Workshop | Intercultural group dynamics: Opportunities and challenges of the international classroom

Enhance your skills in managing intercultural interdisciplinary group dynamics - The international classroom often is advocated as a panacea for providing all students with an international and intercultural learning experience. However, it has become evident from research that exposure to diversity does not automatically lead to intercultural development. Sometimes one can even observe contrary, unintended and undesirable outcomes. Negative experiences may lead to less appreciation for cultural diversity, and students may tend to avoid further intercultural contact. On the other hand, appropriately framing cultural differences in perspectives and classroom experiences, will help students to understand the intercultural dynamics at play and how engaging with culturally different perspectives can also contribute to and deepen their own subject learning. As a lecturer or educational developer, you might want to develop your skills of how to manage intercultural group dynamics to enhance both subject and intercultural learning in the international classroom.

About the workshop

During this online workshop you will get acquainted with the elements that influence group dynamics and how these play out across various cultures. You will reflect on the pedagogical and didactical principles that underpin a learning environment that leads to collaborative intercultural engagement in the international classroom. By developing a specific learning activity (or set of learning activities) you will learn how the quality of the subject matter learning of your course or module can be enhanced by attending to intercultural learning. 

You will develop

• Awareness of the opportunities and challenges of the international classroom;
• Knowledge and understanding of group dynamics and how these play out across various cultures;
• Understanding of the pedagogical and didactical principles to create a learning environment in which students feel invited to engage with and learn from diversity;
• Module or course-based solutions for integrating intercultural learning into the subject matter.

For whom

Lecturers, study-advisors, and counsellors working at 4TU.

Registration

Please note: We kindly ask you to make sure that you are going to be able to attend the workshop before registering. A minimum of 6 participants is required for the workshop to take place. 

You will receive an invitation link for this online workshop after having registered. The workshop will be as interactive as possible, therefore we ask you to stay connected and visible during the workshop. We need your insights and ideas and look forward to share experiences.

After each topic there will be a small break for exercises and drinks and one lunch break of 30 minutes.