to use as they learn from going through this process. The handbook also describes the intention behind each activity and why it was included as part of the modules. It is important to state that lesson plans are specifically designed to have space for interpretation and do not over-explain the context behind each activity. This choice enables a focus on questions, creating reciprocal learning and the feeling of a learning lab in a virtual environment. Egg Egg - Module 1: Who has culture? What is your culture? What are other cultures around you? Objectives: As a result of this module, Learners will: ● Understand how to define culture in broad terms and personal terms ● Broadly identify other cultural values and customs ● Recognize that objects, artifacts, images, and symbols carry meaning and importance Minimum number of Learners: 4 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take three hours, over two weeks METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 65 Materials needed: Three objects (as described below), a basic camera, a computer or tablet, internet access, Zoom, Whatsapp, or Facetime Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Take a photograph of three objects/artifacts that are important to you. The objects you choose should each represent one of the three categories: ○ (1) represents you as a person ○ (2) represents your family/community/country culture ○ (3) represents a culture that is part of your home community that you admire but may not be a part of 2) Write a short description of each object, why you chose it, and how it responds to each prompt. Upload your images and reflections onto our online forum for other Learners to see. Please find examples below: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 66 (Reflective and Literal Observation) 3) Review the other Learner’s posts. Select one post per category that you can relate to. Respond to the Learner’s post and share how you relate to the person’s object choice and what you think the object choice reveals about that person’s values. Please note, that you should be commenting on three objects, each from a different category from any of the other Learners. (Abstract Interpretation) 4) Write a short blog post that describes what culture means to you. In this post, please describe what culture means to you individually, and collectively in your cultural community(ies). METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 67 Activity 2: (Active Evaluative Experimentation) 1) You have been randomly assigned a Creator Team below. You will work with your partner on this next activity. Each Creator Team must coordinate a time to meet through Zoom so you can collaborate on the project together at the same time. ● Learner 1 (Name) + Learner 4 (Name) ● Learner 2 (Name) + Learner 3 (Name) 3) During this meeting, you will collaboratively design a composite image that represents both of your cultures. 4) To make this image, create a copy of this google slide. Download images and include them by following these instructions. Alternatively, you can upload your images. Both Learners should work on the digital collage together, simultaneously. The image should represent both Learners equally. Aspects of the image should include individual cultural elements and elements of your cultures that you both share. Consider, what are visible aspects of each culture you are a part of, and what aspects are more invisible? How do you represent the invisible aspects of your cultures? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 68 Example: (Concrete Experience) 5) Each Creator Team should now post their digital collage on the LMS platform for the rest of the cohort to view. Because we want to leave interpretation open for others, please do not include a description of your digital collage. (Abstract Interpretation) 6) Respond individually to two other Creator Team’s digital collages. Ask questions about what you see in the image for example: why do you think the Creator team chose the images they did? What could they represent? Each person should also share what they perceive to be the most important aspects of the image and why. (Active Evaluative Experimentation) 7) Each Creator Team will schedule another time to video chat with one another for approximately 15 - 20 minutes. During this time, they should review the comments from the other Learners, specifically taking note of any stereotypes METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 69 that may have come up or assumptions that were made. Together, the Creator team will respond to the comments from the other Learners and share why they chose the images to represent their collective culture as a team. They will respond to what their classmates hypothesized, share if they agree or disagree and what they would change if they approached this task again. Egg - Module 2: What do you value about other cultures around you? Objectives: As a result of this module Learners will: ● Begin to value and appreciate cultural differences and what they bring to the collective society ● Understand what cultural ambiguity is and why it occurs Minimum number of Learners for module to open: 8 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take two hours, over one week Materials needed: Computer or tablet, internet access, Zoom, Whatsapp, or Facetime Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) You have been randomly assigned a Creator Team of two below. Please schedule a 30-minute video call time to meet with your collaborator. ● Learner 1 (Name) + Learner 7 (Name) ● Learner 2 ( Name) + Learner 3 (Name) ● Learner 4 (Name) + Leaner 6 (Name) ● Learner 5 (Name) + Learner 8 (Name) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 70 2) In your pair, please review the examples below and discuss how they might be an analogy of culture. An analogy is something that could represent the meaning of something else. 3) After you have reviewed each image, decide on a new analogy of your own to represent culture in general. Find an image that represents your analogy and post it in the discussion for others to view. You should not include any text with it at this time. ​ Example Analogy: Ramen Bowl (Abstract Interpretation) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 71 4) Review the other Creator Team posts. Write an individual post under two of the images sharing why you think the image represents culture and what you find intriguing about the analogy that was shared. Try to select a post that does not have comments yet if available. Example Post for Ramen Bowl: I think it is interesting that you selected a bowl of soup that has so many different ingredients in it, and some of the ingredients are above the surface of the broth and others are not. This is like how there are so many different aspects of culture - some visible and some below the surface. The noodles are kind of like a web that connects everything. 5) After someone has posted on your image, share why you chose this image to represent culture. (Active Evaluative Experimentation) 6) Schedule another 30-minute conversation with your previously assigned Creator Team. 7) Each partner should ask and answer the following questions in the conversation: ● What traits do I see in myself as a result of my cultural upbringing? ● What traits do I see in my cultural community that I find problematic? ● What stereotypes am I aware of in regards to how others perceive my culture? ● What do my culture and your culture have in common? ● What is a key difference between my culture and your culture? Activity 2: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 72 (Concrete Experience) 1) After having your conversation in your Creator Teams, think about how you might answer each of the questions above with one word only. Submit one word per question anonymously into this form by a specific date and time (enter the information for when the form will close). Example responses are below: ● What trait do I see in myself as a result of my cultural upbringing? ○ Privilege ○ Independence ○ Creativity ● What trait do I see in my cultural community that I find problematic? ○ Entitlement ○ Colonialism ○ Selfishness ● What stereotype am I aware of in regards to how others perceive my culture? ○ Bigotry ○ Barbie ○ Burgers ○ Homogeny ● What do my culture and your culture have in common? ○ Capitalism ○ Environmentalism ○ Religion METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 73 ● What is a key difference between my culture and your culture? ○ Space ○ Language ○ Groups (Abstract Interpretation) 2) Your Cultural Mentor has taken all of the words that were anonymously submitted and arranged them into a word collage below. Please review each word collage. Example Visual Image for Question 1: What traits do I see in myself as a result of my cultural upbringing? (Active Evaluative Experimentation) 3) Respond to each word collage and share what you notice. Are there patterns in the words that were submitted? What commonalities are you seeing, and what METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 74 differences? What do you value about what is being shared? What concerns you about what is being shared? Caterpillar Caterpillar - Module 1: What do I see? What do I not see? Objectives: As a result of this module, Learners will: ● View images and interpret them ● Understand how their values, biases, and past experiences influence how they interpret images ● Comprehend the impact of cross-cultural mobility Minimum number of Learners: 1 Duration: 2 hours Materials needed: A computer or tablet, internet access Activity 1: Activities and posts in this module are private, and only seen by you and your Cultural Mentor. (Concrete Experience) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 75 ​ Artist: Jon Southcoasting 1) Look at the above image, and consider the following: ○ What is happening? ○ What do you see that helps you put together what is happening? ○ What additional context or information would help you understand this image more? (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Describe literally what you see in this image in a post. What is most important in this image that helps you interpret this image? (Active Interpretation) 3) Answer the following prompts in a second post: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 76 ● What assumptions did I make about what is happening in this image based on what I see? ● What does this image remind me of from my own lived experiences? ● Do my experiences impact how I am interpreting this image? Activity 2: (Concrete Experience) Artist: Sam Phelps 1) View the above image, and consider the following: ○ What is happening in this image? ○ What do I see in this image that helps me put together what is happening? ○ What additional context or information would help you understand this image more? (Reflective and Literal Observation) 3) Describe literally what you see in this image in a post. Without any context, what do you think is happening? