Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 1, Session 5: Understanding Mental Models | Page 56 of 93Instructional Sequence
I. Motivation (10 minutes)
Materials:
Paper, pens or pencils
A. Draw a Hand
Participants draw a simple sketch to discover how their perspective is always limited.- Distribute paper and pens or pencils to each participant. Say:
“I would like you to draw a picture of a hand on the paper I have given you. I will check with you to
see how you are doing in a few seconds. Please begin.”- After 45 seconds, announce the end of the drawing time even if some participants are still working
on their drawing. Ask how many people looked at their hands or their neighbors’ hands to draw the
picture. Most likely, very few participants took advantage of that opportunity. Ask:
“If you did not look at your hand to make your drawing, how did you draw it? (Possible
answers: I thought about how a hand looks; I drew a hand the way I always draw one.)Why do you think so few people took the opportunity to look at their own hand while making
their drawing? (Possible answers: People already know what a hand looks like; People just
didn’t think of doing that.)It is not uncommon that we take an action based on a picture or idea that we have in our mind
instead of looking at the world around us. What are some other situations where we do
something or respond to someone without using other information that is nearby? (Possible
answers: Finishing the sentence of a friend who is talking to you; Answering someone’s
question before he or she finishes; Deciding whether you like someone before you’ve gotten
to know him or her; Determining you can’t do something before you’ve tried; Doing a school
assignment or a project at home without finding out what the teacher or your parents
wanted.)What was the picture you had of what an American Peace Corps Volunteer would be like before
I [he or she] arrived? How did you adjust that picture afterward?”“When our actions or speech are based upon the ‘picture’ or ideas we have in our mind, we say that
we are using a ‘mental model.’ A mental model is the way we look at and think about the world
around us. It is based upon our experiences, the things our parents have told us, what we learned in
school, the lessons of our religion, our cultural point of view, and many other factors.“Having a mental model means we can respond quickly and appropriately in many situations
without having to stop and figure them out. For example, if your teacher says you are going to have
a test next week, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect and how to prepare.