Global Partners Project - Best Practices Conference in June, 2001

Carleton College

Participants:

Petra Crosby
Margit Johnson
Éva Pósfay

Project Title: Development of a course addressing the integration of intercultural learning within the academic context.

Project Description:

The project will focus on the challenges we faced at Carleton in the development of a course, which would address the crucial issue of integrating intercultural learning within the academic context. The project focus is on the translation of experience into academic and intellectual skills through the addition of critical and analytical thinking and theory. We wanted the course to incorporate service learning and reflective practices, integrate on- and off-campus learning, focus on transition and reentry issues, develop interdisciplinary models, and bring together American off campus studies returnees, international, and minority students, and first generation immigrants in a team-taught, interdisciplinary seminar.

Background

Carleton College, with generous support from the Starr Foundation, launched a new academic program of Cross-Cultural Studies in the fall of 2000. The Cross-Cultural Studies program brings together American, international students, minority students, and first generation immigrants in team-taught, interdisciplinary seminars to address and explore global issues and problems in a comparative, collaborative framework. Through regular course work, study abroad programs, and on-campus social events, faculty and students analyze topics that cut across traditional national and cultural boundaries and share cross-cultural experiences.

The Cross-Cultural Studies program is designed to increase students' intercultural competencies and produce graduates who are able to participate in a global society and work in an increasingly multicultural and global workforce. The program also intends to attract international students who, in coming to Carleton, will experience a culture not their own, giving them an experiential basis for comparative study. The Starr Foundation grant also provides scholarship assistance to qualified students from Asia for four years of study at Carleton College leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. Starr Scholars are expected to participate in the Cross-Cultural Studies concentration, although they are free to pursue any major they desire.

The program is designed as a concentration at Carleton. A concentration is a series of related courses representing a variety of disciplines that complement work in a student's major, whatever that may be.

Course Development

Faculty Workshop

In December 2000, the Cross-Cultural Studies Program held a four-day faculty workshop in preparation for teaching the transition course, " I'm a Stranger Here Myself."

The objectives for the workshop were to review theories and models of identity development, experiential learning, and intercultural transitions, demonstrate and discuss effective pedagogy for students in transition, and develop a course curriculum. Faculty participants, facilitators and presenters in the workshop represented a diversity of disciplines, experience and backgrounds.

In format, the workshop roughly followed a methodology that is to be used by the team teaching the course. The facilitators presented the intercultural theories. Faculty speakers provided examples and case studies within their discipline to support or illustrate the theories. Faculty participants shared and reflected upon their personal intercultural experiences.

The workshop had two parts: an intense, information-rich, three-afternoon colloquium, and a one-afternoon curriculum-writing session. Each day began with a faculty colleague presenting information in a lecture and discussion format. This was followed by a brief presentation of intercultural theories. Participants then discussed these theories in depth, using personal experience as examples, and examined ways in which to extend both experience and theory into the course curriculum.

Evaluations and questions at the end of each day provided the opening for the next day's discussion. They also enabled the facilitators to keep in touch with participants' interests and needs while drawing them into the planning of the transition course curriculum. The facilitators also reminded participants of the connection between the course's design and the group's discussions about intercultural competency, field-based pedagogy, and integration of theory and classroom instruction. In addition to presentations and discussions, the workshop also drew on a comprehensive workbook, which included readings on reentry and other topics, handouts currently used by Carleton's Off-Campus Studies Office, and articles on the transformative nature of intercultural learning.

On the final day, workshop participants began to draft a curriculum for the transition course, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself." After reviewing concepts and theories, workshop participants identified the objectives and outcomes, the structure and logistics, pedagogy, and methodology to be used in the course.

