Category: Schools of Integrity
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Joslyn Art Museum Walk
By admin,
Click here to download a PDF version of this activity.
Background
This activity was developed for use by schools attending the 2011 Ethical Literacy® Conference for an evening expedition to the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
Relates to
- Schools of Integrity finding “Critical Thinking Skills Driving and Connecting Learning”
Objectives
- To find the connection between art and ethics
Audience
Administrators, faculty, and students
Timing
Allow for at least 60 minutes
Preparation
Prepare “Art Walk Cards” that include the Activity and Prompts included below. Explain to participants the process in advance and ask if they have any questions. Pay attention to see if you need to assist in the grouping process explained in Activity step 2.
Activity
Step 1. Select a collection (culture, style, or period) or particular exhibition from the museum’s vast array of art works.
Step 2. Identify and join a small group of other participants who have expressed an interest in observing art from the same collection or exhibit. Briefly discuss your selection and agree to support each other during a concluding reflective conversation while at the museum.
Step 3. Once at the museum, spend some time away from your group and select one art work that speaks to you ethically. It may represent a core value, a right-versus-right dilemma already encountered, or an event in history. Use the prompts below to guide your observation.
Step 4. Now rejoin your group and revisit each member’s selected art work. Share reasons why your selection appealed to you ethically. Once you’ve shared your perceptions of the work, invite group members to continue the conversation on your selection. Repeat this process with each group member until you’ve viewed and discussed each selection.
Step 5. Finally, as a group, explore relationships between the works of art.
- How does this work relate to other works selected by your group from an ethical viewpoint?
- How does one work change when seen in context with other works of art?
- How has this experience helped you to recognize that diverse audiences may perceive different ethical meanings and reactions when engaging with same works of art?
- What evidence in the work of art indicates that the artist acted ethically to contribute to improvement locally, regionally, globally?
Prompts
Initial Reaction
- What is your initial reaction to this work of art?
- What is the first thing you notice? Where does your eye go first? Why?
- What do you find interesting about this work? What does it say to you?
The Label
- Read the label. What is the title of the piece? What does it tell you about the work?
- Look at the date. When was it made? How does this inform your interpretation?
- What other label information can provide clues to the work of art?
Objective Observation
- Suspending judgment, consider everything you see in the work of art. What do you see?
Subjective Observation
- What does the work of art make you think about?
- How does it make you feel?
- How would you describe this work of art to someone who has never seen it?
- How does the artist use materials, subject matter, color, composition to communicate his/her ideas?
Reflection
See Activity Step 5.
Schools of Integrity Gallery
Making Ethics “Doable”
By admin,
A professional development activity for faculty and school leadership
Step 1: Introduce your audience to the Schools of Integrity project and to the ten research findings that the project uncovered. You can find these at http://ethical-literacy.org/schools-of-integrity/. Discuss the basic notion of ethics as “being good or doing good.” Refer to research, such as IGE’s core shared ethical values from around the world, as appropriate. Also if you have not already done so, describe the Ethical Literacy® learning community (need help describing the community email us: education@globalethics.org).
Step 2: Explain that ethics is not easy and does not happen overnight. When faced with a task as daunting as changing the ethical culture of a school, people may have an easier time getting started if they recognize and appreciate their accomplishments, rather than focusing on what is lacking. Also explain that the following method of idea generation is designed to provide a step-by-step structure, to replace the wide-open, intimidating blank page brainstorm so often suggested.
Step 3: Small group work. Divide into small groups, based on these school constituents: students, faculty, administration and staff. Provide flip chart paper and markers or post-its for each group. Assign each group the following task:
“Take five minutes to brainstorm and list some instances of your constituency group acting in an outwardly ethical manner over the current or previous school year. What has been done that should be heralded as evidence of this school constituency exhibiting integrity?”
Time the groups for five minutes. Encourage each group to record as many ideas as possible. Use your judgment as facilitator. Provide more time if needed.
Step 4: Assign someone from each group to share/explain results. (Consider providing the group that generates the most examples with some small token of recognition, like a gold star or sticker, as appropriate, to make the activity more fun.)
Step 5: Explain to your audience that now the bar is set. These great examples constitute the bar, and this school year we look forward to exceeding it, by putting plans in place to increase the evidence of integrity school-wide.
Step 6: Break the large group back into smaller groups again, but this time create mixed groups, so each has all constituencies represented. Explain that mixed groups will provide an increased range of perspectives, representing all constituencies. (Consider using this quote by way of explanation: “Only the insights of the outsider will correct the inevitable errors of the insider.” William James.) Provide flip chart paper and markers or post-its for each group. Then assign each group the following task:
“Your group is now charged with brainstorming to identify ways to promote ethics over the remainder of the current (or the upcoming) school year. The number of examples generated by each constituency group must equal or exceed the winning number from the earlier exercise (Step 3).”
