INTERCULTURAL LEARNING FROM THE INSIDE OUT: SUPPORTING FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
CIEE CONFERENCE
November 23, 2014
Catherine Menyhart, CIEE
Tara Harvey, CIEE
Serigne Ndiaye, CIEE – Dakar, Senegal

Goals
Understanding relationship between intercultural development in our students and intercultural development in ourselves
Consider application of the “inside out” model to our own professional lives and contexts
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INTERCULTURAL LEARNING FOR STUDENTS
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History of Intercultural Learning at CIEE
•Realization that we need to intervene in students’ learning
•Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad (SLL), 2007 - 2008
•Two-credit, semester-long intercultural course
•Curriculum developed by CIEE
•Taught on-site by resident staff
•Developmental, experiential, holistic
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Evolution
Realizations:
•Good curriculum necessary but insufficient condition for success
•Importance of skilled facilitation
•Understand content/theory
•Comfort with pedagogy
•Intercultural development
Response:
•On-going, one-on-one coaching for instructors
•Increasing focus on instructors’ intercultural development
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Research on Faculty/Staff Role
•Rasch (2001) examined faculty perception of their role as on- site directors of study abroad
•Said facilitating and fostering student growth/change was a primary goal, but didn’t know how to do this effectively
•Goode (2007/08) explored role of study abroad faculty directors in facilitating students’ intercultural development
•Faculty emphasized “Dean of Students” role most and said least about intercultural dimension of their job
•Average IDI score in Minimization – “not optimal”
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Research on Faculty/Staff Role
•Ziegler (2006) examined study abroad on-site staff’s perception of the culture learning process and their role in that process
•Much more focused on direct encounter than on reflection
•Faculty/staff training and own intercultural development directly related to strategies used to facilitate students’ intercultural learning
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“This is an interesting pattern because it suggests that people who function in an acceptance/adaptation worldview spend their energy conceptualizing, assessing, and facilitating their students’ intercultural development needs. They focus on coordinating a rigorous academic program, blending culture learning with other content areas, and guiding students along in their intercultural learning experience. Those operating in a minimization framework tend to see themselves as interpreters, devoting significant energy to explaining cultural differences, and helping people to prevent or overcome culturally-based misunderstandings. They tend to focus on culture-specific learning and adaptation. They spend less time teaching and helping students to develop a culture-general conceptual framework from which to approach questions of cultural difference that may occur in any setting.” (Ziegler, 2001, p. 151)
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Research on Faculty/Staff Role
•Harvey (2013) examined the process of on-site staff facilitating students’ intercultural learning through CIEE’s Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad (SLL)
•All instructors (n=3) moved up at least one intercultural worldview and all moved into more intercultural mindsets of Acceptance and Adaptation
•Instructors reported teaching the Seminar (and associated coaching) helped them develop their own intercultural competence
•Instructors also said the experience positively impacted how they interacted with students and staff beyond Seminar
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New Intercultural Learning Initiative
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Three-Credit
“Intercultural
Communication &
Leadership” (ICL) course
Embedded Intercultural Learning Component

Expanded Learning Objectives
SLL Learning Objectives
•Cultural Self-Awareness
•Cultural Literacy
•Cultural Bridging
ICL Learning Objectives
•Self-Awareness
•Cultural Literacy
•Cultural Bridging
•Developing an Intercultural Leadership Practice
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Increased Facilitator Support & Training
•Semester-long online development course for facilitators
•Individual work
•Partner work
•Five “live” plenaries
•Emphasis on developing their own intercultural leadership practice
•Helps build an intercultural teaching/learning community and a shared language
•Continued one-on-one coaching and support
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INTERCULTURAL LEARNING FOR STAFF
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Research in HR Context
•Culture at Work Report by British Council & Booz Allen Hamilton (2013)
•88% of U.S. employers list intercultural skills as fairly to very important
•Only 38% of employers report encouraging development of intercultural skills “a great deal”
•“There is real business value in employing staff who have the ability to work effectively with individuals and organisations from cultural backgrounds different from their own.”
•Gap between recognizing importance of these skills and intentionally developing them
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Research in HR Context
•Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends (2014)
•Nearly one-third of respondents say they are “unprepared” in the area of diversity and inclusion
•Only 10% provide formal programs to build an inclusive environment
•“One essential component of building a strategy of inclusion is recognizing the biases in the way each of us receives and processes information and the historical biases in our systems of work.”
•Transitioning from a compliance-focus to inclusion and skill building as a benefit and strength
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Research in HR Context
•What Is Global Leadership? (2011)
•Cites cultural self-awareness as one of ten key behaviors of global leadership
•“Their global roles enabled them to see themselves and their own leadership style for the first time as the product of a particular cultural context, and this led them to question deeply their own actions and assumptions.”
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EMPLOYEE INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
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•Co-facilitation practice
•Being delivering specific IC content to colleagues
•Personal intercultural development and goals
•Peer learning
•Debriefing skills and practice
•Relationship building
•3 on-site workshops
•Intercultural content & competence
•Experiential learning
•Facilitation skills
•IDI QA
Group Training
Cultural Partners
Cultural Working Groups
Individual Coaching

