Way to Teach and Train Through Multicultural Experiences

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Way to Teach and Train Through Multicultural
Experiences

• Paul B. Pedersen, Visiting Professor of
  Psychology, University of Hawaii, Professor
  Emeritus, Syracuse University
•  
• Presentation at the American Counseling
  Association, Anaheim, California 945-1245
• 213 D Convention Center, March 24, 2003

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The arguments for structured experiences

• There are arguments both for and against the
  use of structured exercises and multicultural
  experiences in teaching and training.
• Some of the arguments for the use of
  multicultural experiences are

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The arguments for structured experiences(Contin
ued)

• 1. There is research available to support the
  conclusion that multicultural exercises and
  experiential learning will result in favorable
  outcomes through training.
• 2. Structured experiences are able to extend the
  capability of multicultural group leaders to
  develop their skills as they learn from their own
  students multicultural interactions.

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The arguments for structured experiences(Contin
ued)

• 3.  Structured experiences can get a new group
  going more rapidly with less time required for
  warm-up than uninterrupted lectures and didactic
  methods.
• 4. Structured experiences require less
  preparation time when they can be borrowed or
  applied from collections of already prepared
  materials, although more time will be required
  for debriefing.

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The arguments for structured experiences(Contin
ued)

• 5. Structured experiences and unambiguous roles
  are less threatening than real world situations
  to the extent they provide clearly stated
  expectations and clearly defined behaviors and
  present opportunities to rehearse responses.
• 6. A great deal of progress has been made
  developing structured multicultural experiences
  to match desired outcomes or changes in the
  participants behavior later in the real world.

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The arguments for structured experiences(Contin
ued)

•   7. Defining salient objectives is less
  ambiguous when the exercises are structured so
  that the experience can focus on an aspect of the
  particular curriculum, topic or social problem.
• 8. Structured experiences can contribute to
  research on social change through multicultural
  contact in the somewhat controlled laboratory
  environment of the classroom.

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The arguments for structured experiences(Contin
ued)

• 9. Structuring an experience forces the
  teacher/trainer and participants to clarify their
  objectives in understanding an otherwise
  ambiguous real world multicultural context.
• 10. There are many structured experiences
  available that can be adapted by teachers and
  trainers of multicultural groups, topics and
  curricula.

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• Not everyone favors the use of structured
  experiences for multicultural training.
• There are numerous arguments against the use
  of structured multicultural experiences such as
  the following
• 1.  The structured experience is culture-bound,
  favoring those cultures where role-playing, games
  and direct or open communication is desirable.

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• 2. Participants from cultures unfamiliar with
  structured exercises, games, simulations and
  other such activities may find these activities
  offensive, artificial or embarrassing.
• 3. It would be difficult for a representative of
  a self-effacing culture to confront or openly
  oppose members of the classroom group without the
  danger of having serious consequences in the real
  world.

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• 4.  The reaction of some Asian students is that
  they are forced into game playing because
  refusing to participate would be impolite .
• 5.  There is an assumption in Western cultures
  that openness, as required by many structured
  experiences, contributes to understanding and has
  a positive value .

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• 6.  Many non-Western cultures value hiding ones
  feelings and not revealing ones thoughts as
  having a higher value than openness.
• 7.  Many structured experiences require direct
  communication rather than indirect communication
  of meaning and imposes the rules of direct
  communication on participants without regard for
  their preferences.

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• 8.  Many cultures rely more on silence and
  nonverbal cues and prefer to refrain from
  speaking rather than discussing an issue but some
  structured experiences require active verbal
  participation.
• 9.  Participants from hierarchical societies
  where status is important might have difficulty
  in structured multicultural experiences where
  everyone is treated equally.

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The arguments against structured experiences
(Continued)

• 10.  Some structured multicultural experiences
  present a simplistic view of other cultural
  groups leading participants toward superficial
  stereotypes of one anothers culture .
• While there are arguments for and against the
  use of structured exercises and experiences, the
  use of structured experiential exercises to
  supplement other didactic methods has become an
  established educational process.

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Examples of structured multicultural experiences

• What other people say, feel and mean
• Outside Experts
• Drawing a house
• Drawing symbols of your culture