Workshops
Workshop sessions involve extensive interaction between presenters and participants around an idea or hands-on experience of a practice. These sessions may also take the form of a crafted panel, staged conversation, dialogue, or debate – all involving substantial interaction with the audience. [45 min. each]
Intercultural Consciousness and Education in Study Abroad Programs: Realizing the Intercultural Dimension of International Educational Exchange
Workshop Presentation Flavia Laviosa
In this workshop, I will illustrate how institutions of higher education can prepare directors and students prior to study abroad experiences so that students develop intercultural awareness when in the host country. I will also provide directors with practical strategies to ensure a transformative experience for students. Many of the most common incidents experienced by students overseas are behavior-induced and therefore preventable. In reminding students to behave appropriately, while reflecting on and discussing with them the culture of the host country, study abroad directors aim to prevent incidents of cross-cultural miscommunication and conflict. Their responsibility is to assist students to explore and understand what defines socially acceptable behavior and what describes culturally inappropriate conduct. In their mentoring, directors take students through two critical stages: educating them to transition from being comfortable in their own ways to feel uncomfortable before acknowledging and adopting new ways when abroad. Directors’ duty during a study abroad program is to lead students to acquire intercultural citizenship. In this workshop, I will refer to the Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity which theorizes how students acquire intercultural sensitivity moving from denial to integration through a series of steps (Cushner, K., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. 2012). Each stage describes a cognitive and psychological structure that is communicated through attitudes and behaviors (Bennett, M. J., 2011). Intercultural consciousness is fundamental in education to address current issues such as migration and cultural identity, diversity and inclusion, and social justice.
Learning Preferences: How We Perceive and How We Decide
Workshop Presentation Bridget Connor, Sean Coyne
Learning can be enhanced by understanding natural tendencies and processes of the brain. Kosslyn has identified and described four cognitive modes of brain functions. Personality types differ in what they perceive and how they make decisions. This session will detail the various personality types, their preferences for perceiving and making judgments and compare similarities to the four cognitive modes of the brain. Participants will experience, in small group format, exercises in perceiving and judging activities that highlight differences in types and modes of cognitive processing. A practical work-related small group exercise will further demonstrate the differences in type.
