ACTIVITY 1 Breakout Groups

Activity Description:

Present the following Story and Instructions:

Once upon a time there was a certain Raja who caused all the people of his kingdom who were born blind to gather together in one place.

Imagine you are one of these blind people.

Pretend that once you were gathered together, the Raja showed you an elephant and said to you: 'Here is an elephant,' and to one person he presented the head of the elephant, to another its ears, to another a tusk, to another the trunk, the foot, back, and tail, saying to each one that that piece alone was the elephant.

Imagine that after you have each had a chance to explored your piece, which you now believe is the WHOLE 'elephant', the Raja went to each one of you and said,

"Well, blind person, do you know your elephant? Tell me, first what sort of thing is an elephant and then convince the others that your description is the right one."

Instructions for Facilitators:

• Randomly assign each student a piece of the elephant: flag, tree trunk, wall, snake, rope, sword, and rug. (online post url's into 'simple text' box, face-to-face hand out the graphic.)
• Discuss stereotyping, assumptions, impression formation in interpersonal interactions.
• Link the experience to 'real' life.
• Identify issues in 'perception' (i.e. power, responsibility taking, empathy, communication pitfalls, expectations, 'you see what you know').
• What specific tools would be useful to increase awareness and 'see what is'. (I.e. 'Check it out)

Instructions to Students:

• Pretend you are the blind character in the picture assigned to you, and you believe the piece of elephant you received IS the WHOLE elephant.
• Describe your piece to others and convince them your 'elephant' is THE most accurate one!

Processing Instructions:

• Allow discussion of assumptions and persuasions
• Keep framing the data generated in preparation for the Perception Wheel.
• Keep emphasizing what was data, and what was interpretation.
• Observe, explore and feedback how assumptions are made.
• Discuss expectations and attachments to assumptions.
• After students post their descriptions and discuss them, (read or post) the John Godfrey Saxe poem into each room (if not done already)
  

The Blind Men, The Elephant, and Concurrent Engineering

With Apologies to John Godfrey Saxe (1816 - 1887)

Modification by Gretchen L. Van Meer

It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant (though all of them were blind),
That each by observation might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant, and, happening to fall
Against his broad and burly side, at once began to call:
"I see," said he, "the elephant is very like a wall!"

The second, feeling of the tusk, cried, "Ho! What have we here?
So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant is very like a spear!"

The third approached the animal, and, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands, thus boldly up and spake,
"I see," said he, "the elephant is very like a snake!"

The fourth reached out his eager hand and felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like is mighty plain, " said he,
"'Tis clear enough the elephant is very like a tree!"

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, said, "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most. Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant is very like a fan!"

The sixth no sooner had begun about the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail that fell within his scope,
"I see," said he, "the elephant is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion exceeding stiff and strong,
though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

So oft in group endeavors, the members of the team
Rail on in utter ignorance of what each other mean,
As if it were an elephant not one of them has seen.

Sample Process Questions:

In the poem, each blind man compares the Elephant to something different (side=wall; tusk=spear; trunk=snake; knee=tree; ear=fan; tail-rope,) because each one assumes the whole elephant is like the part he touched/perceived/experienced. It is easy for each blind man to jump to conclusions based on limited experience and first impressions. They each assume they have the whole truth just because each knows one part of the truth. They rely on first impressions to tell them all they need to know. Had they shared their perspectives they would have come to a more complete understanding of the truth, illustrating that working together is more effective than working alone. Can you relate this experience to 'real' life?

• If we can only see what we know, are you aware of how you form your impressions of others?
• How may our natural tendency to judge and evaluate hinder the communication process?
• How may checking out your assumptions be a valuable interpersonal tool to overcome these limitations of our natural tendency to judge and attend selectively?
• Focus on "What did you read, see, observe...?"
• What did you interpret from what you have observed; what specifically led you to your conclusion...?
• How did you feel about your interpretation, about what you taught was happening...?
• What did you mean to do about, what were your intentions...?
• What are you doing about what you need/want…?