Developing Intercultural Understanding: An Introduction for Teachers
The Developing Intercultural Understanding Program aims to develop participants' notions of interculturality and knowledge of intercultural understanding within the context of studies of Asia in English, Languages, SOSE and the Arts. The Program explores links between intercultural understanding and current State and Territory curriculum documents and national curriculum priorities and provides practical classroom activities that explore interculturality across learning areas and year levels.
- Index
- Session 6: Developing Intercultural Understanding
Session 6: Developing Intercultural Understanding with Students and Staff
Purposes:
- To identify how to develop intercultural understanding in participants' own context
- To promote confidence in discussing intercultural understanding
1 Identifying intercultural understanding in own context
Suggested time allocation: 35 mins.
It is important for participants to identify challenges/issues that will impact on their capacity to develop intercultural understanding in their school contexts. Previously, participants have identified their personal strengths and areas requiring development and identified ways in which the development might happen. The purpose of this session is to look at the broader context.
Option 1 – Working with already identified challenges
Option 2 – Working with participant-identified challenges
2 Identifying intercultural understanding in own context
Suggested time allocation: 5 mins.
Refer to Slide 13: Sharing with students. In order to further explore the development of intercultural understanding in participants' own contexts and the personal nature of this process, invite discussion about the following:
- What experiences, stories and images do you share with students?
- What experiences, stories and images do students tell? How do you and their peers respond?
- How does the choice of language in texts and used by teachers and students affect what messages students receive and influence the development of intercultural understanding?
3 Promoting confidence in discussing ways to develop intercultural understanding
Suggested time allocation: 20 mins.
Provide Resource 19: Elevator speech record sheet.
Individually, or in pairs, participants prepare a three minute 'elevator speech', for example a brief report to a staff meeting, department or faculty meeting, or an impromptu discussion in the staff room or at a team meeting, etc. Participants draw on the following points:
- The main purposes for developing intercultural learning are…
- I would describe intercultural learning as…
- It is the same as my/our current practices in that…
- It is different from current practices in that…
Alternatively, participants speak on aspects of classroom-based planning, including:
Participants share their elevator speeches in groups of 4.
- Disciplinary/interdisciplinary content I would use
- Pedagogies I would use
- Language I would use; language I would encourage students to use
- Texts/resources I would use
- Intended outcomes.
