Running head: Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan: Spirituality and Meaning Making Evinn Hickey, Lakeisha Jackson, and Eden Tullis Seattle University SDAD 578 March 21, 2013

Lesson Plan Introduction Multicultural Competence In regards to spirituality and meaning making, as individuals on this team, we each define multicultural competence as: Having an understanding of and an appreciation for the diverse styles of spiritual expression. Begins with an understanding of ones own spiritual style. (Evinn Hickey) Maintaining a firm understanding of ones own beliefs while acknowledging and accepting that other people have the right to their own beliefs. Even if someones beliefs do not align with ones own, it doesnt mean that one set of beliefs is better or superior. (Keisha Jackson) The ability and effort of communicating and understanding ones own spiritual and

personal values in relation to how others define their spiritual and personal values while also taking into account the context/culture of peoples other identities. (Eden Tullis) Key Topics and Areas We identified three themes that emerged from our literature review process. The themes were: knowing ones own spiritual identity, recognizing and appreciating diverse styles of spirituality, and finally, the skills needed to explore spiritual development. As we continued to research these areas, we recognized how well these three topics fit with Popes Model of Multicultural Competence. Popes model includes development of awareness, knowledge, and skills (2004). We primarily used Popes model to frame our research and workshop. We also centered our research on faith and moral development. The works of Baxter Magolda (2001), Parks (2000), Kohlberg (1958), and Perry (1968) all informed our research and workshop development process.

Lesson Plan Activities, Goals, and Connections This is our lesson plan table. Descriptions of each section follow after the table.
Activity/description Introduction - Facilitator names - Why you are here (ex: Halloween) Icebreaker - Weather activity - Name, year, major - How are you coming into this workshop today? Multicultural competency and spirituality - Awareness (Spiritual Identity Development in College) - Knowledge (Diversity of Spirituality) - Skills (K-12) Lecture on meaning making - Spiritual Identity Development in College - Diversity of Spirituality - K-12 Skills Time 1 minute Facilitator Eden Supplies Candy & Giveaways Theoretical Framework/learning style N/A

Learning outcome/purpose Introductions SDAD 578 info Background information

5 minutes

Keisha

4 weather printouts Tape

Kolb (Doing)

To be interactive, create a safe space

1 minute

Evinn

N/A

Popes Multicultural Framework for Awareness, Knowledge & Skills *Each subgroup topic will reference one theory to practice method

15 minutes* *3-4 min each

Keisha Eden Evinn

Print 23 PowerPoint handouts

Perry, Kohlberg, Baxter Magolda, Daloz Parks, Keisha: Astin, 2004; Gehrke, 2008; Hofius, 2004; Iannetta, 2013; Kiessling, 2010; Mayhew, 2012; Nelson, 2013; Rojas, 2010; Supiano, 2010; Eden: Besecke & Mayhew; Evinn: Bellous & Csinos ,2009; Boynton,2011, Evans & Atkins,2006; Suhor, 1998; Kolb (Watching)

Objective 1: As a result of this workshop the SUYI volunteers will be able to list all four styles of spiritual expression and self-identify with one. Objective 2: As a result of this workshop the SUYI volunteers will be able to summarize their understanding of diversity in spirituality. Objectives 1 & 2

Case Study - Students engage in conversation about what they wouldve done differently Story sharing - open discussion where students and facilitators are sharing personal or professional stories Assessment

8 minutes

Keisha Eden Evinn

brief script questions

Objective 2

10 minutes

Keisha Eden Evinn

Pair up/Share up (5 min) Large group (5 min)

Kolb (Feeling)

Objective 2

3 minutes

Evinn

Print 23 copies Bring pens Giveaway SU gear

Kolb (Thinking)

Debrief

2 minutes

Eden

N/A

To gage students learning of the material and to measure the learning outcomes To leave on a positive/grateful note Giveaway SU gear

Lesson Plan Introduction

Having the topic of spirituality and meaning making for our workshop presentation made us realize that other intersections of multicultural competence are discussed more often in Higher Education. That left us wanting to make sure we were very intentional about why this topic was important to social justice, service learning, and diversity. We all introduced ourselves, shared a little about the workshop as a class project, and gave a brief example about something that was observed at Bailey-Gatzert Elementary School. Not too long ago at Bailey-Gatzert, a Seattle University Youth Initiative volunteer was talking to a student about Halloween, assuming the student observed and celebrated the holiday. The student had no idea what the volunteer was talking about. The anecdote demonstrated how Halloween is a Western, American idea, and we all have to always be aware of different peoples beliefs, observations, and practices, especially in a setting as diverse as Bailey-Gatzert. Icebreaker The icebreaker for this workshop took about five minutes. We were conscious of how this time frame could change depending on the number of attendees present. Our first session had four students whereas the second session had 11 attendees (three SU students and eight Preview Days prospective students). The icebreaker used was the weather activity. We arrived early with tape and four printed weather signs sunny, rainy, cloudy, and stormy and placed the signs on four separate walls. After introductions, we invited each person in the room to participate by getting up and moving to the weather sign that best represented where they were coming into this workshop from. We asked each person to state their name, academic year, major, and how are you coming into this workshop today? specifically making a tie into the topic of the workshop.