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 77 (Active Interpretation ) 4) This image is from an event at the Pan-African Robotics Competition in Dakar, Senegal in 2016. The students are watching a classmate control a robot in a competitive event. Respond to the following prompts in a post: ● Now that you know what is happening in this image, how is it similar or different from what you thought before? ● What assumptions did you make about the scene without having the context? ● Why do you think you made these assumptions? Activity 3 (Concrete Experience) Possession Island (Abstraction) by Gordon Bennett 1) View the artwork above, and consider the following: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 78 ○ What is happening in this image? ○ What do you see in this image that helps you put together what is happening? ○ What additional context or information would help you understand this image more? (Reflective and Literal Observation) 4) Describe literally what you see in this image in a post. Without any context, what do you think the artist is communicating? (Active Interpretation ) 4) The following excerpt is from the Tate Modern Gallery and describes the context of this image: “As an Indigenous Australian artist, Gordon Bennett may not be a migrant, however, Possession Island (Abstraction) demonstrates the tensions that impact cultural minorities due to colonial migration. Our idea of national identity is reversed when we think of colonial migration. Those who see the land as home are faced with the threat of displacement and a loss of culture. Those who are new to the land, come with an undeserved position of authority. We see the single human representation of the Aboriginal community, in Samuel Calvert’s engraving of Captain Cook, hidden behind the colours of the Indigenous flag. The abstraction of colour turns the servant faceless. Carrying a tray of drinks, he is a tool for the use of the colonisers. Australia, like many countries, has a long history of reducing others to voiceless symbols. It has enforced standardised identities on cultures without consent and incarcerated refugees on the islands of METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 79 Manus and Nauru under false narratives of threat. It is endemic to the fragility that comes with colonial migration. There is a simplifying of the diversity of history at play in order to give power to the privileged”. Please respond to the following prompts in a post: ● Now that you know what this image is of, how is it similar or different from what you thought was happening in this photo when you first wrote about it? ● Where else in past or recent history have you seen examples that are similar to what was described as the context of this image? Activity 4: (Concrete Experience) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 80 Pacific by Yukinori Yanagi 1) This is a large installation piece that was created in 1996. It consists of 49 plastic boxes that are connected by plastic tubes. Each flag is made from colored sand on the back of each plastic box. The artist connected the tubes to ant farms and opened the installation up to allow ants to move in and out of the plastic tunnels, making pathways through the sand of each flag. The flags represent countries that surround the Pacific Ocean or nations that colonized areas in the Pacific Ocean (such as England). ​Discussing Pacific in 1996, Yanagi stated “Through my work I expose movement and transportation”. (Reflective and Literal Observation) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 81 2) Respond to the image in a post that answers the following question: ○ How does this work of art make you feel? (Active Interpretation ) 3) Respond to the following post below: ○ What do the ants represent in this image? Why? Caterpillar - Module 2: What are my philosophies of possession, ownership, and entitlement? Objectives: As a result of this module, Learners will: ● Begin to question the idea of ownership ● Reconsider the meaning of possessing something, and how we impact its meaning by how we interact with it. ● Consider their entitlement to owning land, objects, people, ideas, and knowledge. Minimum number of Learners: 6 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take four hours, over two weeks Materials needed: found objects, basic camera device, internet access, laptop or tablet. Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Find four objects in your home that you no longer use. 2) Take pictures of these objects and post them on our group page. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 3) Under each of your object posts, answer the following : METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 82 ● What material is this made out of? ● Who do you think designed this object? ● What is this object’s use? ● Why did you purchase or obtain this object? ● Why do you no longer use this object? (Active Interpretation ) 4) Look at the other Learner’s posts and objects participating in this module with you. Decide on a word that represents the meaning of each submitted object. For example: a weight (object) = heaviness (meaning); a fan = wind; a match = fire; a sweater = warmth. 5) After viewing all of the suggestions from the other Learners about your objects, please decide on one word for each of your objects. Next, decide on a word that represents the opposite meaning of your word, but do not post it. For example: a weight (object) = heaviness (meaning) / lightness; a fan = wind / stillness; a match = fire / water; a sweater = warmth / cold. (Concrete Experience) 6) Choose one of your objects and modify it so that it now represents both the original word of meaning and the opposite word. For example: ○ to modify a weight to represent both heaviness and lightness, I might glue feathers all over it; ○ to modify a match to represent both fire and water, I might drop a match into a glass of water; METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 83 ○ to modify a fan to represent wind and stillness, I might put the fan in the freezer for a while and then take it out; ○ to modify a sweater to represent warmth and cold, I might cut holes in the sweater. 7) Take a picture of your modified object and post it on our page with no text. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 8) Under the other Learner’s posts describe what you are seeing, and what you think the opposite word is that the Learner used. (Active Interpretation ) 9) Under your image, answer the following questions: ○ Who owns the design of this object now that you have modified it? ○ How has its meaning changed? ○ How has its use changed? ○ How have you changed the value of this object by modifying it? Activity 2: (Concrete Experience) 1) Think of something in your life that is not inherently part of your culture and examine it. Examples for a white cis female could be St. Patricks Day, sushi, chopsticks, placemats from New Mexico, and artwork on the wall from Spain. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Share a picture representing the item/concept, and answer the following through a public post: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 84 ● Where did you get this object? Or when did you first become interested in this concept? ● What do you use it for? ● What culture is this object/concept’s origin? (Active Interpretation) 3) Briefly research the object/concept and learn about its meaning in its culture of origin. Describe your findings in a public post and answer the following prompts: ● How have you changed the original intention of this object/concept to use it in your life? ● How do you feel knowing this information? Activity 3: (Concrete Experience) 1) Watch this Ted Talk “The Land Owns Us” by Bob Randell, a Yankunytjatjara Elder in the Northern Territory of Australia. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Write a post answering the following prompts: ● How does land ownership work in your home? ● Has it always been this way in your region? Why or why not? ● What do you think about the idea of the landowning you? (Active Interpretation) 3) Write a post answering the following prompts: ○ How does land ownership impact status and power in your community? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 85 ○ In your community, is it a privilege to own land? Who owns land in your community? Activity 4: (Concrete Experience) 4) Watch this Ted Talk “Mine! The Power of Ownership” by Bruce Hood, a Developmental Psychologist at the University of Bristol. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 5) Write a post answering the following prompts: ● What did you learn about philosophies of ownership and entitlement in this video? ● Does this apply to your life? How, and how not? (Active Interpretation) 6) Read the other Learner’s posts and comment on a post that you find interesting. Consider sharing what you find interesting in terms of what you agree with, and what you disagree with. Share why, and why not. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 86 Chrysalis Chrysalis - Module 1: What are my intersectional identities? Objectives: As a result of this module, Learners will: ● Describe their intersectional identities ● Understand that salient identities shift and change in different contexts ● Identify shared and different identities in groups Minimum number of Learners: 8 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take four hours, over two weeks Materials needed: internet access, computer or tablet, tracingpaper (or a light printer paper), pen, colored, pens/pencils, tape, printer (if available), Zoom, WhatsApp, or Facetime. Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) To begin this experience, your Cultural Mentor has randomly assigned you to the Creator Teams below. In your pair, please find a time where you can meet each other for 15 minutes on video chat (via Zoom, WhatsApp, or Facetime). ○ Learner 1 (Name) + Learner 3 (Name) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 87 ○ Learner 5 (Name) + Learner 8 (Name) ○ Learner 6 (Name) + Learner 7 (Name) ○ Learner 2 (Name) + Learner 4 (Name) 2) When you are meeting with each other, please tape your tracing paper to your screen and trace the outline of your partner's face through the paper lightly in pencil. Include the shape of their face, and their features (such as their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair). You might need to ensure your brightness is turned up. 3) Take a picture of your partner’s face that you traced and email, text, or chat that picture to your partner. This image represents an imprint of how you appear to someone else through digital space. 4) Print the portrait that your partner drew of you. If you do not have a printer, you can also trace the image on your screen using another sheet of tracing thesis. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 5) A person’s social identities are informed by who we identify as. Social identities indicate which groups we are a part of and are typically defined by the physical, social, and mental characteristics of individuals. From the list of social identities below, please select the top ten categories that are most relevant to you: ● Age ● Gender ● Sexual Orientation ● Socioeconomic Status ● Religion METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 88 ● Race ● Ethnicity ● Ability ● Nationality ● Indigenous Tribal Affiliation ● Language ● Occupation ● Neurodiversity ● Education ● Relationship Status ● Role in Family 6) Are there any identities missing from the above list? If so, please write them in the comments. