to Maximize Learning Abroad Michael Vande Berg PhD St Olaf College 2425 October 2013 Three dominant narratives Our communitys stories about learning across cultural gaps 1 Humans learn through ID: 224544
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "What Can Students and Faculty Do" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
What Can Students and Faculty Do to Maximize Learning Abroad?
Michael Vande Berg, Ph.D.
St. Olaf College
24-25 October, 2013Slide2
Three dominant narratives: Our community’s ”stories” about learning across cultural gaps 1. Humans learn through
exposure
to cultural difference
2. Humans learn by being
immersed
in different types of cultural difference
3. Humans learn and
develop
:
a) by being
immersed
in cultural difference,
b) by
reflecting
on how they & others frame experience,
c) and by
re-framing
their experience
Vande Berg, M., Paige, R. M., & Lou, K. H. (Eds.) (2012).
Student learning abroad: what our students are learning, what they’re not, and what we can do about it.
Sterling, VA: Stylus.Slide3
First story: students learn when they are exposed to the unfamiliar culture “out there”Students learn through exposure to the new and different in privileged places.
Students learn when educators describe, talk about cultural-specific differences.
Slide4
The first story is hierarchical: Students encounter sophisticated, “civilized” people & places With the Grand Tour—this story’s signature program—learning occurs through exposure to the new & different in privileged places, and through modeling and imitationSlide5
With story one, we learn to cross cultural gaps through imitating external models To learn, we climb up. . .
And when we
slide down. . . Slide6
Second story: Cultural relativism undermines the assumption of cultural hierarchy
Our common humanity binds us together, and no culture is superior to any other
Slide7
Second narrative: immersing learners productively through social engineering
The Contact Hypothesis*: several
“Conditions”
need to be present if groups separated by deep differences are to
change attitudes
about each other:
Equal statusCommon goalsIntergroup cooperation
Authority supportFriendship potential
*Allport, G. W. (1954).
The Nature of Prejudice
. Reading, MA:
Addision
-Wesley.
*Pettigrew, T. (1998). Intergroup contact theory.
Annual Review of Psychology
, 49, 65-85.
*Pettigrew, T. (2008). Future directions for intergroup contact theory and research.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations
, 32, 187-199.Slide8
Second Story: educators foster learning through “immersing” students in difference
Types of differences
educators teach before
immersing students:
Non-verbal
communication
Communication styles
Learning stylesCognitive stylesValue contrastsSlide9
Second story: our community’s core immersion assumptions and practices
Maximize duration of experience
Enroll students in host institutions
Improve second language
proficiency
Maximize contact with host nationals
Carry out “experiential” activities: Internships, service learning, field work, etc.
House students with host families or host studentsSlide10
Evidence supporting first and second storiesMost frequently cited: “Study abroad transformed me”Slide11
Convergence of disciplinary evidence challenges the positivism of stories 1 & 2: “Constructivism”
The History of Science (Kuhn)
Cultural Anthropology (Hall, La Brack)
Experiential learning theory (Kolb, Osland)
Developmental theory (Piaget, Perry,
Belenky
,
Kegan, Baxter Magolda
)Intercultural Communication (Hall, Bennett, Bennett, Hammer)
Psychology (
Lewin
, Kelly, Savicki)
Linguistics (Sapir, Whorf,
Deutscher
)
Cognitive Biology (
Maturana
, Varela)
Neuroscience (Zull)
Slide12
Recent research findings also challenge first & second story assumptions about learning
In the Georgetown Consortium study* 1,159 study abroad students enrolled in 61 separate study abroad programs; 138 control students did not study abroad.
On average, students abroad did not make significant gains in intercultural competence: “a student is all too often in the vicinity of Shanghai without having a Shanghai experience.”
While learning gains of
female students were not large,
they did, on average, learn & develop
significantly more—
interculturally
and linguistically—than did males.
*Vande Berg, M. (2009). Intervening in student learning abroad: A research-based inquiry. (M. Bennett, Guest Ed.)
Intercultural Education
, Vol. 20, Issue 4, pp. 15-27.Slide13
Core Georgetown Study findings*: To whatextent do traditional “immersion” practices foster intercultural learning?
Send students abroad for longer periods: Limited impact
Take steps to improve SL proficiency: No impact
Maximize contact with host nationals: No impact
Enroll in host school classes: No impact
Doing Internships, service learning: No impact
Maximizing contact with host nationals: No impact
Being housed in home stays: No impactPre departure cultural orientation:
Yes—some impactHome stays:
Yes—when students engaged with host family
Cultural mentoring at sites abroad:
Yes—the highest impact practice in the study
*Vande Berg, M.; Connor-Linton, J.; & Paige, R. M. The Georgetown Consortium Study: Intervening in student learning abroad.
