Reflective Writing and Activities in Study Abroad

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Reflective Writing and Activities in Study Abroad

• Sara Milani
• NAFSA Region VII
• Nov. 12, 2006

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Who is Your Audience?

• Millennial Generation
• Developmental Level of Intercultural Sensitivity
• Your school ethos

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Traits of the Millennials

• Special focus of politics, the media, and their
  parents
• Sheltered focus of sweeping safety movement and
  childproofing generation
• Confident high levels of trust and optimism for
  their generation and influence
• Team-oriented emphasis on group learning and
  teamwork

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Traits of the Millennials

• Achieving focus of academic accountability and
  standards mean well-educated and well-behaved
• Pressured pressured to study hard, avoid
  personal risks, and excel
• Conventional support parents values and
  believe in social rules
• Source Howe and Strauss, Millennials Rising

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Generational Needs

• Structured activities
• Active Guidance more than simple instructions
• Individualized attention
• periodic feedback
• choice of methods

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Level of Developmental Intercultural Sensitivity

• Ethnocentric Stages
• Denial deny cultural difference exists and own
  culture is the only real one
• Defense sees own culture as only good one us
  and them approach
• Minimization focuses on cultural universals
  and ignores deeper cultural differences

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Level of Developmental Intercultural Sensitivity

• Ethnorelative Stages
• Acceptance see own culture as one of many
  curious and respectful of cultural difference
• Adaptation see cultural difference through
  other perspectives and may adapt behaviors to
  function more effectively
• Integration incorporate multiple cultural views
  into own identity
• Source Janet Bennett, Turning Frogs into
  Interculturalists

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Developmental Needs

• Work from the Intercultural Sensitivity level of
  the majority of students
• Design reflective activities at students level
• Offer multiple activities and feedback to assist
  with multiple levels
• Students can only move up one level at a time
  not multiple levels without multiple experiences

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Meredith College Reflective Projects

• Core 200 A General Education Requirement
• The purpose of the Core 200 project is to ensure
  that students have a framework for understanding
  some key aspects of the culture they are living
  in and that they reflect on the culture you come
  from. Doing so is an important step in acquiring
  intercultural skills and understanding. Our goal
  is to provide students with a few tools that
  might help them become a more skilled and
  insightful observer of the host cultureand a
  more aware member of their own culture.

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Meredith College Initial Reflective Projects

• Observational Journal and research journal
  writing along specific topics family, politics,
  gender, religion, etc.
• Research paper and observation statistical
  research and short research paper
• Online course and research paper select number
  of activities from Whats Up with Culture and a
  short research paper

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Meredith College Issues with Initial
Reflective Projects

• Journals students confused personal diaries and
  blogs with reflective journals (despite
  instructions to the contrary) many were required
  to do re-writes and left out the U.S. cultural
  analysis
• Papers short and often lacked depth many
  students forgot initial research piece (also
  lacking depth) which meant they had not looked at
  the larger cultural picture first before focusing
  on a particular topic
• Online course and paper students didnt choose
  because too long, technology requirements, and
  required pre-departure work

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Additional Research Resources

• Maximizing Study Abroad Michael Paige, et. al.,
  Univ. of MN
• Study Abroad How to Get the Most of Out Your
  Experience Michelle-Marie Dowell, Kelly Mirsky
• Survival Kit for Overseas Living Robert Kohls
• Experiential Activities for Intercultural
  Learning Ned Seeyle
• 52 Activities for Exploring Values and
  Differences Donna Stringer and Patricia Cassiday

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MAXSA and Univ. of MN course

• Maximizing Study Abroad A Students Guide
• User-friendly handbook centered around culture
  and language learning strategies
• Sections pre-departure, on-site, and re-entry
• Well-researched sequencing, performance, and
  accessibility
• Univ. of MN course
• Focused readings, activities, and reflective
  papers
• Continuous feedback TAs responding to six 1-2
  page papers every 3-4 weeks
• 1 credit, pass/fail

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Study Abroad How to Get the Most Out of Your
Experience

• Targeted Observational Research questions on
  history, politics, religion, social issues, etc.
• Brings students back to reflect on information at
  different developmental levels
  pre-departure, on-site, and re-entry
• Sections personal development, own culture,
  another culture, professional development, and
  language learning

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Other Resources

• Kohls Survival Kit for Overseas Living help
  with suggested reading lists and introductions to
  activities
• Seeyles Experiential Activities for
  Intercultural Learning help with updated
  activities
• 52 Activities for Exploring Values Differences -
  help with updated activities
• Additional articles confirmed notion of active
  journaling and feedback as keys to success

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Meredith College Updated Reflective Projects

• MAXSA readings and activities from the book
  short reflection papers feedback
• Paper and Observational Research before and
  after research per questions from Making the Most
  of Your Study Abroad Experience and comparative
  paper
• Activities and Observational Research on-site
  cultural activities and short reflections
  research paper on particular cultural trait
  feedback pre-departure reading list (activities
  adapted from from Making the Most of Your Study
  Abroad Experience)

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Updated Projects address

• Still multiple methods for different learning
  styles
• Greater feedback loop - all must turn in
  pre-departure or on-site assignments
• MAXSA readings, activities and reflection
  focus on subjective culture for Minimization/
  Adaptation stages
• Paper and Observational Research targeted
  research questions by topic to focus students
  observational research objective culture for
  Denial/Defense stages
• Activities and Observational Research guided
  hands-on activities targeted research combines
  objective and subjective culture for various
  stages