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 7) Please post the ten identities that you relate most to in a public post. You can also include any identities, not on the list above. You only need to choose the identity that applies to you; you don’t need to include details about your own identity (include your age, gender, etc). Next to each identity, please write a color. These can be randomly assigned colors or colors that are meaningful to you in some way. (Active Interpretation ) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 89 8) Read each other’s posts and comment on someone’s post that shares several identities with you. You do not have to say a lot. Instead, simply indicate that you can relate to that person and share one or more of their identities. (Concrete Experience) 9) Using the colored pencils/pens, color in the portrait of your face drawn by your Creator Team partner using the colors you have decided upon for each of your identities. Consider shading more of your face in colors that represent identities that are most apparent to you in your life. Example: 10) Post your portrait onto the group forum. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 90 (Reflective and Literal Observation) 11) Comment on another Learner’s portrait who is participating in this module. What do you notice about their portrait? What identities are most salient or important to that person? (Active Interpretation ) 12) Answer these questions given what you know about your host community, and imagine yourself there. All responses are valid and there are no right or wrong answers: ○ What if you were to do this portrait again after you enter your new cultural context? How would you shade your portrait differently in a new cultural context? ○ Would the identities that are most salient to you change in a new cultural context? Why or why not? ○ What (visible or invisible) identities might be difficult for you to work through in your new cultural context? Why? Activity 2: (Concrete Experience) 1) Using the top ten most represented identities from this group, and the color trends, your Cultural Mentor has summarized a list of 10 identities and colors below: Example: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 91 2) You have randomly been assigned a number between 1 and 8. Please check your private message to learn which number you are assigned. This is your Learner number. 3) Each day this week, beginning today, please track which identity from the list you think about most often that day in our group Identity Mosaic. Go to the row on the Identity Mosaic that corresponds to your Learner number. Only your Cultural Mentor is aware of which Learner is assigned to each Learner number. Using the key, please fill the square each day with the color that represents the identity you think about most. There is an example on the second tab where you can see a finished Identity Mosaic. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 4) After one week has passed, please view the finished Identity Mosaic published below by your Cultural Mentor. Respond to this visual image you created together by answering the following questions: ● What trends do you notice when looking at everyone’s past weeks? ● Do most Learners primarily think about one or two identities regularly, or a wider mixture? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 92 ● What comes to mind when you look at this image? (Active Interpretation ) 5) Please write a private post to your Cultural Mentor that answers the following prompt: ● What did you learn through doing a daily reflection of your identities? ● What similarities and differences do you see when thinking about the group of Learners who participated in the Identity Mosaic? Chrysalis - Module 2: How do I understand my biases and subjectivities? How do they impact how I see and interpret? Objectives: As a result of this module Learners will: ● Learn about power and privilege in relation to identities. ● Understand how identities impact how we frame our experiences. ● Gain empathy and understanding of those who hold historically marginalized identities. Minimum number of Learners: 1 Duration: 1.5 hours of time Materials needed: internet access, computer or tablet, paper, drawing tool, device to take photos with Activity 1: Adapted from Wenh-In Ng’s Flower Power Tool (Concrete Experience) 1) Take a look at the below image and notice how the center of this flower includes various social identities. Notice also that the outside petals have two sections. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 93 Comment below what you think are the dominant or more powerful identities for social identity. 2) Draw your flower with 16 petals. Each petal should have three sections like the example above, and be labeled matching the above example. 3) Write what you believe to be the dominant or more powerful identity in the outside section of your petal. 4) On the inside of the petal, write your identity in that particular category. For example: as a white cis-gendered woman from a middle-class background, in the Social Class petal, I would write upper class on the outside of the petal representing the most powerful identity in this category, and middle class in the center of the petal representing my background. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 94 (Reflective and Literal Observation) 5) Take a look at your inner and outer petals. How many of your inner petals match the dominant outer petals? This indicates how much power and privilege you have been conferred by society. Take a picture of your flower and upload it onto a private post. Include your responses to the following prompts: ○ How does this make you feel about your experiences? Do you hold some positions of privilege and some identities that have been historically excluded? ○ How do the lived experiences associated with these identities shape who you are today? ○ How does this visual representation of your power make you feel? (Active Interpretation ) 5) Answer the following prompts in a private post below: ● What can you do to reclaim your power (if you are marginalized in some areas), or share your power (if you are privileged in some areas) while still honoring your identities? ● Provide an example of a time when you placed an incorrect judgment on someone else based on something you were taught through a dominant identity group. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 95 Butterfly Butterfly - Module 1: How might my identities shift in new cultural contexts? Objectives: As a result of this module, Learners will: ● Understand what it means to code-switch ● Become aware of how their identities shift and change in new cultural contexts ● Gain empathy regarding how other individual’s identities may shift and change in new cultural contexts Minimum number of Learners: 4 Duration: Two hours Materials needed: thesis, tape, scissors, glue, old magazines, old newspaper, graphics, internet access, computer/tablet Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Watch this Ted Talk: Codeswitching by Zaire Krieger. Zaire is a Spoken Word Artist who lives in the Netherlands. (Reflective and Literal Observation) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 96 2) Write a public post below describing your understanding of code-switching based on what you observed in the video. (Active Interpretation ) 3) Write a public post describing circumstances in which you have code-switched, and changed aspects of yourself to fit into the community of people around you. Activity 2: (Concrete Experience) 1) Find an image that represents you and glue it to the center of a piece of the page. Using old newspaper, magazines and images tear or cut out any images that represent people, places, or things that cause you to codeswitch to adapt to that space/community. Try not to use text in your collage, and challenge yourself to use only images in your collage. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Take a picture of your collage and post it on the public group page. Under your collage, post your answers to the following prompts: ● Which spaces, people, or things cause you to codeswitch and why? ● Why did you choose the images in your collage to represent these situations? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 97 Example project and responses: 1. Which spaces, people, or things cause you to codeswitch and why? ● Family- growing up I learned to speak in two distinct ways with my family, standard English with the White side of my family (which included my dad and grandma) and African American Vernacular English with the Black side of my family (which is the majority of my family). When I entered grade school, I soon realized that AAVE was not the "appropriate" way to speak. Thus, I adopted a more white-washed "accepted" English to use in my daily life, including in the classroom, public spaces, and with friends. Notwithstanding, I continue to use AAVE with the majority of my family. In fact, they are some of the only people I now feel comfortable speaking that way with as a result of my programming and indoctrination. ● Friends- given the current demographics of where I live, the majority of my friends are White and thus I continue to use standard English with them. Even though I am close to them and sometimes feel comfortable using a more natural AAVE structure, I am careful not to use certain words or language very often. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 98 ● Restaurants- I worked in the restaurant industry for many years, and thus adapted to using particular phrases and "slang" within that space. For example, not many people outside of the restaurant industry may immediately know what "in the weeds" "2-top, 4-top, etc…" or "86ed" means. I adapt to this language within that environment in order for me and my fellow coworkers to have a mutual understanding through our communication. Although, I would not use that language outside of that space. ● Work- As someone who works in higher education, there is a certain expectation on the use of professional language and mannerisms within the workplace. The utilization of academic words, for example, is something that does not necessarily come natural to me, and sometimes I feel less intelligent than others because I don't articulate or communicate as well as my fellow colleagues. But, I continue to try, and over time, have become better adapted to the correct form of speech within professional spaces, which more often than not, are predominantly White. ● Students- As someone who works closely with students, I adapt my communication to styles I think they would feel most comfortable with (although I understand that my perceptions of what someone is or isn't comfortable with are biased). For example, when working with Spanish heritage students, I may use Spanish words, or when working with ABC students, I may use slang like "dope" or "lit." It just depends on the audience. I have found that codeswitching with different student groups helps them to feel more comfortable sharing space with me as they are not put into a position in which they have to speak in a way that is not natural or easy to them. ● Music- I think that music itself is a universal language, and musical expression is diverse and varied. When listening to certain genres, I, of course, adapt my speech to sing along. For example, the language I use when rapping is much different than the language I might use when listening to country music (and yes, I enjoy both genres). ● Travel- When traveling, I try to adapt my speech to the cultural environment in which I am in (if I can). For example, I speak Spanish and Portuguese, and when I am in countries in which Spanish and Portuguese are the dominant languages, I use phrases, slang, words, and speech that I would not normally use within an American context. