2020 International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence

Symposium

English

Curriculum design and instruction

This symposium illustrates strategies for scaling up intercultural learning at a large, STEM-focused university. It addresses how intercultural learning outcomes are explicitly embedded and assessed in experiential programs on and away from campus and demonstrates the importance of the intentional development of intercultural competence to the internationalization of undergraduate programs.

Paper 1: “What Do You Want Students to Learn?”: Faculty-Led Programs, Aletha Stahl and Kris Acheson-Clair (Purdue University)

Requiring all faculty to incorporate intercultural learning outcomes in their study away/abroad programs requires both structural support and recognition that faculty control the curriculum. This presentation discusses ways of striking this balance and presents evidence that backwards design impacts student achievement of learning outcomes.

Paper 2: The Global Science Partnerships Learning Community: The First Six Years, Daniel C. Jones (Purdue University)

Drawing on theories of intercultural development, this study uses mixed assessment methods to analyze intercultural learning outcomes for six cohorts of first-year students in a STEM learning community. Data suggest that proximity plus attention to learners’ developmental stage(s) can significantly increase intercultural competence for both international and domestic students.

Paper 3: Mentored Intercultural Learning Courses for Semester Abroad, Daniel C. Jones (Purdue University)

This presentation furthers prevailing research asserting that facilitated intervention provides greater gains in intercultural development (IDI) scores compared to no intervention during long-term study abroad programs. Additionally, differences in intercultural growth resulting from individual-mentored and group-mentored interventions are discussed in regard to curricula, methods, and approaches for each intervention type.

Paper 4: Tasks and Directives for Intercultural Communication in Short-Term Study Abroad, Lori Czerwionka and Michael Bittinger (Purdue University)

Focusing on communication within an intercultural competence framework, this investigation explores the degree to which short-term program leaders abroad (approx. 100) at a large university included curricular tasks and directives for communication with locals. Questionnaire results and specific tasks and directives used to encourage intercultural communication will be shared.