Lesson Plan After the icebreaker concluded, we thanked the attendees for sharing and participating. We also made an analogy between a persons mood and the weather and how both relate to

spirituality and meaning making. Based on Kolbs model, this activity engaged the learning style of doing (2010). The purpose was to be interactive and create a safe space and natural pathway into the workshop content. Multicultural competency and spiritualty The purpose of this workshop element was to frame our lecture on spiritualty and meaning making within Popes Model of Multicultural Competence. We introduced Popes Model (2004) and explained how it involves the development from awareness, to knowledge, and finally to skills, with regard to understanding diverse others. We then translated this to spiritualty and meaning making. We equated awareness with knowing ones own spiritual identity, knowledge with knowing about the diversity of spiritualty, and skills with best practices for working with students on spirituality and meaning making topics. This brief overview of multicultural competency and spirituality set the stage for our lecture of meaning making. Lecture on meaning making Our lecture was important because it did set the tone for engagement from the participants during our case study and story-telling sections. We built our framework around the theorists who focused on self-authorship and faith development (Baxter Magolda, 2001; Parks, 2000). We also utilized other theorists who focused on moral and ethical development (Kohlberg, 1958; Perry, 1968). By bridging the gap between moral and faith development, we established our three sub-sections: spiritual identity development in college (Astin, 2004; Gehrke, 2008; Hofius, 2004; Iannetta, 2013; Kiessling, 2010; Mayhew, 2012; Nelson, 2013; Rojas, 2010; Supiano, 2010), knowledge of diverse styles of spirituality (Besecke, 2001;

Lesson Plan Mayhew, 2004), and skills to work with K-12 students on spiritual topics (Bellous & Csinos, 2009; Boynton, 2011; Evans & Atkins, 2006; Suhor, 1998). The flow of the actual presentation allowed 15 to 20 minutes for this lecture, and the three of us spoke to our designated sub-sections of research for about three to seven minutes. Because the purpose of this section was to intentionally address our two objectives, we gave subtle answers for the questions that were included on the assessment. Case study During the case study we attempted to engage the attendees in Kolbs watching style of learning (2010) by showing them an example of how the content learned in the lecture could happen in a real life situation. We each role played a part from the script (see appendix for full

script). This script was meant to be extreme so that more meaningful conversation was generated among the attendees. Following the role play/case study, attendees engaged in discussion about what they saw and what they wouldve done differently. This section only took eight to 10 minutes. There were guiding question from us as facilitators to generate conversation among the attendees. Also, achieving Objective two was the main purpose behind the case study portion of the workshop. Story Sharing Before presenting, we acknowledged that discussing spirituality and meaning making can be a new topic for college students to consider. After having developed a comfort level in the room, the environment of sharing was ripe. This was an open discussion where we asked the attendees to engage in sharing personal or professional stories. We asked the attendees to get into pairs and discuss their personal experiences and ideas around spirituality and meaning making. By pairing them up, our hope was that it did not feel like such high-risk activity. This section of

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the lesson plan addressed engaging the way attendees feel (Kolb). It also allowed the attendees a space for vocalizing where they were at in their journey. After five to seven minutes of talking in pairs, we invited the pairs to share with the large group if they were comfortable; this was challenge by choice. Assessment We decided to create our own assessment so that we could determine if our workshop participants had met our learning outcomes. Our assessment had two pieces. The first asked students to circle the four styles of spirituality discussed out of six possible options. This was used to measure our first learning objective: As a result of this workshop, the SUYI volunteers will be able to list all four styles of spiritual expression and self-identify with one. The second piece of our assessment was a one minute paper with two questions. The questions were: What was the most valuable thing you learned from this workshop? and What is one question that remains? This piece of the assessment had two purposes. The first was to measure our second learning objective: As a result of this workshop, the SUYI volunteers will be able to summarize their understanding of diversity in spiritualty. In addition, this exercise fulfilled our thinking aspect of Kolbs theory of experiential learning. We passed out the assessment with five minutes remaining in the workshop. The participants had enough time to complete the form, and we gave them five minutes so as not want to rush anyones reflection process. We did not have students put their names on the assessments to ensure anonymity. Students were asked to turn their papers over when they were done so that they did not disturb those around them by getting up to turn the assessment in. Once everyone was done, we collected the assessments.