The course: Cross Cultural Studies 175, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself"

Catalog description

Designed for students who are returning from off-campus studies or who have lived abroad, or for anyone who has had the experience of being an outsider, this course will explore theories and models of intercultural competence and intercultural transition. Using the actual experiences of the students in class as its evidence, it will first develop theories about the nature of intercultural contact, and then test their usefulness by applying them to the analysis of specific historical and literary evidence and to additional intercultural experiences found in the course's field-learning component. The course is required of Cross Cultural Studies concentrators.

Teaching Team

Margit Johnson, Associate Director of Off Campus Studies
Helena Pohlandt-McCormick, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
Petra E. Crosby, Director of International Student Programs

Course objectives

To introduce students to the theories and models on reentry, transitions, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural competence, and transformative learning;
To illustrate the theories and models using students' own intercultural experiences and other evidence found within the literature and history of a particular discipline, and in films, interviews, site visits, etc.;
To explore the significance of learning styles, cultural values and norms, communication, and identity development in intercultural competence; and
To reflect on the theories and models presented in this course, and apply them to the literary and historical evidence within a particular discipline and to the students' own experiences, past and present.

The course proposes to highlight the multiple identities that student develop in intercultural situations, and challenge and support students' exploration of transitions and cultural marginality. The pedagogy is firmly grounded in field-based learning, coupling theory with practice. The course will add the additional layer of using evidence within a specific discipline, depending on the faculty instructor's own background, to inform both the students' theoretical understanding and their personal reflections. Students will also be expected to demonstrate their mastery of the course content by reapplying intercultural skills and insights in new ways.

Course outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able:

To describe transition theories, intercultural competence, developmental models of intercultural sensitivity and identity development, and transformative learning;
To identify their own cultural values and compare them with those found in other intercultural experiences;
To differentiate between stereotypes, generalizations, cultural norms, values, and behaviors, and verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication;
To apply the theories and models to their own and other students; intercultural experiences, identity, and intercultural development;
To analyze the historical and literary evidence in the context of intercultural theories; and
To apply their understanding of intercultural theories within the framework of a particular discipline, and to new intercultural interactions in the classroom and the community.

Course resources

Main text: Verburg, C. (1997) Making Contact: Readings from Home and Abroad. Boston, MA: Bedford Press.

Course packet of articles and readings of theories, and literary and historical materials

Films, videos, web sites

Community resources, such as U.S. and international staff and faculty on campus, community individuals and groups representing various ethnicities and races, etc.

Participants:

Name: Petra Crosby

Title: Director of International Student Programs & Cross Cultural Studies Administrator

E-mail: pcrosby@carleton.edu

Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course

Biographical Information: Petra E. Crosby has her B.A., M.A. and is ABD in German Studies. She has taught at the University of Connecticut, Trinity College, University of Regensburg, and Wesleyan University. From 1996-2000, she was Coordinator of International Student Programs at the Freeman Asian Scholars Program at Wesleyan University and has been in her current position since 2000.

Name: Margit Johnson

Title: Associate Director of Off-Campus Studies

E-mail: Mjohnson@acs.carleton.edu

Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course

Biographical Information: Margit Johnson earned her B.A. from Carleton College in English. In her current position at Carleton, she designs and implements orientation and reentry programming and services for students participating in off-campus studies. She also assists faculty program directors with similar services for nine to eleven Carleton off-campus seminars each year. She is currently enrolled in the Intercultural Relations Masters degree program at the University of the Pacific and the Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI), focusing on intercultural transitions.

Name: Éva Pósfay

Title: Associate Professor of French and Director of French and Francophone Studies

E-mail: eposfay@carleton.edu

Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course

Biographical Information: Éva Pósfay was born in Venezuela of Hungarian parents and studied in South America, Switzerland, France and the United States. Her research interests include French Classicism, women writers of the ancien régime, Swiss literature, and migrant literature. She has directed several off-campus academic programs in Pau and Paris. This fall she will be teaching a first-year seminar titled "Growing Up Cross-Culturally."