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 99 ● Comedy- When I listen to comedy, I find that many times the comedians themselves are codeswitching depending on the audience. I tend to listen to Black comedians most and find the content funny based on our shared life experiences. However, I have noticed at times that when listening to this kind of comedy with White peers, it is not always received in a comical manner as it is perceived as "rude" or "inappropriate." ● Classroom- similar to work, I find in a classroom space there is a certain "appropriate" way of speaking that is accepted among professors and classmates. Within these spaces, many students of color may have to codeswitch in order to conform to academic expectations. ● Cooking- I've always found that the kitchen is a safe space for me to speak and behave freely. Of course, there are certain expressions in the kitchen that vary depending on the audience I am cooking with or for. For example, when my Black grandma tells me to "season" something, I know exactly more or less what seasonings to use and how much to use (by eyeballing). However, in other cases, and with other people, I may have to measure out my seasonings in order to produce the expected results. 2. Why did you choose the images in your collage to represent these situations? ● Some images are more obvious, such as pictures of family and friends, whereas some are more abstract, such as the masks to represent humor or the fork and spoon to represent cooking. I chose images that I felt the audience could easily relate to the meaning I was trying to portray. Through this activity, I want the audience to understand me as a person and the specific spaces, people, and things that cause me to codeswitch so that we have a mutual understanding. (Active Interpretation) 3) View the other Learner’s collages and think about what each Learner is sharing about their lived experiences. Choose one collage that taught you something, and share your reflection as a comment. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 100 Butterfly - Module 2: What are my strategies for mindfully unpacking what and how I see and interpret? Objectives: As a result of this module Learners will: ● Learn Pailliotet’s Deep Viewing approach to analyzing and interpreting what is seen. ● Develop a structure for doing reflective field notes. ● Understand that there are different layers of contextual understanding and meaning-making. Minimum number of Learners: 8 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take three hours, over two weeks Materials needed: thesis, pencil, computer or tablet, internet access, Zoom, Whatsapp, or Facetime. Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Choose a fifteen-minute walk in your neighborhood. Go on your walk and take special note of what you observe. Recall your observations in the order that you saw them. Share your recollections in either writing, drawings, audio recordings, or any visual format in a public post. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Consider the following: How is this area used? Who did you see? Where do you think they were going? What cultural symbols did you notice? Write a short paragraph that describes your thoughts under your first public post. 3) Your Cultural Mentor has created Creator Teams below: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 101 ● Learner 1 (Name) + Learner 2 (Name) ● Learner 3 (Name) + Learner 8 (Name) ● Learner 4 (Name) + Learner 6 (Name) ● Learner 5 (Name) + Learner 7 (Name) Please contact your partner and schedule a 30-minute video meeting via Zoom, Whatsapp, or FaceTime. In your pairing, talk about the following items: ○ What did you observe? ○ Did you have any common observations? ○ What was different about your observations? (Active Interpretation ) 4) Create another public post (either written or visual format) that responds to the following questions: ● After talking with your Creator Team, what did you realize that you did not notice when you made your initial post? ● How were your observations biased? If they were not biased, please explain. ● What commonalities and differences did you notice when talking in your Creator Team? Activity 2: (Concrete Experience) 1) Visit a green space, sit for a while and watch the movement in the area. Keep track of how people move through the space, what areas are used, and not used. (Reflective and Literal Observation) METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 102 2) Write a public post that responds to the following prompts without looking up any details about the green space: ● Describe the space that you visited by memory. ● Were there people there? ● Why were the people moving where they were moving? ● Where were they going? ● What is this green space used for? ● Who is gathering here? ● What kind of ideas are fostered in this green space? (Active Interpretation ) 3) Research your green space, and share any new context, history, and interesting details you discover in a public post. Activity 3: (Concrete Experience) 1) Go on a walk for at least 20 minutes and take note of the plants that you see along the way. Take some pictures, or draw them. Record your observations with enough detail that you can research these plants later. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 2) Write a public post with your photos that responds to the following prompts: ● Why do these plants grow where they do? ● Do these plants grow near other plants and impact them? ● How do humans interact with the plant life in your community? ● Are there a lot of plants in your community? Or not many? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 103 (Active Interpretation ) 3) Research your plants. Post the answers to these questions: ○ What are the names of some of the plants you noticed in your community? ○ Where do these plants come from originally? Where were they first discovered and what regions are they native to? ○ What story does this tell about your community? Fl ight Flight - Module 1: How does one mindfully navigate cultural differences by sharing, teaching, and engaging? Objectives: As a result of this module Learners will: ● Create strategies for reciprocal teaching and learning in different cultural communities. ● Respect and appreciate different modalities of teaching, learning, and engaging. ● Become exposed to different Learner’s cultural identities. Minimum number of Learners: 8 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take five hours, over two weeks. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 104 Materials needed: Internet connection, computer or tablet, device to take photos with, miscellaneous art supplies Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Consider aspects of your lived experiences that shape who you are, and what you value. Think about something related to this self-culture that you could teach others about (in a basic understanding) in 20 minutes. For example: pronouncing names in a language other than English, basic watercolor painting, how to cook something, the abbreviated history of something, or about a musical genre or instrument. Write a brief description of what you would like to share/teach. Post your description in a public post, and a time and online place where you will offer your session (example: A zoom link). 2) Sign up to attend at least two sessions offered by other Learners participating in this module by indicating your attendance in a post under your fellow Learner’s session description. 3) Attend two sessions, and give your session. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 4) Using only visual imagery (no words), share an aspect of what you learned or experienced in the two sessions you attended taught by other Learners in this module. Take a photo of what you created and create a public post. (Active Interpretation ) 5) Take a look at what the other Learners created in response to your session. Respond with a public post that answers the following prompts: METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 105 ● What aspects of what you taught seemed to resonate with the other Learners who responded to your session? ● What common themes emerge from their responses? ● How do these responses make you feel about what you shared? ● How did your session represent an aspect of your self-culture? Flight - Module 2: What are some approaches I can use to foster reciprocal relationships with my host communities? How does my understanding of reciprocity change in new cultural contexts? Objectives: As a result of this module Learners will: ● Develop strategies for creating new reciprocal relationships across cultures. ● Negotiate control and power through collaborative projects. ● Navigate how easy it is to misinterpret or misunderstand an image’s original context, when there is little context given, or when it is interpreted from another cultural perspective. Minimum number of Learners: 4 Duration: Learners can anticipate this module to take four hours, over two weeks. Materials needed: Account for Canva, internet access, computer or tablet, art-making materials Activity 1: (Concrete Experience) 1) Think about an activity or action you could do in your host community that creates reciprocal learning between you and your host community. For example: cooking or eating a meal together. Create a visual representation of this activity METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 106 or action. Take a picture of your visual and upload it to Canva. Be aware that this image will be modified by someone else through this activity. 2) Your Cultural Mentor has decided upon a random order of Learners listed below: a) Learner A (Name) b) Learner B (Name) c) Learner C (Name) d) Learner D (Name) 3) Please share your Canva document as an editable document with the next Learner on the list. Learner D will share with Learner A. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 4) Take some time to view the document that was shared with you. What is happening in the image? Does it resemble reciprocal learning to you? (Active Interpretation ) 5) Add/adapt the previous Learner’s image in Canva. You can alter it in several ways, some of which include: a) Add additional graphics to the document like a collage, or layering different images on top of each other b) Adjust the size of the previous Learner’s image c) Create your graphics, take a photo, and upload it into the shared Canva document d) Adjust the transparency of the layered images to allow for interaction between the images METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 107 e) Use tracing paper to trace the previous Learner’s image and adapt it. Then upload the new image into the same Canva document. (Concrete Experience) 6) Repeat this process until you have collaborated with each Learner in this module. (Reflective and Literal Observation) 7) Once you have collaborated with each Learner, reopen the Canva document that you started with. Download the image and post it in a public post. Answer the following questions under the image in a public post: a) What does this image represent/mean to you? b) How did your original idea about respectfully giving and taking in your host community change when the other Learners collaborated with the idea? c) What was the experience like for you to let go of the control of your image, and allow the meaning of your image to change in the hands of those you are collaborating with? d) What did you learn? (Active Interpretation ) 8) View the other Learner’s posts and comment on each one addressing the following prompts: a) What does this image teach you about an approach to interacting with your host community? b) What common themes do you see in this visual representation and the others? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 108 Chapter VI: Cultural Mentor Handbook This section was designed as a companion to the lesson plans, to guide the Cultural Mentor as you facilitate each module. Cultural Mentors should adapt these instructions based on your preferences, the tools you use to facilitate these modules, feedback from students, and your reflections. You are encouraged to customize and tailor this process to meet the needs of your Learners and bring your own lived experiences into the facilitation process. At the end of this section are suggested reflective activities for you, and a reading list for you to consider as you facilitate these modules. Learner and Cultural Mentor Initial Meeting Guidelines Before beginning this process by taking the IDI, each Learner must meet with you. This initial meeting is designed to establish a connection between the Cultural Mentor and the Learner, to establish the objectives of this experience, and to begin building a foundation for a safe and engaging space for learning. Suggested questions that could frame the conversation include: ● Tell me about yourself and the cultural communities you belong to? ● Tell me about your upcoming journey into a new cultural community? ● Why are you pursuing learning in a new cultural community? ● What do you know about intercultural communication? ● Why do you think intercultural communication is important? ● What do you think about collaborating with Learners all over the world? ● What is your learning style? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 109 ● How do you prefer to receive feedback? ● How do you respond to feedback? ● How do you typically respond when someone lets you know that you’ve hurt them by something you said or did? Additional topics to cover include: ● Overview of the IDI test. ● Walkthrough of your role as the Cultural Mentor and the module structure. ● Sharing the importance of mindfully engaging with host communities and how the Learner defines who they want to be in that space. ● Explaining that we all have inherent biases, prejudices, and subjectivities. All we can do is continue to learn about ourselves, and how to navigate new cultural communities in a respectful and empathetic manner. ● Describing the expectations and commitments of participating in this learning experience. ● Establishing a line of communication to encourage the Learner to reach out. Learner and Cultural Mentor IDI Results Meeting Guidelines This meeting will take place once the Learner’s results are ready from their IDI test. Standardized testing does not always provide space for conversation. In many cases, the Learner will complete the IDI and think that they may test into one category given their personal experiences, but they may test lower or higher than they anticipate. During this meeting, the Learner and Cultural Mentor have the opportunity to talk through where the Learner perceives themselves to be on the continuum and compare METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 110 their assessment with the results of the IDI. Additionally, the Cultural Mentor will explain that the continuum is not linear. A person may at one point in their lives test into the Chrysalis category, but then years later find themselves back at the Egg as new cultural experiences occur in their lives and their experiences shape their perspectives. The primary purpose of the modules is to meet the Learner where they are at and provide them with helpful tools to grow along the continuum at any point in their lives. Next, the Learner and Cultural Mentor will decide together on a recommended learning plan for the Learner, identifying which category the Learner is entering (Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, etc.) and which modules they should focus on. Guiding questions/topics for this conversation could include: ● How did you feel when you took the IDI? ● The IDI suggests that there are these categories along the continuum (explain each category). What do you think your results are? ● Here are your results, do they surprise you? What do you think about them? ● Given what you know about yourself and where you feel your results should be, would you like to adjust your results? ● Each person is constantly evolving and changing based on their experiences, therefore where we place you on the continuum today will shift and change throughout your life. Today you may be a (Caterpillar) but in five years, you might be back to an Egg depending on your lived experiences. Going through this process of learning will provide you with helpful skills to move and cycle through the continuum throughout your life. Do you have any questions about this? METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 111 ● Given that we have decided your starting point is (Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, etc), let’s decide which modules would be good for you to focus on. You are welcome to do as many modules as you would like to, however here are some key modules I would recommend for you (share modules). What do you think? Module Context and Instructions Egg - Module 1 Context In the Egg (Denial) phase, Learners have the greatest need to grow their awareness of diversity and inclusion. In the first activity, Learners are introduced to how objects and artifacts hold value and cultural meaning. They are also asked to relate to other Learner’s posts to find connections across the cultures represented in the group of Learners participating in the module. These tasks will help Learners begin to acknowledge and become aware of cultural differences, and the ability to value and appreciate cultures other than their own. At the end of this activity, Learners are asked to describe what culture means to them individually, collectively, and in their cultural communities. Reflecting on and defining culture is one of the most important aspects of the Egg (denial) phase of the continuum. Activity two is designed to encourage growth, negotiation, and dialog as Learners are placed into Creator Teams of two and asked to create one collage that represents both of their cultures equally. Google Slides is recommended as a platform due to accessibility and ease of use, however, if the Cultural Mentor is aware of a different online tool that would allow for collaborative collage they could easily replace the tool. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 112 Learners will be randomly assigned to one another and may represent diverse identities and cultures. They must work together and negotiate to create visual imagery that represents both Learners. In doing so, Learners may need to describe why they have selected certain images to represent their self-culture, share the value and meaning of each image, negotiate its importance and consider the space each image takes up within the parameters of the page. During this process, Learners will encounter cultural ambiguity and be required to explore and suspend judgment within the Creator Team. Next, Learners will respond to each other’s collages to interpret what each Creator Team is saying with the images and what aspects of each collage seem to carry the most value and weight to the Creator Team who made it. When the Creator Teams come together after reading the comments from their peers, they are asked to talk through any assumptions and stereotypes that came up in the comments. Next, they are asked to respond as a team to the comments of their peers and address any concerns they may have. This particular activity is designed to create situations where cultural ambiguity, assumptions and stereotyping are likely to occur. Creator Teams are tasked to work together to respond to these situations, learn from one another, and grow as collaborators across cultures. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Before opening the modules, assign the students in pairs for the second activity. Write the names of each pair in the appropriate spot for Activity 2. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 113 3. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Egg - Module 2 Context In this module, Learners are introduced to the notion that culture has visible and invisible aspects, and it holds varying meanings for different people. In Activity 1, Learners are randomly assigned to a Creator team of two and asked to come up with a visual analogy for culture together after reviewing some examples that are provided. When returning to the group, Learners will engage with each other's images and interpret how the image might represent culture. Returning to their original Creator Team, Learners have a series of questions to ask each other to learn about the positive and negative traits they might notice in themselves as a result of their cultural upbringing. These questions also encourage Creator Teams to discuss stereotypes that are often imposed on their cultures and to consider what each Learner has in common with one another. After this conversation, activity two begins. In Activity 2, Learners will input one word to represent their response into a form for each of the same questions that they asked in their Creator Teams in activity one. After all of the words have been submitted, the Cultural Mentor will assemble the words for each question into a visual image such as Canva. Duplicated words should be represented either multiple times or in a larger font. You could also use a free online word cloud generator for this activity such as METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 114 Mentimeter. The purpose of this activity is for the Learners to work together to create a visual representation of ambiguous aspects of culture and to be able to see and acknowledge commonalities and differences represented in the group of Learners participating in this module. In the reflective prompts, Learns are asked to acknowledge patterns in the text images and what this brings up for them. Do they feel negatively or positively about patterns exhibited? Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Before opening the modules, assign the students in pairs for the first activity. Write the names of each pair in the appropriate spot for Activity 1. 3. Before opening the modules, create a copy of this form where Learners can input words anonymously based on each question in Activity 2. Determine a date when the form will close, and be sure to include it in the instructions. 4. Once the words have been submitted into the form, create a word cloud. For duplicate words, you could either list each one out individually or increase the size of a word to represent the number of duplicate responses for that word. You can create your image using the text, or use a word cloud generator such as this one. 5. