Reality vs. Perception

1
Reality vs. Perception

• Encoding, Decoding
• Drawing Conclusions
• by Larry Kretz

2
Objective

• These projects will demonstrate the bias people
  encounters when interpreting images.
• Cultural
• Contextual
• Personal

3
Introduction

• This is a 5 min demonstration.
• 1 Each student gets a paper and a partner.
• 2 Partners stand back to back and one gives
  instructions on how to make a snowflake while
  both partners tear and fold the paper.
• 3 After 4 or 5 folds and tears they compare their
  results.
• 4 Why results are different?

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Encoding and Decoding Instructions

• Cultural bias
• Preconceived Ideas
• What does a snowflake look like?
• Contextual bias
• Points of View
• Your left or mine?
• Personal bias
• Points of reference
• How Big is big? How small is Small?

5
Class Project

• Image analysis Class comes up with ideas of
  what the image represents.
• The ideas tend to follow in categories dependant
  upon certain bias.
• Images have many different meanings.

6

• Dot Circle Rectangle Sphere
• Sun Moon Planet Mars Star Space
• Art Paper Eye Nose
• Ball Camera Hole Marble Button Orange
• Gumball Meatball Cookie Candy Pizza

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Guided Discovery

• Whos Line is it.
• Have students research subject being studied and
  find pictures from the Library of Congress at
  http//LOC .gov.
• Break into groups and write 3 stories one being
  historically accurate and the other 2 fanciful
  but believable.
• Present projects to class and have groups vote on
  which story they believe accurate.
• See which group is the best at picking out the
  real story and why.

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Modeling the Story
Who What When Where Why
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Who

• Cops arresting people
• Robber stealing from people
• Mass murderer
• Gangs fighting
• FBI raid
• Drug Bust
• People playing a joke

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What
When 1980 1960 1940 Now 1800s

• Drug bust
• Massacre
• Raid
• Joke

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Where
Why Getting arrested Robbed Guy is angry Drug
raid Gang fight Joke Pretend

• Garage
• Warehouse
• Cicero
• USA
• Chicago

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Back-story

• Compare their ideas of what is happening in the
  picture with the original event.
• Draw conclusions about how we view historical
  events differently now than people from other
  times and places.

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• Give students time to explore the web site and
  prepare stories.
• Next day finish up stories. Have groups present
  their projects. Everyone keeps a record of their
  votes on which version of events they believe
  real.
• Which project did most people get right, which
  was misinterpreted most often and why.

14

• Special thanks to the fourth grade at St.
  Frances of Rome School for being my guinea pigs.

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• The End