Main Task Forces page Best Practices Task Force home Task Force members & meeting minutes Best Practices Conference in 2001 Overview of conference Workshops & presenters Participants & team projects Keynote speaker: Milton Bennett Closing plenary session Comments from participants

	Best Practices Conference in June, 2001

	Carleton College Participants: Petra Crosby Margit Johnson Éva Pósfay Project Title: Development of a course addressing the integration of intercultural learning within the academic context. Project Description: The project will focus on the challenges we faced at Carleton in the development of a course, which would address the crucial issue of integrating intercultural learning within the academic context. The project focus is on the translation of experience into academic and intellectual skills through the addition of critical and analytical thinking and theory. We wanted the course to incorporate service learning and reflective practices, integrate on- and off-campus learning, focus on transition and reentry issues, develop interdisciplinary models, and bring together American off campus studies returnees, international, and minority students, and first generation immigrants in a team-taught, interdisciplinary seminar. *Background* Carleton College, with generous support from the Starr Foundation, launched a new academic program of Cross-Cultural Studies in the fall of 2000. The Cross-Cultural Studies program brings together American, international students, minority students, and first generation immigrants in team-taught, interdisciplinary seminars to address and explore global issues and problems in a comparative, collaborative framework. Through regular course work, study abroad programs, and on-campus social events, faculty and students analyze topics that cut across traditional national and cultural boundaries and share cross-cultural experiences. The Cross-Cultural Studies program is designed to increase students' intercultural competencies and produce graduates who are able to participate in a global society and work in an increasingly multicultural and global workforce. The program also intends to attract international students who, in coming to Carleton, will experience a culture not their own, giving them an experiential basis for comparative study. The Starr Foundation grant also provides scholarship assistance to qualified students from Asia for four years of study at Carleton College leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. Starr Scholars are expected to participate in the Cross-Cultural Studies concentration, although they are free to pursue any major they desire. The program is designed as a concentration at Carleton. A concentration is a series of related courses representing a variety of disciplines that complement work in a student's major, whatever that may be. *Course Development* Faculty Workshop In December 2000, the Cross-Cultural Studies Program held a four-day faculty workshop in preparation for teaching the transition course, " I'm a Stranger Here Myself." The objectives for the workshop were to review theories and models of identity development, experiential learning, and intercultural transitions, demonstrate and discuss effective pedagogy for students in transition, and develop a course curriculum. Faculty participants, facilitators and presenters in the workshop represented a diversity of disciplines, experience and backgrounds. In format, the workshop roughly followed a methodology that is to be used by the team teaching the course. The facilitators presented the intercultural theories. Faculty speakers provided examples and case studies within their discipline to support or illustrate the theories. Faculty participants shared and reflected upon their personal intercultural experiences. The workshop had two parts: an intense, information-rich, three-afternoon colloquium, and a one-afternoon curriculum-writing session. Each day began with a faculty colleague presenting information in a lecture and discussion format. This was followed by a brief presentation of intercultural theories. Participants then discussed these theories in depth, using personal experience as examples, and examined ways in which to extend both experience and theory into the course curriculum. Evaluations and questions at the end of each day provided the opening for the next day's discussion. They also enabled the facilitators to keep in touch with participants' interests and needs while drawing them into the planning of the transition course curriculum. The facilitators also reminded participants of the connection between the course's design and the group's discussions about intercultural competency, field-based pedagogy, and integration of theory and classroom instruction. In addition to presentations and discussions, the workshop also drew on a comprehensive workbook, which included readings on reentry and other topics, handouts currently used by Carleton's Off-Campus Studies Office, and articles on the transformative nature of intercultural learning. On the final day, workshop participants began to draft a curriculum for the transition course, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself." After reviewing concepts and theories, workshop participants identified the objectives and outcomes, the structure and logistics, pedagogy, and methodology to be used in the course. *The course:* Cross Cultural Studies 175, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" Catalog description Designed for students who are returning from off-campus studies or