JOURNEYAjA Project Curriculum

Mission: Youth affected by war, displace-ment and migration have – by their choices, their actions and expressions – a unique opportunity to raise global awareness and to break the cycle of violence. In response to this, The AjA Project offers participatory photography programs that engage refugee and im-migrant youth in the visual storytelling process, encouraging them to think criti-cally about their cultural identities and develop leadership skills for the purposes of fostering self-sufficiency, both in their individual lives and in the community.

The AjA Project (Autosuficiencia Jun-tado con Apoya -- Spanish for “sup-porting self-sufficiency”) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in San Di-ego that provides refugee and at-risk youth with the tools and training to use photography as a method of social change. Since 2000, AjA’s free, long-term programs have helped 1300 youth improve behavioral health, increase academic achievement, build cultur-al literacy and use art to advocate for social change. AjA’s programs utilize participatory photography, a reflective arts-based tool and an assestes based model to serve 300 youth annually.

AjA annually installs large-scale public ex-hibits to validate the youths’experiences, increase their social capacity and to engage the broader community in a dialogue that fosters tolerance and understanding. The youth’s photos

and narratives have been shared with over 1 million viewers through exhib-its, including the National Geographic Society’s Explorers’ Hall (2003), Unit-ed Nations Headquarter (2004) and the San Diego Museum of Art (2006).

This participatory process is the underpin-ning for The AjA Project’s interdisciplin-ary curriculum, Journey, which has been carefully crafted to provide refugee and immigrant youth with the tools to exer-cise their agency, and critically analyze their cultural identity within the context of their local and global community.

In 2008, the existing Journey curriculum was refined aafter the agency underwent a two-year qualitative and quantitative evaluation to examine the immediate effects of Journey on program partici-pants. The results indicated that Journey plays a significant role inalleviating de-spair, loss and alienation among refuee and immigrant youth who are accultur-ating to life in America. Following the evaluation, The AjA Project collaborated with expert educators, evaluators artists and behavioral health professionals to incorporate lessons that more effective-ly help youth arrive at a place of self-re-flection. This inter-disciplinary curriculum addresses psychological issues, visual literary, on-going evaluation strategies and English language acquisition skills, as they relate to the resettlement expe-rience of refugee and immigrant youth.

Journey: Module # / Unit #

JOURNEYIntroduction

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The AjA Project

Journey: Module # / Unit #

JOURNEYCurriculum Overview

Module 1: IntroductionThe Introduction module is a beginning exploration of visual literacy and the technical aspects of photography. Assignments are centered around in-class activities that are designed to teach basic composition.

In this module, students and teachers also build trustworthy relationships as students engage in a series of activities designed to elicit students’ discussion of their lived experiences. Through module activities, students develop “attitudes of respect, empathy, acceptance, caring and responding – all attitudes that facilitate trust building” (Corey, 2000).

Unit 1: Our Journey: An Introduction

Unit 2: Photography as Language

Unit 3: Migration and Journey

Unit 4: The Camera: A Technical Exploration

Unit 5: Basic Camera Techniques

Unit 6: Photography, Framing and Composition

Module 2: The PortraitIn The Portrait module, students apply the fundamentals learned in module 1 to create a self-portrait that communicates information about themselves, their socio-historical experience and their culture(s). Students will continue to expand their vocabularies, particularly as it relates to their psychosocial development.

Unit 7: The Language of Emotions: Portrait

Unit 8: Advanced Photography Techniques: Light and Mood

Unit 9: Photography and the Language of Identity: Self-Portrait

Unit 10: Photography and the Editing Process

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Module 3: Old HomeIn this module, students explore their cultural identities as they relate to their places of origin. Students develop communication skills related to the language of symbolism and identity. Students use the photographic skills learned in modules 1 and 2 to create images of their old homes.

Students continue to learn about one another through their photographs and narratives, and build a sense of community through this process.

Unit 11: Symbolism and Photography

Unit 12: Symbolism and Photography: Old Home

Module 4: LeavingIn this module, students explore memories of leaving their old homes through photography and writing. They continue to view and critique one anothers’ photographs, as they apply and refine their visual literacy skills. Students continue to practice oral and written English language skills as they write and talk about leaving behind their homes prior to coming to the United States.