Frontiers: the Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad
. Vol. XVIII, pp. 1-75. Slide14
Third Story: how each of us frames an event determines what it meansWe
begin
to learn
interculturally
as we become aware of how we
and others typically frame
our experiences:“ We don’t see things as they are,
we see things as we are.”
(
Anias
Nin)Slide15
Third story: Since most students abroad don’t develop on their own, educators need to intervene Educators help students learn to
interact more effectively and appropriately
in unfamiliar cultural contexts through:
Helping immerse
students in difference—
part of the time
Helping students
learn to reflect—and thus to become aware of the ways that they and others characteristically frame
experienceHelping students learn
to
re-frame
—that is,
to
shift perspective and adapt behavior
to other cultural contextsSlide16
An influential third story learning theory: Learning is experiential, developmental and holistic
Kolb, A. & D. Kolb. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education.
Academy of Management Learning & Education,
Vol. 4, No. 2, 193-212.Slide17
An influential developmental theory:the Intercultural
Development Continuum
Modified from the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), M. Bennett, 1986
Monocultural
Mindset
Intercultural
Mindset
Misses Difference
Judges Difference
De-emphasizes Difference
Deeply Comprehends Difference
Bridges across Difference
Copyright, 1998-
2013,
Mitchell R. Hammer, Ph.D., IDI, LLC, used with permissionSlide18
Facilitating intercultural development through study abroad: 4 current approaches to intervention Faculty or staff living at sites abroad train students through required or elective courses
Home campus faculty accompanying students train them at sites abroad
Faculty and staff train students before and after study abroad through required training courses
Faculty or TAs at home campuses train students, on line, while students are abroadSlide19
Assessing Intercultural Development: Comparative Program Data (IDI=90-point scale*)
SA without facilitation at program site:
IDI Gains
Georgetown U. Consortium Study (60 progs.)** +1.32
SA with facilitation across program: IDI Gains
U
of Pacific training program
+17.46
AUCP training program (Aix, Marseille) +13.00
CIEE training program (20 programs, fall 2012) +11.34
Intercultural
Development Inventory (IDI):
www.idiinventory.com
; Hammer, M. (2012).
Hammer, M. (2012). The
Intercultural Development Inventory: A new frontier in assessment and development of intercultural competence. In Vande Berg, M., Paige, R. M. & Lou, K. H. (Eds
.).
What our students are learning, what they’re not, and what we can do about it
. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Slide20
Four core intercultural competenciesHelping students learn to interact more effectively and appropriately with culturally different others means:
Helping them i
ncrease their cultural and personal self awareness
through reflecting on their experiences
;
Helping them i
ncrease their awareness of others within their own cultural and personal contexts;
Helping them learn to m
anage emotions in the face of ambiguity, change, and challenging circumstances & people
Helping them learn to b
ridge cultural gaps—which is to say, helping them
learn to shift frames and adapt behavior to other cultural contexts.Slide21
Thank you!
mvandeberg@mvbassociates.com
21Slide22
Workshop: Applying Intercultural Theoryand Research to our Teaching & Training
Michael Vande Berg, Ph.D.
St. Olaf College
Friday, October 25Slide23
Three dominant narratives—our community’s ”stories”—about learning across cultural gaps 1. Humans learn through
exposure
to cultural difference
2. Humans learn by being
immersed
in different types of cultural difference
3. Humans learn and
develop: a) by being immersed
in cultural difference, b) by reflecting
on how they & others frame experience,
c) and by
re-framing
their experience
Vande Berg, M., Paige, R. M., & Lou, K. H. (Eds.) (2012).
Student learning abroad: what our students are learning, what they’re not, and what we can do about it.
Sterling, VA: Stylus.Slide24
A growing gap: different stories about learning awayWhich story or stories about learning away are students typically telling?
We educators are increasingly likely to be telling story three.
What can we do to bridge this learner/educator cultural gap?Slide25
Four core intercultural competenciesHelping students learn to interact more effectively and appropriately with culturally different others means:
Helping them i
ncrease their cultural and personal self awareness
through reflecting on their experiences
;
Helping them i
ncrease their awareness of others within their own cultural and personal contexts;
Helping them learn to m
anage emotions in the face of ambiguity, change, and challenging circumstances & people
Helping them learn to b
ridge cultural gaps—which is to say, helping them
learn to shift frames and adapt behavior to other cultural contexts.Slide26
Approaching learning away developmentally:A profoundly intercultural process
Bring my own way of framing the event into awareness
Bring the student’s/students’ way(s) of framing the event into awareness
Start
our teaching/training by
shifting our frame and adapting our behavior
to our students’ ways of framing learning away—a developmental approach to
interacting more effectively and appropriatelySlide27
At the same time we’re working to shift our frame:We’re balancing learner Challenge & Support
Fadiman, Clifton. (1966).