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Caterpillar - Module 1 Context METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 115 While people are in the Caterpillar (Polarisation) phase, a common trait is that they tend to believe their own culture is better than others. Often this can lead to making cultural generalizations and stereotypes. Therefore, the activities in this section are designed to encourage Learners to understand that there are visible and invisible aspects of culture; make appropriate cultural generalizations; reflect on their underlying values and those of others, and begin to understand and value other worldviews to identify shared solutions to common problems. The first module is focused on interpreting visual images, to grow the Learner’s skills in conceptualizing and acknowledging what they see. Coinciding with these skills, Learners will also begin to understand how their own biases, values, and past experiences impact how they interpret what they see, and also how cross-cultural mobility impacts and shapes our world views both positively and negatively. This module is individual and personal, therefore the Cultural Mentor must be engaged with the Learner throughout their experience in this module. In the first activity, Learners are introduced to two photographs and one work of art and asked to describe what is happening in the image, and what they think it means. Furthermore, each prompt probes deeper and some require Learners to reflect on why they might have made assumptions about the image, and the importance of having context before placing judgments in different circumstances. In Activity 2, Learners are introduced to the art installation, Pacific by Yukinori Yanagi. This art piece is composed of flags from countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean (including nations that colonized these countries). The flags are made of sand inside of plexiglass boxes, connected by tubes, and form an ant farm with living ants METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 116 inside. The artwork is clearly described for Learners at the beginning of this activity. Learners are introduced to this artwork to spark internal dialog surrounding the impacts of international mobility, internationalization, and colonization. Learners are asked two open-ended questions regarding how they feel when learning about this art piece, what the ants represent, and why. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. This module is individual and self-guided. Only the Cultural Mentor and the Learner will see the posts. Ensure that there is posting space available as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Try to be active throughout the Learner’s experience in this module and comment on their posts throughout their time in this module. Use questions whenever possible to encourage the Learners to think through their responses and teach you what they mean. Caterpillar - Module 2 Context This module is designed to introduce topics of ownership, possession, and entitlement to Learners. It is a longer module, as these topics are complex. The first activity in this module is focused on artifacts/objects and how human interaction with objects impacts the meaning and use of the object. Learners are creating a found object sculpture using household objects and changing the original meaning of the object by adapting it. In the second activity, Learners are asked to consider something in their lives that is not inherently part of their own culture. Examples provided for a white cis female could be St. Patricks Day, sushi, chopsticks, placemats from New Mexico, and METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 117 artwork on the wall from Spain. Learners are asked to consider where they got this object/concept, what it is used for, and the culture of origin. Next, Learners are instructed to research the object/concept and describe what they discover, how they have changed/missed the meaning of the object or concept through their personal use, and how this new knowledge makes them feel. In doing so, Learners will become more aware of their impact and how cultural appropriation can create dissonance from the original meaning and intention of objects and concepts. The second activity in this module asks Learners to watch a TedTalk “The Land Owns Us” by an Australian Indigenous elder, Bob Randell. In this video, Bob shares the impact of land ownership in Northern Australia on Indigenous populations and his vision for stewardship and caring for the land as the land-owning you instead of you owning the land. Reflective prompts ask Learners to consider the concept of land ownership in their communities when this idea was first introduced to the region, what the correlation between land ownership and power is and who owns land in their communities. The final activity in this module requests that Learners watch an additional TedTalk titled “Mine! The Power of Ownership” by Bruce Hood, a Developmental Psychologist at the University of Bristol. Hood presents concepts that share how the meaning of ownership varies from culture to culture, and person to person. It is ambiguous and nuanced yet tied to the law. This reminds Learners of the conflicts that can occur through cultural differences and how difficult it can be to negotiate and compromise when all parties believe their perspective to be true and ethical. Hood also describes how our philosophies of ownership are shaped through socialized METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 118 experiences, which is important to consider when Learners are reflecting on why they are who they are. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Chrysalis - Module 1 Context In Chrysalis (minimalization), Learners tend to try to make connections between themselves and members of their host community. Often these connections can be based on sweeping generalizations, assuming similarities between their own experiences and that of members of their host community. It is important at this phase that Learners work on their skills to understand that experiences are different yet of equal importance. Values and beliefs include both similarities and differences across cultures, and respecting and empathizing equally. Before Learners can respect and honor cultural differences, they must do the work to understand their own identities, biases, and subjectivities. To provide a framework for this learning, the Chrysalis modules provide a reflective foundation for Learners to do social identity work. Activity 1 pairs Learners in Creator Teams of two and asks them to trace each other's faces in a gestural line drawing through the computer screen. This gestural drawing/outline evokes how a stranger might see a person - via a two-dimensional METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 119 imprint of who they are without knowing their story and context. Next, the module defines what social identities are, and asks Learners to select their most salient identities from a list of common social identities. There is also an open space where Learners can share any identities that were missing. Learners are then asked to associate a color with each of the identities they have selected for themselves and color in the line drawing that their partner created in the Creator Team. Colors that represent identities that Learners think about the most often should have more representation within the face than identities that are thought of less often. The intention behind this activity is to introduce Learners to social identities, and intersectionality. Learners are also asked to consider how their salient identities may shift and change as they enter new cultural communities. Furthermore, to remind Learners that the way they are seen by others is only a fraction of who they are. Activity 2 in this module requires the Learners to anonymously track the identities they think about most frequently in a week in the Identity Mosaic. All Learners are working on the same mosaic collaboratively and creating a visual representation of their collective salient identities as a group. Learners are encouraged to look at the mosaic as a representation of the group and help contextualize that in any given group, many visible and invisible identities are present. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Before opening the modules, assign the students in pairs for the first activity. Write the names of each pair in the appropriate spot for Activity 1. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 120 3. Create a copy of the Identity Mosaic google sheet, and ensure that the document is editable by anyone on the internet who has the link. Make sure that the first tab is blank and link the document to the instructions as indicated in the lesson plan. 4. After the Learners have posted their top ten identities and the colors associated with them, select the most common ten identities, and assign colors to them taking into account what colors the Learners chose. Fill out the Key in the Identity Mosaic listing the identities and colors. Take a screenshot of the Key and include it in the lesson plan. 5. Send a private message to each Learner, to let them know their Learner number for the Identity Mosaic. They will fill out the colors in the Mosaic each day in the row they are assigned based on their Learner number. 6. At the end of the week, take a screenshot of the completed Identity Mosaic and post it into the module for the Learners to see. 7. Respond to the private posts that Learners have written for you sharing their thoughts on this collaborative project. Chrysalis - Module 2 Context To provide a more personal and safe environment for learning, this module is closed and is a conversation between the Learner and the Cultural Mentor. Learners will complete Wenh-In Ng’s Flower Power Tool to begin to map out their privileged and marginalized identities. Through this process, Learners are encouraged to reflect on the power and privilege they hold or are lacking given the intersectional identities that they hold and the experiences that they have been afforded. In reflecting on their own METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 121 identities, Learners will also gain empathy for others who may hold different identities than they do. This experience also helps provide context for Learners to begin the process of understanding their own biases and subjectivities given the context of their identities. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. This module is self-guided, and only the Cultural Mentor and the Learner will see the posts. Ensure that there is posting space available as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Be active throughout the Learner’s experience in this module and comment on their posts throughout their time in this module. Use questions whenever possible to encourage the Learners to think through their responses and teach you what they mean. Butterfly - Module 1 Context Learners in Butterfly (Acceptance) phase are at a transitional point where they can appreciate new cultural communities but also can make harmful assumptions about the host community through analyzing similarities and differences. At times, this can be harmful to building relationships and connecting in these dynamic cultural spaces. Learners at this phase should focus on identifying solutions to the social problems within their cultural context within the host cultural community, reflecting before reacting to ambiguous situations, and adapting one’s behavior to be more appropriate in the new cultural context. The intention here is not to change to a level where the Learner’s METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 122 self-culture is hidden, but rather to learn to be true to oneself while being culturally appropriate. The first module continues previous learning about salient social identities and how they change when in new cultural communities and introduces the concept of code-switching. Codeswitching is the process of changing one’s behavior, speech, appearance, and expression to create what is perceived as a more comfortable social environment for others. In Activity 1, Learners are asked to watch spoken word artist Zaire Kreig’s TedTalk Codeswitching and reflect on what they believe code-switching means and describe a situation when they code-switched in their own lives. Activity 2 asks Learners to create a collage reflecting on their own experiences with code-switching. The questions that the Learner posts are designed to encourage them to connect the visual symbols in their collage with their experiences, furthering their visual literacy skills and ability to make meaning from what they see. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Butterfly - Module 2 Context In this activity, Learners are using field notes exercises to learn how to analyze and interpret what they see. Through this process, Learners discover that there are different layers of contextual understanding in interpreting what they see. Activity 1 asks METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 123 the Learner to go for a walk in their neighborhood and take note of what they notice. Learners are asked to share how the spaces are used around them, who uses them and what cultural symbols are around the area. Next Learners are paired in Creator Teams to discuss their experiences, and what was common and different in their observations. Lastly, individuals are asked to share what they learned from their conversations in their Creator Teams and what observations they had were biased and based on assumptions. Activity 2 and Activity 3 are similar, however, each field note prompt focuses on a different topic. Activity 2 focuses on the movement of people and ideas in a green space. Observing movement in this way encourages Learners to consider spatial interactions, who is represented in that space, how it is used, and who owns that land. Activity 3 focuses on the history of the plants in the area by asking Learners to consider what plants grow in their region, where they grow, how they grow, and how humans interact with them. In both cases, after the Leaner has reflected on what they observed Learners are asked to research the background of their observations. Learning the context of public green space may help the Learner understand more about the history and people of that space. Learning the history of where the plants came from can shed light on human migration, as many plants may not be indigenous to that area and could have been transplanted throughout time. The plant varietals can also tell the story of the natural and built environment in new ways, opening up new contextual understandings of the Learner’s home community. The design for these field note prompts and reflective questions follow Palliotet’s Deep Viewing Model to encourage growth in visual literacy skills. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 124 Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. These activities are designed to also teach Learners about field notes. With some encouragement from the Cultural Mentor, perhaps Learners will continue to do Field Notes while abroad, thinking about other topics they could apply similarly. 2. Before opening the modules, assign the students in pairs for the first activity. Write the names of each pair in the appropriate spot for Activity 1. 3. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Flight - Module 1 Context In the final phase, Flight (adaptation), Learners can practice inclusivity in their interactions across cultures. At this point, Learners can continue to hone their skills by considering how to build mindful connections and reciprocal opportunities for learning and engagement across cultures. Learners see themselves as cultural beings and can navigate new cultural environments by nimbly sharing who they are and by listening to who others are. They can accept responsibility for making ethical decisions that are inclusive and reciprocal in their host communities. Lesson plans in this phase are related to creating strategies for teaching and learning, negotiating ambiguity, and creating meaningful, respectful connections. In Activity 1, Learners are asked to consider an activity they could do in their host community that would provide the opportunity for them and members of their host METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 125 community to share and learn from each other. Learners will create a visual image to represent this activity and will then share their piece with every other Learner in the module who will add to the original artwork. At the end of the module, there will be a set of visual representations of collaborative activities that the group of Learners could do with members of their host community. By creating a work of art, and having to pass it to another Learner to adapt, each Learner will need to relinquish the control over their piece. This process will teach valuable skills such as how to navigate ambiguity, and intercultural conflicts, and how to learn/collaborate across cultures to create meaning together. Instructions 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. Flight Module 2 1. Set up the Module in an LMS. Leave spaces for public and private posts as indicated in the lesson plans. 2. Before opening the modules, assign the students randomly to Learners A - D for the first activity. Write the names in the appropriate spot for Activity 1. These assignments are to determine an order. 3. Respond to posts that the Learners are engaging with to help continue the conversation, adding ideas and questions whenever possible. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 126 Encouraging a Meta-Reflexive Practice Cultural Mentors are encouraged to create a Meta-Reflexive practice for yourselves as you go through the process of designing modules and lesson plans, and fill the mentorship role while working with Learners. Approaches that worked well for me included reflecting on my own identities, subjectivities, and biases; reading and preparing myself through intercultural competency reflections; reading books written by authors who hold different identities then I do; asking people who hold different identities from me to read the lesson plans and provide constructive feedback, and constantly reflecting on the below list of questions. This practice is particularly important for Cultural Mentors who hold settler identities to consider their own positions of power, and biases in relation to the topics being explored in the modules. Core Reflective Questions ● Why is this important? ● Who is it important for? ● Why is this important to me? ● Who would feel comfortable doing this project? Who would not? ● What language am I using? Why? ● Whose voices are being amplified? Why? ● How would someone who speaks English as a second language read this? ● How would someone who has never heard of these concepts read this? Role of the Cultural Mentor Your role as the Cultural Mentor is of vital importance to the success of the Learners as they venture through this learning process. Studies conducted recently in METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 127 the field of International Education suggest that “having a knowledgeable sage has a great deal to offer the learner experiencing new cultures” (Benett, 2012, p. 14). Bennett shares (2012) that three core areas are required to be successful as a facilitator of intercultural learning: “ adaptation to balance challenge and support, adaptation to different cognitive styles and learning styles, and adaptation to culture-specific preferences” (p.15). Through being adaptable, you become nimble and able to provide consistent opportunities for curiosity for your Learners no matter what level of knowledge they already possess going into this learning experience. This content is designed to challenge Learners, and there will be circumstances when Learners may feel confused, frustrated, and anxious. This careful balance is important as “effective intercultural communication requires that our uncertainty (cognitive, involving knowledge and predictability) and our anxiety (affective, involving emotional disequilibrium) are balanced between our minimum and maximum thresholds” (Benett, 2012, p. 16). Staying within the equilibrium is important in order to engage in effective learning, and therefore adapting and pivoting through the learning process will be important. The tailored approach for each Learner provides the opportunity to gauge where their equilibriums are. Support Learners through the difficult content and create a foundational brave space for dialogue with them to pivot your mentorship style as needed. Sample Readings and Activities The below readings are examples of preparation that you can do while you are participating in this self-reflexive process. Choose materials that challenge your METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 128 perspectives, promote reflection, and provide insight into how people with other identities and cultures live. ● Activities ○ Harvard Implicit Association Tests ■ Provides information about your implicit biases based on a series of tests. Access here: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html ○ Intercultural Competence: Self Reflection (Berado & Deardorff, 2012, p. 50) ■ Offers a self-reflective questionnaire to understand how you interact with people from other cultures. ○ Interculturally Competent Teaching (Berado & Deardorff, 2012, p. 51) ■ Provides reflective questions to develop your cultural competencies. ○ Section 9: Develop Professionally (Berardo & Deardorff, 2012, p. 355) ■ A collection of activities and suggestions to continue learning and reflecting throughout the process. ● Books & Articles ○ How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi ■ This book presents policies that counter racial inequity. Kendi argues that every person is racist based on our own subjectivities and unconscious biases and that racism is not conscious. To be antiracist, we must understand how our identities and lived METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 129 experiences impact how we treat others. Kendi also explains that racism is a system impacted directly by racial inequities, the policies that create the inequities, and the reasons that people use to justify these policies. ○ The Lies that Bind: Rethinking Identity by Kwame Anthony Appiah ■ This book explores five identities: creed, color, class, country and culture. Appiah’s argument is that while it is important to honor the differences, there are deep similarities between human beings that connect and bind us to one another. Appiah describes identity and commonality as constantly shifting and moving instead of staying stagnant. ○ How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy by Julian Baggini ■ Through a philosophical lens, Baggini provides a cross cultural analysis of the driving motivators of our moral and ethical codes. Baggini proposes human beings around the world are motivated by similar goals and desires, however, each cultural community has different approaches to reaching them. ○ Latinx: The New Force in American Politics and Culture by Ed Morales ■ Morales illuminates the meaning of American identity through the lens of the large population of Latinx citizens in the United States. He shares the history of the term “Latinx” beginning with the Spanish conquest, all the way to the Trump era, and situates Latinx identities at the heart of American politics and culture. Morale’s METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 130 approach is autobiographical and situated within a critical race theory framework. ○ The View from the Veranda: Understanding Today’s Colonial Student by Anthony Ogden ■ This article explains the parallels between the mentality of many students studying abroad and colonial travelers. It describes the importance of preparing students to more deeply consider their impact on host communities while studying abroad. ○ Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum ■ Tatum’s book unpacks why it is so difficult and important to talk about issues of race and racism from a psychological lense. It shares a history of how these issues are deeply rooted into our society in the United States and encourages an active antiracist lens. Additionally, it provides a foundation for exploring our own identities, and steps for understanding and empathizing with folks who have different identities than we do. ○ White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh ■ This article provides a helpful introduction to the notion of white privilege by providing a series of questions that encourage the reader to acknowledge privileges within themselves and others. It also shares that beyond race, there are also other dominant METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 131 identities that inherintly have privileges that others do not such as gender and sex. