Leaning Into Intercultural Learning During Turbulent Times

There’s a lot of upheaval and ambiguity in the world right now. Educational institutions worldwide are facing increasing pressures and scrutiny. And yet, developing intercultural competence is more important than ever. Therefore, in this post, I’m sharing a few ideas for how you might lean into intercultural learning even during these turbulent times.

Maximize the Benefits of Free Resources

If you don’t have a budget to invest in intercultural professional development right now, make the most of free resources available on this topic. One way to do that is, for example, to invite a group of people to review a particular resource, then organize a gathering where you debrief your learning together. Below are two free on-demand online trainings offered by True North Intercultural that you could use for this purpose. You can also find other free (and paid) trainings related to intercultural learning in Purdue’s HubICL PD Zone (note you must set up a log-in to access). 

Interculturally Competent U: The What, Why & How of Building Intercultural Competence in Higher Education

In addition to three short video lessons, this training also includes a downloadable PDF that contains a summary of key ideas and relevant resources, plus reflection questions that can be used to facilitate a discussion on your campus or for personal reflection. Learn more and access the training here: www.truenorthintercultural.com/freetraining

The Transformative Intercultural Educator Framework: How to Help Your Students Be & Do Better When Crossing Cultures

In this interactive online training, you’ll learn a simple framework for developing intercultural competence (yours and your students’), and walk through an exercise to self-assess your own strengths and challenges related to facilitating intercultural learning. Access the training here: www.truenorthintercultural.com/training-maximize-1

Pool Resources with Other Offices

If you’d like to build intercultural capacity among faculty or staff at your institution on a limited budget, look for partners on and off campus (for example, your teaching center, HR office, Title VI Centers, assessment and accreditation units, and external expertise) and consider possible cost sharing. This idea came from Paloma Rodriguez, Director of the Office of Global Learning at the University of Florida. When I interviewed her for the March blog post, she explained, “Many campus partners have a keen interest in intercultural learning and would… commit their professional development funds to have their staff go through the training if you organize it.”

To explore intercultural professional development options that might fit your group’s budget, book a strategy call with me through the True North Intercultural website. 

Join or Create a Community of Practice

I’ve found it very helpful during these challenging times to stay connected to other people who are dedicated to intercultural learning—their own and others’. There are multiple communities in which you can participate. I’ve listed a few below.

The Intercultural Leadership Forum

The Intercultural Leadership Forum is a (mostly) monthly strategy session I host for higher education professionals committed to fostering intercultural competence and building more inclusive campuses and communities. This is not a training or webinar, but a facilitated conversation—in small group breakout rooms followed by a large-group debrief—about a given topic. Topics rotate monthly. Find information about the date and topic of the next Intercultural Leadership Forum here: www.truenorthintercultural.com/forum

World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence

The World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence, led by Dr. Darla Deardorff, is a global non-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to connecting researchers and practitioners across disciplines, sectors, languages and countries to advance the knowledge, research and praxis of intercultural competence globally in the pursuit of a more peaceful world. The group organizes a virtual meet-up twice per year, as well as other events. Learn more here: https://iccglobal.org/

Organize an In-House Community of Practice

I also suggest organizing a community of practice around intercultural learning and teaching at your institution or organization. If you’re working to build intercultural capacity among faculty or staff, this is an excellent way to ensure those who care about intercultural learning and teaching can stay connected and support one another.

What Will Your Next Steps Be?

Which of these ideas resonates most with you? What are you doing or might you choose to do to lean into intercultural learning during these turbulent times? Share your ideas in the comments section below.

Photo credit: Marcus Woodbridge, Unsplash