Building a Project-Based Multicultural Curriculum to Create a Community Culture Quilt

This project-based thesis aimed to facilitate the creation of a collaborative culture quilt that celebrates the diverse cultural backgrounds, heritage, and traditions of students and teachers. The curriculum focused on various artists from different cultures, expanding students' understanding of art and culture both inside and outside the classroom. Students were also introduced to quilting and embroidery, a new and exciting art form for many of them. By exploring their cultural backgrounds, students could develop their artistic identity, enhance their self-confidence, and better understand themselves. This case study took place at Orchard Valley and Chestnut Ridge middle schools, involving seventh and eighth-grade students who worked together to create the culture quilt. Each student was responsible for creating a unique square that showcased a portrait of someone in their family or an aspect of their culture that held significance to them. To prepare for this project, students were encouraged to research their family's coat of arms using House of Names.com and explore cultural recipe books. The students enthusiastically brought in family recipes from their culture or heritage, which were integrated into the thesis and pedagogical choices. In the classroom, students had the freedom to make choices and learn various embroidery and sewing techniques to create their original square. Before starting the art portion of the project, students interviewed an important person to them at home to initiate their research into their family background. This research process helped students develop their artistic identity and increase their self-confidence as they progressed through different stages of the classroom framework. Ultimately, the culture quilt fostered a sense of community, empathy, self-confidence, self-awareness, and cultural appreciation.