Impact
Intercultural Trainers
•Individual level
•Program level
•Community level
Employees
•Working more effectively within and across teams
•Develops our role as intercultural educators in all we do
•Lays foundation for future development
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As I continue to think about this, what rings true for me is that my SELF AWARENESS barometer is flying off the charts…I find that when I am most present to my surroundings, I am more accepting and adaptable to what is in front of me.
Creates relationships and intercultural allies!

LIVING THE INSIDE OUT
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Building Intercultural Competence through Professional Training
Intercultural Communication Training & Practice
•Taught the Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad (SLL) as pilot program
•Attended the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC)
•Involved in the CIEE Train-the-Trainer Program
•Participating in the development course for Intercultural Communication & Leadership instructors
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Impact of Training on Personal Development
Training Tools as Frameworks for Enhanced Intercultural Competence
•Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
•Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory (LSI)
•Mindfulness
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Implications of Training for Student Learning
Align Teaching and Performance with Lessons Learned from Training Programs
Remember the Ziegler quote?
Minimization Worldview
•Interpreters of cultural differences
•Focus on culture-specific learning and adaptation
Acceptance/Adaptation Worldview
•Conceptualizing, assessing, and facilitating students’ intercultural development needs
•Focus on coordinating a rigorous academic program, blending culture learning with other content
•Guiding students along in their intercultural learning experience
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Impact of Training on General Program Management
Intentionally Putting Intercultural Skills into Practice
•Intervention in Curriculum Design
•More Mindful Interactions with Colleagues
•Enhanced Ability to Mitigate Cross-cultural Conflicts
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INTERCULTURAL LEARNING FOR US
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Partner Work
Recall a recent or recurring challenge in interacting across difference that you face in your work or life.
What might this experience tell you about your values, beliefs or assumptions?
What might it tell you about the other party’s values, beliefs or assumptions?
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Partner Work
What is one step you can take within the next week to develop your own intercultural practice?
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Resources and Opportunities
Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC): July 13 – 24, 2015
Winter Institute for Intercultural Communication (WIIC): March 9 – 12, 2015
SIETAR (National and Regional)
WISE Conference at Wake Forest University : February 4 – 6, 2015
CIEE Intercultural Faculty Development Seminar: June 7 – 13, 2015
Personal Leadership Seminars
Cultural Detective © Online
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References
Goode, M.L. (2007-2008). The role of faculty study abroad directors: A case study. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, XV, 149-172.
Harvey (2013). Facilitating intercultural development during study abroad: A case study of CIEE’s Seminar on Living and Learning Abroad. Unpublished dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Rasch, D.C. (2001). Faculty voices from the field: Perceptions and implications of study abroad. Unpublished dissertation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Ziegler, N.J. (2006). Culture learning in study abroad from the perspective of on-site staff in France and Senegal. Unpublished dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Deloitte Consulting LLP and Bersin by Deloitte (2014). Global Human Capital Trends 2014: Engaging the 21st century workforce. Deloitte University Press.
British Council, IPSOS, & Booz/Allen/Hamilton (2013). Culture at Work: The value of intercultural skills in the workplace (http://www.britishcouncil.org/press/research-reveals-value-intercultural-skills-workplace).
Gundling, E., Hogan, T., Cvitkovich, K. (2011). What is Global Leadership? 10 key behaviors that define global leaders. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Boston, MA.
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