Step 7: Conclude this activity by assigning someone from each group to share/explain their list of ideas. As facilitator, keep track of the ideas that the groups have in common. After all the groups have shared, provide a summary of the common ideas, and engage the groups in planning the next steps, using the following questions.
- Who will be in charge of implementing each idea?
- When should we touch base on this work again, if at all?
- How will we know if our work has been effective?
© 2008 Institute for Global Ethics®. All rights reserved.
Ethics Outside the Humanities
Trustees’ Inquiry
My Values, Your Values, Our Values
By admin,
Objective
To help students identify and communicate ethical values with each other.
Activity
Working with a partner, each of you identifies an ethical value that has special meaning for you. You may select one or your school’s shared values or an ethical value that you hold for your family and friends. Tell your partner the value you selected and why it is important to you. Your partner is to do the same.
Now, partners find another pair. Share your partner’s ethical value and why it is important to him/her with the new pair. Do not share your own. Have each person do the same. Listen carefully to what is said and ask questions if necessary. Within this group of four, pick a new person to share his/her values with the next group.
Each group of four is to find another group of four. Repeat the sequence for sharing each other’s ethical values, but now in a group of eight.
After sharing in this group, the teacher will ask for feedback from the students on this activity.
Reflection
- What was it like to share your partner’s ethical value with a new pair or quartet?
- What did you discover as you continued to share each other’s ethical values in larger groups?
- What did you discover to be similar or different about our values?
- What did you learn from this experience and how will that help you in the future?
When to Use
- This activity can be used to bring greater awareness of individual and shared values within the school community. It also can be used to reinforce the school’s shared values.
To Download this activity as a PDF, click here.
© 2009 Institute for Global Ethics. All rights reserved.
This activity as part of the Ethical Literacy® program, includes implementation and communication strategies of the Institute for Global Ethics® and its education program. Further, it uses components of the Institute’s trademarks and copyrights including Ethical Fitness®, Moral Courage™, and Ethics Newsline®. You may not copy, quote, or publish these materials without our written permission. Please contact us if you would like permission.
Trust Café
Values-Based Discipline Referral Form
Why My Subject?
Values Journal
Shared Values Snapshots
Art and Ethics
By admin,
Objective
What’s the connection between self expression and ethics? Could adolescents’ natural need to express themselves and to explore self-expression (through music, visual arts and other forms) be a way to encourage more thinking about “what’s right?”
Audience, Timing, & Preparation
Audience: Students
Timing: Long-term project
Preparation: Be prepared to allow students to discover what speaks to them (see, NOTE). Provide your own “snapshot of what speaks to you” as a model. Collect examples to use with future audiences.
Activity
Students need to share a piece of artwork with their group. The assignment is: “Present a snapshot of artwork that ‘speaks to you’ about one or more of the ethical values of our school” (see, NOTE)
Once students understand the kinds of art you want them to explore, remind them of the assignment: “Present a snapshot of artwork that ‘speaks to you’ about one or more of the ethical values of our school. Your snap shot can be a stanza, scene, segment, or any other excerpt that demonstrates why you chose it.” Ask students to prepare responses to these questions:
- How did you discover this art?
- Do you think this art speaks to very few or lots of people your age? Why or why not?
- Which core ethical values does this artwork represent to you, and why?
- Does this artwork remind you about anything from your own life, or inspire your hopes and dreams? Explain.
- If you could talk to this artist, what questions would you ask and what would you want to say?
Reflection
Return for updates on artwork from time to time – do responses to the above questions change over time?
When to Use
You may need to provide time to study art generally first, but once underway this activity could be used to keep the teacher updated on art trends and student interests periodically across the year.
Note
Students may need some time to learn or think about/explore what to share. As a first step, talk to your students about what “counts” as art, or what they consider “art”, if the broad definition is “any form of expression that is meaningful.” This is an opportunity to find out what art forms your students are engaging with (if any) to make sense of the world and their lives. If they can’t think of any “artwork” that “speaks to them”, take your time in helping them to explore and connect with human kind through the arts! Encourage them to consider a Facebook Photo, a YouTube excerpt, art from an online gallery, an acceptable “graphic novel” excerpt (Maus by Art Spiegelman is an example) or any form of “traditional art” like music, paintings, literature etc.
Click here to download a PDF version of this activity.
© 2010 Institute for Global Ethics. All rights reserved.
This activity as part of the Ethical Literacy® program, includes implementation and communication strategies of the Institute for Global Ethics® and its education program. Further, it uses components of the Institute’s trademarks and copyrights including Ethical Fitness®, Moral Courage™, and Ethics Newsline®. You may not copy, quote, or publish these materials without our written permission. Please contact us if you would like permission.
Trustees Inquiry 1
Trustees Inquiry 2
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