Using Visual Arts & Design to Support Student Learning in Nassau
Program Focus
Using Visual Arts and Design to Support Student Learning in Nassau is a collaborative DukeEngage program between students and faculty from Chrysalis International Development, the University of The Bahamas, Seemore Global, and Bahamian K-12 educators, with the goal of furthering understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, using design tools and processes, to create lesson plans that will improve the learning experience for students in Nassau, who are engaging in remote learning in a context of unreliable internet service.
Overview
The effects of COVID-19 on K-12 schooling in The Bahamas have been similar to that of the United States, with schools transitioning exclusively to remote learning. This has resulted in challenges as many homes in Nassau have unreliable internet, which is greatly compromised because The Bahamas is often in the direct path of tropical storms and hurricanes. In fact, the nation is still in the process of recovering from the damages Hurricane Dorian caused to much of the Bahamian infrastructure. As such, educators face challenges in maintaining uninterrupted contact with students during school hours and in keeping students engaged with academic content during internet outages. These challenges have the potential to result in substantial losses in learning for a large cohort of students, particularly those in lower grades. Students from Duke University will collaborate with their counterparts from Chrysalis International Development, the University of The Bahamas, Seemore Global, and with local educators to create elementary, middle, and high school lesson plans that cover core content areas such as science, math, and social studies/civics using skills from the visual arts and design. Students will create journals in the form of online blogs and incorporate design tools such as mind maps and butterfly diagrams as they explore the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Virtual Partnership Opportunities
Students at will have the opportunity to work with professionals and students virtually with interests in education and the visual arts, as part of a team that will bring together various stakeholders with an interest in merging education and science with the visual arts to improve K-12 schooling.
For more information, visit DukeEngage Using Visual Arts and Design to Support Student Learning in Nassau
Program Partners
Kathleen Grevers is the Director of Education for Fashion Revolution USA and Founder of Seemore Global, an international company for the global development of sustainable skillsets within the footwear, automotive, and the fashion industry. Her decades of teaching at Rhode Island School of Design were at the forefront of her immersion into international relations (study-abroad programming) for sustainable fashion initiatives. Currently, Kathleen teaches Ethics in Fashion, Global Studies of the Clothing Industry, Cultural impact of Sneakers and leads international engagements and courses for Northeastern University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, College for CreativeStudies (Detroit) as well as programming for the sustainable footwear certification at Lasell University. She received her MS in International Relations at Northeastern University (Boston) and a BS in Textile, Marketing, and Design from the University of Rhode Island.
Steph Kelly is the Executive Director of Chrysalis: an international organisation made up of local people, and sectoral experts that are committed to the furtherance of resilience and the protection of rights and dignity. Steph’s role occupies an aerial perspective at the intersection of sectors and disciplines. Over the past 30+ years, she has worked with communities, the private sector, the public sector and policy-makers, institutions and technical specialists, civil society and INGO’s, multilateral organisations, and multinationals. She regularly consults with governments and the United Nations Family. Steph is committed to careful, community-driven, owner-led methods; in order to achieve the most respectful and holistic response, possible; that is underpinned by technical speciality and capability expertise for blended, contextual, optimised output. She works to join up grass-roots, institutional and policy stakeholders for an improved culture of resilience, that overcomes traditional divisions. Steph is devoted to mitigating vulnerabilities of any kind. While Steph, overarchingly works in the arenas of resilience and rights; she takes a special interest in the oversight of education and knowledge-transfer, training and capacity-building, community wellbeing, economic resilience and livelihood creation, self-sufficiency, built-resilience, and sustainability and the environment. During her career, Steph has worked on many of the world’s major, mass-disasters. She is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on Disaster Risk Reduction. Most communities are at risk because of interrelated and cascading threats and hazards. Steph and her international colleagues are working diligently to move the world’s focus more towards planning, preparedness, prevention and contingency planning; in the hope of mitigating much of the, often preventable, hardship that is caused by disaster.
