Mirror Project

The Mirror Project is an initiative aimed at initiating dialogue and prompting conversation regarding various aspects of student and social life. This was done through various activities and games in order to help students open up about any issues they may want to talk about. Each activity was thoroughly discussed with the student care department prior to implementation. Activities included 'Random Conversation' (to stimulate dialogue), 'Ask me Anything' where students can ask the Mirror Project team any questions (generally of a personal nature), and many others. These activities were also conducted by our seniors, and they reported to have successfully created a comfortable space wherein the students were able to share their thoughts and opinions without inhibition.

 

 

The majority of our meetings as a team revolved around the same question: how do we get people to talk candidly? We spent the lion's share of our time in sessions working on activities that would produce an honest conversation. A good source for such discourse was our first activity called 'Spectrum'. Spectrum is a game designed to instigate the expression and justification of opinions. Students had to choose one of 4 options, indicating 4 levels of agreement or disagreement (including Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree). Prompts are read out, after which participants are made to indicate their stance. We knew that one of the most important aspects of making the discussions honest and fruitful was making smaller groups. Each group was led by two members of the Mirror Project. The majority of our time went in 'simulations activities,' wherein a member of the group would be the session leader, while the rest of the group would play 8th graders.

 

Then, our session with Grade 8 finally happened! The most popular activity, as predicted, was Spectrum; most students seemed keen to express their opinions on the statements we made, prompting open conversations of high quality. In fact, we even got requests to conduct these sessions on a weekly basis! To keep the momentum going, team Mirror Project scheduled a session with Grade 11. We made modifications to the Grade 8 session plan in order to suit the interests and level of maturity of the 11th graders. Concurrently, we brainstormed ways to conduct similar activities for our teachers, so as to learn about the issues they are facing in the virtual school environment. We really look forward to conducting these sessions and many more so we may achieve our goal of creating a safe space for students to open up!