Teaching Sequence

10 minutes – Part A: Visions
20 minutes – Part B: Communicating Vision: How painting can transform communities (TED Talk)
45 minutes – Part C: Individual Vision Board/Collage
15 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Visions

Step 1.

Introduce the lesson by informing students that they will be considering the idea of a community vision and how they can communicate their own unique vision using a variety of techniques. Explain that before looking at some specific examples of real community visions, they will reflect on their own experience of the community by completing a Y-Chart. Point out that this thinking tool encourages abstract and broad thinking about a topic by engaging with the senses and connecting with how they feel about their community. By considering their experience first, they will understand how a community vision is about a future that responds to current hopes and aspirations.

Invite students to use the template on their Student Worksheet to list some reflections on their own community. Give them five minutes and encourage them to think honestly and carefully. Their Y-Chart need not list only positive things but rather, should be an honest reflection of how they perceive their own community.

If students need prompting, they could consider their school community instead. Alternatively, the following questions might help them:

What are some of the ‘sights’ or ‘sounds’ of the local community?
What would be the things visitors remember about the community after they visit?
What are your own thoughts about living in the community?

Project this Y-Chart on the whiteboard (or draw it with whiteboard markers) and invite students who are comfortable with sharing their thoughts to take turns to write some of their reflections on the board. Facilitate a brief discussion with the class about the diversity of responses. This part of the activity could be completed as a class discussion if there is not adequate space for movement in the room.

Step 2.

Project this Community Visions Factsheet and read through the key points with the class. It is also embedded on the Student Worksheet. Point out the importance of having plans that will help bring the vision to fruition and that visions are all about inspiring people to action to contribute towards change in their community.

Explain that community visions are important to thinking about the future. To demonstrate this, use the Internet to show the class your local community vision (usually on a council website or able to be found using a quick Google search such as “community name + community vision”). If your local community does not have a readily available vision to look at with the class, you can find a nearby city or town to look at, or use this link to go to the community vision for Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia.

Discuss with students anything that stands out about the community vision, comparing it to the key points on the Community Visions factsheet. Ask students to identify things they agree or disagree with and explain why.

Part B: Communicating Vision: How painting can transform communities (TED Talk)

Step 1.

Explain to students that they are now going to watch how a different kind of vision for a community was put into action and the impact it had. This talk was delivered by artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn and is about how large-scale painting transformed two communities.

While watching the video, encourage students to use the space provided on the Student Worksheet to make notes on the type of vision being presented, the ways in which the vision was achieved and the impact it had. Students should also note the way the vision is being communicated by the presenters (such as with images to demonstrate the story and communication strategies such as humour, anecdotes and images).

Haas&Hahn: How painting can transform communities - TED (youtu.be/iCXfJVCg1LA)

Step 2.

After watching the video, facilitate a discussion about the key points being made by the presenters. Prompt students by asking them to identify some of the features of visions that were applicable to the anecdotes and examples just watched. Students might refer to the fact that this wasn’t a formal council vision but rather a project that had approval and thus different planning and consultation stages. They might also refer to the way the community responded and engaged with the project.

Ask students to consider the impact that this talk had on the audience. Use the following prompts to facilitate a brief discussion:

What do you think was the take-home message from the presenters?
How did the presenters engage their audience?
What communication techniques were used throughout the presentation (such as humour, visual prompts, anecdotes, gesture and movement)?

Part C: Individual Vision Board/Collage

Step 1.

Explain to students that in the next part of the lesson they will be working individually to construct their own vision board/collage for their local community or the world in which they would like to live. Students have a fairly broad scope for how they would like to construct this vision. Point out to the class that they do not need to simply write a report or extended piece of prose for their vision (though they can if they want). Rather, they are encouraged to think in creative and critical ways to express their vision and inspire their prospective audience.

Students could used online digital tools such as padlet or dreamitalive (membership required) or computer programs such as PowerPoint or Publisher to produce their vision, or, they can draw and write and use printed materials to construct a poster collage. This activity can be extended or constrained at individual discretion and based on the resources available.

Draw students’ attention to the following prompts on their Student Worksheet to help with their planning and production of their vision board/collage:

Consider the vision: Reflect on your community or what you want to see or achieve in the world. If you are stuck, think smaller and perhaps consider a vision for your school. You could revisit or complete another Y-Chart, thinking this time about what you want your community to look like, sound like and feel like.
Think about how you can communicate this: Is your vision best told through collage or montage of images? Can you enhance your vision with the use of audio/sound effects and video footage or gifs (to do this you would need to think about the program or application to use)? If you are a strong writer, could you communicate your vision with a short narrative piece, or perhaps some poetry? What images can you use?
Think abstractly: Can you use any visual metaphors or symbolism in your vision board/collage? For example, could you use the colour green to represent a sustainable community? Or perhaps a skateboard to symbolise enough public spaces for young people? Could a circle or interlocking rings represent unity or your community’s diversity?

Differentiation: This activity could be extended or constrained at individual discretion and based on the resources available.

Reflection

After students have completed their vision boards/collages, invite them to form small groups and spend some time sharing their vision with each other. Encourage them to question each other about what they have produced, with group members taking it in turns to interpret and explain the different elements of the vision board/collage.

This could be completed as a class if smaller groups are not feasible. Alternatively, vision boards/collages could be displayed anonymously and students participate in a gallery walk style presentation and interpret the various productions.

The following questions can be used to facilitate a reflective discussion:

What did you notice about the diversity of visions that exist within the class?
Did anyone else’s vision appeal to you? Why was this?
What did you learn about communicating a vision to others?

Aspire Generation - Tuning In to Community Vision

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