Self and Society.Slide28
Pre-departure & on-site orientations:Helping start student IC learning & development
Identifying personal goals (identifying outcomes and obstacles comes later): “Why am I choosing to learn away from home?”
Practicing framing & re-framing
Understanding “Culture,” mine and yours (objective & subjective)
Identifying out-of-awareness assumptions
The comfort, learning and panic zones (“holistic learning” without the third story jargon)
Practicing reflection, & increasing awareness of self and otherPracticing learning around the experiential cycle
Reflecting and increasing awareness of own tendencies through practicing basic transition model (not “culture shock” models)Suspending judgment and engaging ambiguity
Becoming aware of learning styles, mine and yoursBecoming aware of common communication style dimensions, mine and yoursPracticing basic adaptation process
Practicing mindfulness
Beginning to engage with cultural partnerSlide29
Teachers/trainers need to familiarize themselves with:Learner-centered needs at each stage of sojournFocusing all training around the four core intercultural competencies
Activities that help learners practice the four core competencies (see bibliography)
Helping students shift perspective around their learning and adapt their behavior to the third story (that is, practicing the basic adaptation process ourselves)
Balancing learner challenge and support (including the comfort, learning and panic zones)
Differentiating learning and development
Assessing Intercultural learning and development
Experiential training—through simulations, role plays, skits
The debriefing of such analogue activities “around the experiential cycle” (Kolb and Thiagi
question sequences)Holistic training: legitimizing and practicing the emotional dimensions of learning and trainingUnderstanding and practicing mindfulness and empathy
Focusing on our own intercultural developmentSlide30
Facilitating our own intercultural learning and development: Some action steps
From theory to practice: familiarizing ourselves with the literature (see bibliography)
Learning to train developmentally, experientially & holistically: attendance at intercultural workshops
Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (
SIIC
; annually in July in Portland, OR)
Intercultural Development Inventory Qualifying Seminar (
IDI QS; multiple times a year, including in Minneapolis)
Queen University’s International Educators Training Program (IETP; annually in June in Kingston, ON)
Wake Forest Skills Enhancement Program (
WISE
; annually in February in Winston-Salem, NC)
Slide31
Framing the experience their way: Students choose to learn away “to make a difference”
Goals
Study what I can’t at home in my major
Explore new academic perspectives
Improve Second Language proficiency
Make a difference in others’ lives: service
Make a difference in other’s lives: research
Enhance c.v. and employability Travel to new and different places
Find romance, maybe the love of my life Make friends in new & different places Escape personal problems at home
Escape academic rigor of home campus
“Bragging rights”
“Making a difference”: for self, self & other, society
1
1
1
3
3
1
1
2
2
1
1
1Slide32
One case: shifting our frame for those students
who want to enhance their c.v. & employability
“There is real business value in employing staff who have the ability to work effectively with individuals and organizations from cultural backgrounds different from their own.
Employees who lack these skills may leave their organizations susceptible to risks including:
Loss of clients
Damage to reputation
Conflict with Teams” *
Employers report that educational institutions should do more to help students develop intercultural competence.
*“Culture at Work: The Value of Intercultural Skills in the Workplace.”(2013). British Council, IPSOS, & Booz/Allen/Hamilton. http://www.britishcouncil.org/press/research-reveals-value-intercultural-skills-workplace
Slide33
Providing support often means starting with the (more or less) familiar: “What do we see?”
Slide34
Providing support by leading with the familiar:Describe the woman in this pictureSlide35
Teaching Learning: A basic simulation game for introducing framing and assumptionsDraw
four
straight lines connecting all nine dots, without retracing any line or lifting your pen from the page
Slide36
Practicing framing & frame shifting“Ask yourself:
What assumption am I making,
That I’m not aware I’m making,
That gives me what I see?
And when you answer that, ask yourself:
What might I now invent,
That I haven’t yet invented,
That would give me other choices?”*
Zander, R. S. & Zander
, B. (2000). The art of possibility. New York: PenguinSlide37
Becoming aware of out-of-awareness assumptions behind our frames. More practice! Draw
three
straight lines connecting all nine dots, without retracing any line, or lifting your pen from the pageSlide38
What have we begin to experience through such optical illusions and simulations?
We do not experience events in the same way: we
frame
our experience in different ways—
even if we’re all from the same national culture
.
The meaning of events is not in the events themselves, but in us: We make the meaning
that we perceive in events—and we can make meaning differently from others, even if we’re all from the same national culture.
We can learn to shift our frames of reference.
When we can see that there are different ways of framing an event, we have
choices
!Slide39
An intercultural strategy: Simulations & DebriefingThiagi’s
six debriefing stages (compare Kolb):
How do you feel?
What happened?
What did you learn?
How does this relate to the world outside this room?
What if. . . ?What next?Slide40
Thank you!
mvandeberg@mvbassociates.com
40