Lesson Plan Debrief After we collected the assessment, we thanked our participants for attending our workshop. We asked if there were any final questions before we concluded the workshop and dismissed the students. The purpose of having this quick debrief time was to leave on a positive and grateful note, and to ensure that we answered all questions as thoroughly as possible. Lessons Learned and Conclusion Number of attendees Spirituality and meaning making can be difficult to discuss in any setting, let alone in a room of strangers. This can be further exacerbated by the number of people in the room. We reflected on the level of interaction and involvement during both sessions. As previously mentioned, our first workshop session had four attendees and the second session had 11. We assumed having more attendees would generate more discussion, but this was not the case.

With our first session and its four attendees, we were able to gain more depth in the level of discussion. In this case, we assumed that because there were fewer people, the attendees felt that they could be safer with regard to the content of the workshop and sharing their personal and educational experiences. The lecture and supporting topics truly seemed to resonate with the attendees in the first session and they were able to articulate this during the story sharing time. As a contrast to this, the second session with 11 attendees did not generate as much conversation in the large group setting. The number of people seemed to be a hindrance to the attendees in their willingness to share. It could also have been because the second group was mixed with current Seattle University undergraduates and Preview Days prospective students. The topic matter and how we focused the content and presentation did not engage the entire

Lesson Plan audience since our content was very tailored to SUYI volunteers and Bailey-Gatzert. However, this speaks very well to the adaptable skills that a student affairs professional must have. Being more transparent during the case study Now, whether the attendee was a SU undergraduate or a Preview Days prospective, a

common piece of feedback we received from all attendees was that they wanted to hear what we as professionals had to say. For example, we clearly related the weather icebreaker to meaning making, and we all had brief examples of best practices of meaning making skills during our lecture, but we were less successful when relating the case study to handling the topic of spirituality. As a result, our second learning outcome of summarizing the understanding of diversity of spirituality and how that diversity may be relevant to real life situations at BaileyGatzert or their volunteering experience was not as strong as we had hoped for. We could have been more transparent about best practices during the case study. Intentional input from us could have driven the conversation along a little more. Popes knowledge, awareness, and skills (2004) were a rather implicit part of the case study, but they could have been more explicit so the attendees had a direct connection of how to apply Popes Model of Multicultural Competence. With the workshop only being 45 minutes, that time constraint left us with only a certain amount of time to cover a great deal of information; we wanted to challenge our participants to critically think about the topics of spirituality and meaning making, but we ourselves should have contributed a little more to enhance their learning experience. Desire for more experience Another challenge our team faced in putting on this workshop was presenting on a topic in which we have no actual experience. We struggled with the fact that we have rarely or never

Lesson Plan had the opportunity to engage students in developing their spirituality or meaning making. Our

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assessment results revealed that the workshop participants wanted to hear about our experiences and any tips we could offer about doing this work. They also wanted to know what the best practices we researched looked like in practice. When reflecting on these assessment results as a team, we were frustrated. We wished that we had more experience, but the reality is that we did not. We were able to present research on the topic, but were unable share about our experiences. In addition, we struggled with presenting boundaries. The research we conducted on skills for facilitating spiritual development centered on exercises that would be appropriate in a public school context. However, what is appropriate varies so significantly depending upon context. For this reason, we had a hard time presenting the boundaries regarding spirituality and meaning making. While we found this to be a valuable learning experience, we found that we were limited by our lack of practical experience. If we were to put on this workshop again, we would have liked the opportunity to engage with students about spirituality and meaning making prior to putting on the workshop. Conclusion We clearly had successes and difficulties with our topic. Our activities were executed well, and our assessment gauged our learning outcomes. The size and mixtures of the groups affected our overall presentation, and so did our direct experience in being able to articulate best practices for addressing spirituality. However, we had very engaged students that actively participated in the icebreaker and story sharing. All of them but one could identify the four styles of spiritual expression, and the feedback that we received from our assessment was that this topic pushed them to consider spirituality as an identity of multicultural competence.

Lesson Plan References Astin, A.W. (2004). Why spirituality deserves a central place in liberal education. Liberal Education, 90(2), 34-41.

