{"id":279,"date":"2019-12-13T06:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/?p=279"},"modified":"2019-08-27T09:22:29","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T17:22:29","slug":"facilitating-intercultural-friendships-in-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/facilitating-intercultural-friendships-in-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Facilitating Intercultural Friendships in the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Interacting successfully in diverse groups\nis recognized as a key competency for students globally in the 21st<\/sup>\ncentury (Organization for Economic\nCooperation and Development (OECD), 2005).  Our globally diverse campus\nseems to be an ideal learning environment for the development of intercultural\nskills, as students with a wide range of international experiences study in our\nclassrooms.  We imagine an environment\nwhere students develop connections that propel them into successful careers in\na global world, benefitting from their time in an internationalized campus\nenvironment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these hopes, deep friendships\nbetween Canadian and international students are not yet our reality.  Research published by the Canadian Board of\nInternational Education (CBIE) found that 56% of international students\nstudying in Canada have no Canadian friends. \nWhile these students generally consider Canada to be a welcoming\ncountry, they report difficulties knowing how to form friendships with Canadian\nstudents (Knight-Grofe & Deacon, 2015).  Similarly, Canadian\nstudents lose the benefits of a global perspective that come from intercultural\nconnections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there anything that we can do to help\nour students benefit from KPU\u2019s internationalizing campus environment?  In spite of the challenges, students share\nthat the classroom is often the place that international friendships start;\ninstructors who proactively encourage interaction between diverse learners play\na key role in this process (Knight-Grofe & Deacon, 2015).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Australian context, post-secondary\ninstitutions have faced similar challenges. \nIn response, the University of Melbourne developed a six-part framework\nfor encouraging interaction between domestic and international students in the\nclassroom.  (Arkoudis et al., 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Framework\n Element<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Example\n Classroom Activities<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Planning\n for interaction:  <\/strong>This is the foundational\n element of the framework.  Fostering meaningful interaction occurs when\n interaction is integrated throughout the course design, as the means of\n achieving key learning outcomes.  The course design also intentionally\n communicates the benefits of intercultural interaction, the place of peer\n learning within the course, and the ways in which peer learning will be\n assessed.\n <\/td>\n \n Team-based learning, where students are assigned to\n diverse teams, perhaps even functioning in these teams throughout the\n semester.\n Case-based learning, where teams work to solve a\n problem together.\n Projects where students must interview other students\n to gain information about how a concept is illustrated in other national\n or cultural contexts.\n \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Fostering\n communication of learners:  <\/strong>This\n component involves “setting the tone” for interaction and\n communication in the classroom. Students may be less hesitant to interact in\n smaller groups inside or outside of the classroom if they participate in\n structured, low-risk interactive activities.\n <\/td>\n \n Allow\n time in the first class for thorough introductions, icebreakers, and\/or\n “get to know you” activities.\n Include\n a short peer-learning activity at the beginning of each class (e.g. a\n brief review of the previous lecture).\n Encourage\n students to sit in different places in the classroom, or beside someone\n they do not know well yet.\n \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Supporting\n interaction: <\/strong>Creating the environment for\n effective interaction involves setting expectations and guidelines for peer\n learning and team based activities. This can include providing instruction on\n how teams work.\n <\/td>\n \n Provide an in-class mini-lesson on the stages of team\n development and team life.\n Provide strategies for working in multicultural\n groups.\n Have groups conduct their first meeting in class,\n completing a guided series of questions to get to know one another and\n develop their group guidelines for work together.\n \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Engaging\n with subject knowledge: <\/strong>This dimension of the\n framework focuses on actively helping students engage with subject content\n along with their peers.  As students engage with new concepts, they\n increase their learning through active application, where they share their\n own examples and elicit relevant examples from peers.\n <\/td>\n \n Discussion-based\n activities where students are required to analyze an issue using\n multiple perspectives.\n Peer\n review.\n Assignments\n that require knowledge of multiple cultures.\n \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Developing\n reflexive process:  <\/strong>As students work on\n developing intercultural communication skills, there will inevitably be\n moments of misunderstanding or frustration. By engaging in reflection, students\n will process their interactions thoughtfully, as well as consider their own\n role in peer and team learning activities.\n <\/td>\n \n Create a team process journal where students reflect\n after each group meeting.\n Include self-assessment and peer assessment as a part\n of team projects.\n Provide prompts for reflection:  For example,\n “What did you learn about the way you interact with\n others?”  What is one thing you wish had gone differently in\n the group process?”  “What were the strengths of your\n communication with your group this week?”.\n \n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Fostering\n communities of learners:  <\/strong>In addition to the regular\n classroom community, other structured communities can support students in\n learning across cultures.  This component of the framework includes\n encouraging interaction beyond the classroom.\n <\/td>\n \n Include\n online collaborative activities as a part of the course.\n Encourage\n participation in study groups, whether formal (Peer Assisted Study\n Sessions) or informal.  \n Encourage\n student participation in peer tutoring, peer mentoring, and other\n student development programs on campus.\n \n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

(Framework\nand examples adapted from: Arkoudis, S., Yu, X., Baik, C., Borland, H., Chang,\nS., Lang, I., \u2026 Watty, K. (2010). Finding common ground: enhancing\ninteraction between domestic and international students<\/em>. Australian\nTeaching and Learning Council. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au\/research\/projectsites\/enhancing_interact.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As faculty, we can recognize the impact\nthat we have on our students\u2019 intercultural development.   By creating opportunities for students to\ninteract with those from backgrounds different from their own in their\nclassroom experience, we can foster opportunities for friendships that impact\nour Canadian and international students as they develop the perspectives and\nskills that support effective living in a globalized world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arkoudis, S., Yu, X., Baik, C., Borland, H., Chang, S.,\nLang, I., \u2026 Watty, K. (2010). Finding common ground: enhancing interaction\nbetween domestic and international students<\/em>. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au\/research\/projectsites\/enhancing_interact.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arkoudis, S.,\nWatty, K., Baik, C., Yu, X., Borland, H., Chang, S., \u2026 Pearce, A.\n(2013). Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and\ninternational students in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education<\/em>,\n18<\/em>(3), 222\u2013235.\nhttps:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13562517.2012.719156<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knight-Grofe, J., & Deacon, L. (2015). The integration\nchallenge:  Connecting international\nstudents with their Canadian peers<\/em>. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/cbie.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/CBIE-Research-in-Brief-2-The-Integration-Challenge-EN.pdf<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2005). The\ndefinition and selection of key competencies: executive summary<\/em>. Retrieved\nfrom http:\/\/www.oecd.org\/pisa\/35070367.pdf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interacting successfully in diverse groups is recognized as a key competency for students globally in the 21st century (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 2005).  Our globally diverse campus seems to be an ideal learning environment for the development of intercultural skills, as students with a wide range of international experiences study in our…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","iawp_total_views":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[63,45,44,52,51,20,60,46],"class_list":["post-279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-intercultural-teaching","tag-higher","tag-higher-ed","tag-higher-education","tag-intercultural","tag-intercultural-teaching","tag-international-students","tag-teaching","tag-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.wordpress.kpu.ca\/tlcommons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}