Whats Up With Culture

1
Whats Up With Culture?
CROSS CULTURAL SKILLS
CULTURE LEARNING TOOLS
ON-LINE CULTURAL TRAINING RESOURCE FOR STUDY
ABROAD
SELF-GUIDED
SELF-ASSESSED
2
History of Project

• 2000 FIPSE Grant to UOP and USC
• 2002 Peace Corps approves integration of Culture
  Matters materials
• October 1, 2003 web site available

3
Partners

• Dr. Bruce LaBrack, School of International
  Studies, Chair of MA in Intercultural Relations
  Program UOPContent Specialist
• Dr. Gary Rhodes, Director, USC Center for Global
  Education. Project Director of SAFETI
  Clearinghouse Projects

4
Partnerships

• Peace Corps
• Jodi Olsen, Deputy Director
• Cary Ballou
• SECUSSA
• Dr. Margaret Riley
• Tina Johnson
• Sarah Martin
• Technical Assistance Payson Center for
  International Development and Technology
  Transfer, Tulane University

5
Content

• Site is a Cross Cultural Training Resource and
  is
• Interactive
• Self-guided
• Self-paced
• Self-assessed

6
Content

• Site is not a
• Stand alone course
• Substitute for culture-specific orientation
• Substitute for a Reentry course

7
Content

• Purpose of material is to provide
• culture general information
• cross-cultural training concepts
• intercultural communication information
• Target audience is traditional-aged US study
  abroad students

8
Content

• Site contains 10 modules
• Six on pre-departure
• One on in-country/ Pre-reentry
• Three on Reentry

9
Content

• Features include
• Student generated critical incidents
• Tales from the Peace Corps
• Self evaluation instruments such as-communication
  styles and intensity factors
• Four Student self-assessment questionnaires
• Bibliographies for students and teachers
• Glossary

10
Potential Uses

• Pre-departure Orientation
• In-Country Orientation and Continuing Assessment
• Pre-reentry
• Reentry

11
Feedback Models

• Within Home Institution possibilities
• Independent student feedback only
• Student feedback as part of group orientation
• As part of Reentry

12
Feedback Models

• In-country
• As part of initial orientation
• As part of ongoing cultural learning
• As part of pre-reentry process

13
Where do we go from here?

• What do you think about
• Additional ways to use materials?
• Additional ways to structure and receive
  feedback?
• Additional ways NAFSA/SECUSSA might help?