who have lived abroad, or for anyone who has had the experience of being an outsider, this course will explore theories and models of intercultural competence and intercultural transition. Using the actual experiences of the students in class as its evidence, it will first develop theories about the nature of intercultural contact, and then test their usefulness by applying them to the analysis of specific historical and literary evidence and to additional intercultural experiences found in the course's field-learning component. The course is required of Cross Cultural Studies concentrators. Teaching Team Margit Johnson, Associate Director of Off Campus Studies Helena Pohlandt-McCormick, Visiting Assistant Professor of History Petra E. Crosby, Director of International Student Programs Course objectives To introduce students to the theories and models on reentry, transitions, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural competence, and transformative learning; To illustrate the theories and models using students' own intercultural experiences and other evidence found within the literature and history of a particular discipline, and in films, interviews, site visits, etc.; To explore the significance of learning styles, cultural values and norms, communication, and identity development in intercultural competence; and To reflect on the theories and models presented in this course, and apply them to the literary and historical evidence within a particular discipline and to the students' own experiences, past and present. The course proposes to highlight the multiple identities that student develop in intercultural situations, and challenge and support students' exploration of transitions and cultural marginality. The pedagogy is firmly grounded in field-based learning, coupling theory with practice. The course will add the additional layer of using evidence within a specific discipline, depending on the faculty instructor's own background, to inform both the students' theoretical understanding and their personal reflections. Students will also be expected to demonstrate their mastery of the course content by reapplying intercultural skills and insights in new ways. Course outcomes Upon completion of this course, students will be able: To describe transition theories, intercultural competence, developmental models of intercultural sensitivity and identity development, and transformative learning; To identify their own cultural values and compare them with those found in other intercultural experiences; To differentiate between stereotypes, generalizations, cultural norms, values, and behaviors, and verbal and non-verbal intercultural communication; To apply the theories and models to their own and other students; intercultural experiences, identity, and intercultural development; To analyze the historical and literary evidence in the context of intercultural theories; and To apply their understanding of intercultural theories within the framework of a particular discipline, and to new intercultural interactions in the classroom and the community. Course resources Main text: Verburg, C. (1997) Making Contact: Readings from Home and Abroad. Boston, MA: Bedford Press. Course packet of articles and readings of theories, and literary and historical materials Films, videos, web sites Community resources, such as U.S. and international staff and faculty on campus, community individuals and groups representing various ethnicities and races, etc. Participants: Name: Petra Crosby Title: Director of International Student Programs & Cross Cultural Studies Administrator E-mail: pcrosby@carleton.edu Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course Biographical Information: Petra E. Crosby has her B.A., M.A. and is ABD in German Studies. She has taught at the University of Connecticut, Trinity College, University of Regensburg, and Wesleyan University. From 1996-2000, she was Coordinator of International Student Programs at the Freeman Asian Scholars Program at Wesleyan University and has been in her current position since 2000. Name: Margit Johnson Title: Associate Director of Off-Campus Studies E-mail: Mjohnson@acs.carleton.edu Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course Biographical Information: Margit Johnson earned her B.A. from Carleton College in English. In her current position at Carleton, she designs and implements orientation and reentry programming and services for students participating in off-campus studies. She also assists faculty program directors with similar services for nine to eleven Carleton off-campus seminars each year. She is currently enrolled in the Intercultural Relations Masters degree program at the University of the Pacific and the Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI), focusing on intercultural transitions. Name: Éva Pósfay Title: Associate Professor of French and Director of French and Francophone Studies E-mail: eposfay@carleton.edu Presentation: "I'm a Stranger Here Myself": Developing a Cross Cultural Studies Course Biographical Information: Éva Pósfay was born in Venezuela of Hungarian parents and studied in South America, Switzerland, France and the United States. Her research interests include French Classicism, women writers of the ancien régime, Swiss literature, and migrant literature. She has directed several off-campus academic programs in Pau and Paris. This fall she will be teaching a first-year seminar titled "Growing Up Cross-Culturally."

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Best Practices Conference in 2001