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Baxter Magolda, M.B. (2009). The activity of meaning making: A holistic perspective on college student development. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 621-639. Baxter Magolda, M. (2010). In N. J. Evans, Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (Eds). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition) (pp. 183-193). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Bellous, J. E., & Csinos, D. M. (2009). Spiritual styles: Creating an environment to nurture spiritual wholeness. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 14(3), 213-224. Besecke, K. (2001). Speaking of meaning in modernity: Reflexive spirituality as a cultural resource. Sociology Of Religion, 62(3), 365-381. Retrieved from http://proxy.seattleu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr ue&db=a9h&AN=5376019&site=ehost-live Boynton, H. (2011). Children's spirituality: Epistemology and theory from various helping professions. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 16(2), 109-127. Evans, M., & Atkins, M. J. (2006). Making meaning using creativity and spirituality. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 2(1), 35-46. Gehrke, S. J. (2008). Leadership through meaning making: An empirical exploration of spirituality and leadership in college students. Journal of College Student Development, 49(4), 351-359.

Lesson Plan Hofius, S. (2004, October 26). A spiritually inclined student is a happier student. USA Today Iannetta, J. (2013, February). Widening the circle: Chaplin, organization dispel Pagan stereotypes through awareness. The Daily Orange. Kiessling, M.K. (2010). Spirituality as a component of holistic student development: Perspectives and practices of student affairs professional. Journal of College & Character, 11(3), 1-8. Kohlberg, L. (2010). In N. J Evans, Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (Eds). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition) (pp. 101-111). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Kolb, D. (2010). In N. J Evans, Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (Eds). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition) (pp. 101136-152). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Mayhew, M.J. (2004). Exploring the essence of spirituality: A phenomenological study of eight students with eight different worldviews. NASPA Journal, 41(4), 1215-1242. doi: 10.2202/1949-6605.1392 Mayhew, M.J. (2012). A multilevel examination of the influence of institutional type on the moral reasoning development of first-year students. Journal of Higher Education, 83(3), 367-388. Nelson, M. (2013, February 14). Better together club encourages open dialogue between religions. The Pioneer News. Parks, S. (2010). In N. J. Evans, Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (Eds). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition) (pp. 202211). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Lesson Plan Perry, W.G. Jr. (2010). In N. J Evans, Forney, D. S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D. & Renn, K.A. (Eds). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition) (pp. 82-98). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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Pope, R.L., Reynolds, A.L., & Mueller, J.A. (2004). Multicultural competence in student affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Rojas, R. (2010, November 20). Spirituality finds a home at college. Los Angeles Times. Suhor, C. (1998). Spirituality: Letting it grow in the classroom. Educational Leadership, 56(4), 12. Supiano, B. (2010, November 16). How spirituality traits enhance students lives and maybe their grades. Chronicle of Higher Education.

Lesson Plan Appendices Appendix A: Case study script Case Study Script A Typical Tuesday Turned Tantrum Cast of characters: - Mom: Evinn - SUYI Volunteer: Eden - Student/child: Keisha

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Keisha will read: Its a Tuesday afternoon at BGES. A mother comes into pick up her daughter. The SUYI volunteer comes to discuss the students performance. SUYI Volunteer: Hi Evinn, I have noticed that Keisha has been disengaged during our flashcard tutoring session the past few weeks. Mom: Hi, Eden. Really? What have you noticed? SUYI Volunteer: Well, she has been falling asleep during our tutoring sessions. When I asked her if shed been getting enough sleep she said your family has been observing a cultural practice that has required a lot of family time. Mom: Yes, this is a very special time/holiday for our family. My sister and her family are also visiting from California. It would be rude and culturally inappropriate if all of my children were not present as the festivities and family gatherings. SUYI Volunteer: Oh, I see. Well, I just think you should understand the effect this is having on Keisha. She is a 7 year old child and she needs to rest. If she doesnt learn to study there is no way shell succeed in school. Then thatll ruin her chances for college later in life. So maybe your family can shorten the visit times and let your children sleep. Student/child: Guiding questions (Keisha): - What cultural dynamics are at play? (awareness) - How could the characters in this scenario handle this conversation more respectfully? (knowledge/skills) - Given your knowledge volunteering at BGES, how would you respond to the parent in this scenario? (knowledge/skills)

Lesson Plan Appendix B: Assessment

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Spirituality and Meaning Making Assessment

February 28, 2013 1. Please circle the four styles of spirituality that were discussed today: Words Symbols Family Emotions Actions Prayer

One Minute Paper

2. What was the most valuable thing you learned from this workshop?

3. What is one question that remains?

Please leave your assessment with the workshop facilitators. Thank you for participating today!

Lesson Plan Appendix C: Icebreaker images

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Stormy

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Cloudy

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Windy

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Sunny

Lesson Plan Appendix D: Presentation Slides

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