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 132 Chapter VII: Reflection, Evaluation, and Follow-up Going through the process of developing the framework for these lesson plans was akin to playing dominos. As I learned about a new concept, I would uncover another related topic, equally as valid and important. Through this research, I learned that this topic is interdisciplinary and woven through most other subjects that involve human beings. By the time I was ready to write, I had too many ideas in my mind and it became difficult to select only the most important elements to incorporate into this thesis. The scope of this work is vast and important. Ultimately, the work presented in this thesis is a foundation upon which I will continue to build over time. Project Evaluation My first research question was, “What art education methods can be used to incorporate intercultural learning and visual literacy skills into the curriculum of study abroad/away programs to address student biases, decolonization, and the process of unsettling?” I used deep viewing, experiential learning, constructionism, constructivism, and SEA as art education methods to inform the design of the lesson plans. Content developed for the lesson plans use intercultural learning pedagogy to open conversations with Learners about biases, decolonization, and the process of unsettling. Extending on the work of cultural theorist Sylvia Wynter, educational therorist Michalinos Zembylas states that “coloniality refers to processes that are still continuing in contemporary societies shaped by ongoing White supremacy and include knowledge and value systems that have naturalized particular conceptualizations of what it means to be human” (Zembylas, 2021, p. 2). To foster inclusive mindsets and decolonize settler mentality it is important to consider the “intelligibility of one’s feelings towards others, METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 133 particularly the capacity to sense the pain of others, is framed by histories of colonial violence and refusals of imaginative identification” (Zembylas, 2021, p.1). However, to do so one must reassemble the patterning embedded in our beings which align notions of truth, knowledge and freedom. These systems of power are fed by constantly situating the white man in positions of power and significance, while “emotions of subordinated/colonized communities and subjects are ignored or even do not register” (Zembylas, 2021, p.1). Wynter developed the term ‘decolonial scienta’ which she describes as a way of knowing, thinking, interacting and experiencing grounded in the experiences of historically marginalized communities (Zembylas, 2021). It suggests a reimagining of our relationships and “constitutes an important synthesis of the struggle to unsettle the coloniality of being/power/truth/freedom, because it recognizes other ways of knowing, being and feeling in the world as the site from which the human can be rearticulated” (Zembylas, 2021, p. 2). While the lesson plans included here do provide a foundation of learning to consider one’s biases and patterning formed from our colonial world, they only begin to scratch the surface of what is possible. To achieve a more inclusive curriculum, the lesson plan content should be re-shaped by Cultural Mentors who do not hold White, settler identities, so as to challenge the notion of the White person in positions of power and reimagine decolonized curricula. The current content of the lesson plans is limited, as it is through my own lens, which is influenced from my identities as a White, cis-gendered, female, settler. The second research question was, ”What curricular tools can be developed to support the expression of student subjectivities, experiences, and perspectives to foster METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 134 meaningful and respectful relationships in new cultural communities?” The development of the Experiential Deep Viewing Model by combining Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model and Pailliotet’s Deep Viewing Phases created a circular tool for learning and growth. This model is adaptable and provides space for individual learning, and collaboration. By participating in the content shared modules designed around the intercultural development inventory, Learners will develop beneficial tools for building mindful relationships with their host communities. While I responded to my research questions, the success of this project would not be proven until the lesson plans and pedagogical approaches are tested with real Learners. This thesis provides a starting point for what could become a larger project that could follow a research study process with participants and a control group to compare results. Additionally, the opportunity to collaborate with art educators, artists, intercultural learning experts, critical race theorists, and social psychologists could strengthen the depth of the lesson plans and research. Follow Up Given the complexity of building these lesson plans into an LMS, training someone to be a Cultural Mentor, and not having a position on our team at UCSC that could be working full time on this work it is unlikely that my original vision of implementing this at UCSC is realistic in the near future. Instead, I would like to consider which of the lesson plans could be incorporated into our pre-existing programming in a way that is scalable. With appropriate partnership through UCSC or another university, an international education organization or another organization, it METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 135 would be possible to eventually build out a sustainable structure for my proposed model, however, it would be important to test it first. The applicability of this work transcends individual disciplinary fields and it could be designed to provide training for many different types of organizations. With appropriate testing and evaluation, it is possible for Learners to develop skills in intercultural development and visual literacy at the same time. It is unclear if including visual literacy skill development would further assist the Learner with their growth and development in life. To understand the benefits of incorporating visual literacy skill-building, it would be beneficial to conduct an additional study that compares Learners who participate in standard intercultural development training, and Learners who have completed this training. Conclusion The pedagogical approach and lesson plans I developed for this thesis were designed to impact large groups of Learners by building upon fundamental skills to strengthen human connection and empathy across cultural differences. This work connects people together in order to grow, share, and engage with one another. It places value on the ability to self reflect, co-create, tell stories, connect and relate to one another. Learners will gain the tools to continue evolving as they enter new cultural communities with tools for establishing reciprocal, empathetic, and meaningful relationships. Many of these tools are grounded in art education approaches to encourage collaborative making through experiential learning, sharing, and meaning-making from cultural artifacts and interpreting what we see in unfamiliar scenarios. However, most importantly this work also provides timely, fundamental skills METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 136 to encourage antiracist mindsets and actions at individual and collective levels. As of February, 2022, there have been 36 states who have adopted or introduced laws that prevent teaching about race and racism in schools (Stout & Wilburn, 2022). These laws expand outwards and many incorporate teaching about gender, sex, biases, subjectivities, identity, and the contributions of historically excluded racial and ethnic groups to US history. Many Americans do not understand what Critical Race Theory is and push to ban it due to their own discomfort (Ramjug & Ramjug, 2022). Perhaps by banning Critical Race Theory and many of the books, theorists, and ideas that this thesis is grounded in, some people believe our country will be less divisive. However, by turning a blind eye to the systemic inequities that are woven into the fabric of our society, we perpetuate White settler ideologies and hide the truth of our oppressive history towards marginalized identities. The muting of lived experiences and histories is shameful and functions to recolonize. It is only through challenging ourselves to rethink our patterning, biases, and subjectivities that empathy for one another can be fostered and our harmful patterns can be broken. Through intercultural communication, self exploration, identity work, cultural learning, and rethinking the way we see and interpret the world, we can work together to create a more just, inclusive, and equitable society. Imagine a society that places value on all human experiences and histories, and the power of learning and unlearning; where critical race theory and other important critiques of white settler mentality can be prioritized to begin the long road ahead toward dismantling the systems of power and privilege that foster an exclusive world. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY 137 References Adams, M. (2016). Pedagogical foundations for social justice education. In Teaching for diversity and social justice (p. 45-72). Routledge. Adams, M., & Bell, L. A. (2016). Theoretical foundations for social justice education. In Teaching for diversity and social justice (pp. 21-44). Routledge. Averinou, M., & Ericson, J. (1997). 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In M. Vande Berg, R.M. Paige & K. Hemming Lou (Eds.), Student learning abroad. (pp. 162- 188). Stylus Publishing, LLC. METAMORPHOSIS: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCIES THROUGH ART EDUCATION PEDAGOGY Appendix A Sample IDI Profile Report that would be generated after a Learner completes the IDI evaluation. 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