DukeEngage 2021 Students
Kaya Caouki is a rising sophomore at Duke university, intending to major in both Economics and Visual & Media Studies, while pursuing a minor in Political Science. His current interests extend to behavioral economics, understanding voting patterns, and educational and racial inequality. Outside of school, Kaya has long been engaged in film, and views it as an accessible medium to portray social injustices.
Mina Jang is a rising junior at Duke University. She is currently majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing and Korean.
My name is Ja’nelle Kellam, and I am from Northern Virginia (About 30 minutes outside of DC). Although I haven’t solidified what I am choosing as a major, currently I am thinking of majoring in Biology and minoring in Medical Sociology on the Pre-med track. I’ve been interested in medicine from a very young age and have fulfilled this passion, in some capacity, through many summer programs concentrated in medicine. At Duke I am involved in The Women’s Network as Co-Lead Ambassador, and I am a tour guide. In my free time I love shopping, watching movies/tv, traveling, and having family time!
Sam Ramey is a rising junior at Duke University majoring in psychology, minoring in creative writing, and completing the innovation and entrepreneurship certificate. He is the president of Duke Men’s Club Soccer, enjoys writing screenplays, and can be found working on creative projects in his free time. Beyond what has already been mentioned, for fun he enjoys hanging out with friends, playing sports, spending time outdoors, and pushing himself out of his comfort zone.
Lydia Sellers is a rising junior majoring in Environmental Science and Policy, minoring in Education, and pursuing a certificate in Documentary Studies. Her interests include: educational inequality, climate change awareness, inadequate access to resources, the use of art and media to convey ideas, and environmental justice. She hopes to pursue a future in the field of environmental education and communication.
Sofia Silvosa is a rising sophomore at Duke University from Miami, Florida. She is interested in majoring in psychology and minoring in history. At Duke, she works in the W.I.L.D child psychology lab and is part of the Duke Independent Film Festival’s executive board. She enjoys reading, watching movies, playing volleyball and drawing.
Paris Smalley is a member of Duke University’s class of 2024. A compassionate leader and a product of a predominantly Black school district, Paris works hard as an advocate for marginalized students to ensure educational approaches are both empowering and passion-oriented. Her interest in critical pedagogy extends to her academic aspirations of pursuing a double major in philosophy and public policy. In her free time, Paris enjoys spending time with her family and friends, listening to music, and learning about critical theory.
Ayla Weiss is from northern New Jersey and is a rising sophomore in the class of 2024 at Duke University. She is interested in pursuing neuroscience and decision sciences on the pre-med track. She is interested in education too because she is curious about how people learn and process information.
Chrysalis 2021 Students
Ailís Duffy is a 19-year-old Bahamian student. She has always lived on islands; whether in The Caribbean, U.K, or Ireland; and has additionally travelled widely, internationally, as a volunteer with numerous humanitarian and environmental stakeholders. Her main home-bases are Nassau and Abaco, in The Bahamas. Ailís has been interested in resilience and rights for as long as she can remember. In particular, she has a deep understanding of the many vulnerabilities that are often present in Small Island States: especially in the CARICOM region, that is at additional risk from natural hazard. Ailís is an artist and designer whose mission is to challenge societal and environmental issues. She hopes that her work will reach across traditional divides to communicate themes in a way that will ideally attract comment, bring about collaboration, encourage knowledge transfer; and help to effect change for a better future, for people and the planet.
Kinza Johnson is a recent high school graduate from Laurel Springs School and an upcoming freshman at the University of the Bahamas. Her hobbies include playing tennis, listening to music, writing and reading.
Reagan Mackenzie (from Nassau, Bahamas) is a rising second-year student at the University of Reading in the UK. Her degree program is Law, and her interests include videography and photography, thriller films, reading, and spending time with family and friends. She also thoroughly enjoys community service and giving back in any way possible. In 2018 she and her cohort founded an afterschool community centre known as The FindU Foundation.