From a mental health perspective, this module also allows students to explore unresolved grief over leaving their homelands, families and friends. In this module, a mental health professional works with the group to assist in the processing of unresolved trauma and grief.

Unit 13: Storytelling: Leaving Old Home

Unit 14: Narrative Photography: Leaving Old Home

Unit 15: Impact of Leaving Old Home: Group Process

Module 5: New HomeIn the final module of Journey I, students revisit their arrival to the United States and discuss life in their new community. In this final module, students integrate their past experiences with the present, their old selves with their new selves, and their formations of cultural identities. They also look forward, sharing their hopes for the future within the safe, close-knit community of students and teachers that has formed over the past several months. Students refine their photographic, written and oral skills as they prepare to exhibit their visual narratives.

Group members also work on closure as they reflect on their work and process in Journey. Students understand how they can apply what they have learned in the program to their everyday lives. Special attention is paid to the “good-bye” process at the end of the Journey program.

Unit 16: Storytelling: Arriving, First Days

Unit 17: New Home, New Accomplishments

Unit 18: My Journey: A Story in Photographs and Words

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Journey: Module # / Unit # Journey: Module # / Unit #

Module 1: Introducwtion

Unit 1: Our Journey: An Introduction

Overview

This unit serves as an

introduction to The

AjA Project. Students

also begin to build

community through a

series of activities.

Objective

Studentsunderstand that each person in the class has taken a journey from another home

that they will share their life journey (autobiography) through photography and writing

examine their own misconceptions about others as they participate in the On-the-Line activity

analyze photographs

experience a sense of connection with others as they participate in the On-the-Line activity

personalizing their sketchbook

buildtrust with peers and teachers

Facilitatorsinform students of general guidelines and ground rules for participation in the project

provide basic structure for the group

guidance through various introductory activities

model respectful listening and speaking

interveneif disruptive behavior takes place

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Journey: Module # / Unit #

ActivitiesGroup-Building Exercise: On-the LineIn this activity, students stand in a line across the room. As the facilitator calls out different statements, students step forward if the statement is in accord with their lived experience. Through this exercise, students recognize their commonalities as well as their differences; they also begin to break through stereotypes. Students are often surprised by what they share in common!

Multi Media PresentationFacilitators introduce The AjA Project by showing the AjA DVD and Our Journey: An Introduction Power-Point.

Teachers engage students during the digital slideshow by asking the following Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) questions to two or more of the photographs: “What is going on in this picture?” “What do you see that makes you say that?” “What else do you see?”

In-Class Photography ExerciseStudents set off in pairs during class on a journey to photograph items on the Photo Scavenger Hunt worksheet. This introductory exercise encourages students to search for objects to be photographed, while encouraging teamwork and student connection.

As students return to class, teachers upload images onto the computer and show a few photographs from each group. While photographs are shown, groups are encouraged to talk about their experience in looking for and photographing the objects.

Creating Sketchbooks/JournalsStudents create their own sketchbooks (if a binding machine is available). These sketchbooks will serve as a place for students to write captions, draw and write down ideas for assignments.

Students create a self-portrait collage on the cover using images, text and materials that represent things about them. Students are encouraged to include a photograph of themselves on the cover.

Guiding Questions for StudentsHow is my journey the same/different from other students in the room?What do we believe about each other when we see one another on the street? How does this perception change when we get to know one another?What do I have in common with the other people in this room?

VTS Questions & Guidelines

Facilitators show Our Journey: An Introduction PowerPoint and give students a moment to look at the images in silence. Stand near the image and look at it along with the class. Point at the image and ask, “What’s going on in this picture?” Select students who raise their hands.

As a student replies, follow the comment by pointing to the area the students is referring to in the photograph and paraphrase the student. (examples: “What I hear you saying is...,” or “You see…”)

Watch the student as you are talking to confirm that your paraphrase matches their intended communication ; watch facial expressions and body language. Ask for clarification if necessary, “Do you mean…?”

If a student makes an interpretive remark (rather than an observation), ask, “What do you see that makes you say that?” To elicit responses from as many students as possible, ask, “What more can you find?”

Let the discussion continue for ten minutes or until the students run out of things to say. Periods of silence are OK! Repeat with a second image.

Philip Yenawine and Abigail Housen developed VTS. To see VTS in action, please visit http://www.visualthinkingstrategies.org/watch-video.html

Journey: Module 1 / Unit 1

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