Interactive workshop focused on intercultural dynamics in teaching and learning

On 27 January 2023 the Danish Network for Educational Development in Higher Education (DUN) hosted a workshop named Intercultural Dynamics Workshop combining two special interest groups (SIG). On the one hand, it was designed by the Bias Aware Teaching and Learning (BATL) group, which Donna Hurford is in charge of. On the other hand, the Teaching and Learning in the International Classroom (TLIC) Special Interest Group was involved. Sanne Larsen is the new responsible for this specific interest group after having shadowed Donna for the past year as being the responsible for the two special interest groups BATL & TLIC at that time. 

The workshop was designed to be a very practical and active workshop, that aimed to motivate the participants to engage in conversations about the different tasks as well as to discuss personal experiences in relation to the specific topic of intercultural dynamics, which was the title of the workshop. The workshop counted approximately thirty participants which came from different teaching and learning domains at UCPH, SDU, RUC, CBS and ITU. The fact that not everyone shared the same background contributed to a very rich discussion on the addressed topics in relation to the different areas of provenance of the group members.

Pedagogic techniques designed to nurture intercultural learning and interaction

For the first part, Varia Christie from CBS introduced the participants to some pedagogic techniques for intercultural learning and interactions that were designed by Florence Villesèche and Stina Teilmann-Lock, both from CBS. The basis for these activities was a presentation about biases that can arise in the classroom. The bias can be about gender and activities that these people then can or cannot do. However, gender is not the only area for biases, they can also be of ethical or racial nature for example. After having identified several aspects of biases and having discussed the issues, the participants experienced two techniques that can be implemented in high diversity classrooms.

Managing challenges within intercultural settings

For the second part of the workshop, one of the founders of DOREEN-die talked about her experiences as an it-student being a woman. She shared her experiences and showed the participants the die a group of people, including her, had developed to fight the stereotype thinking that is often present in the relation to different aspects of a particular setting. DOREEN is a playful approach to address serious topics in situations of our everyday life.

After being introduced to this tool, the participants were set to actively try the game and see how the quotes indicated on the die could be looked at and discussed. Especially relevant was that everyone could integrate their own experience and as a group these viewing points were talked about to come up with a strength, a barrier or an ideal about the specific statement. As a result, the groups had to formulate their ambitions regarding the future of computing for women. The co-founder explained that it could as well be another setting to be discussed in a group that had experienced other prejudices. The die can simply be used in many settings, dependent on the needs of the context. Therefore, the guide to build an own die is entirely to be found on the website of DOREEN.

Closing the workshop, everyone had the possibility to express their learning points or perspective changes in relation to the session.

Upcoming DUN-SIG workshops

The next DUN-SIG will take place in May, focusing on another relevant aspect of Teachers’ and students’ experiences of equity and inclusive education at Danish Higher Education Institutions. Please stay updated regarding the next DUN-SIG seminar at the Dun website (see box to the right).

This article was written by intern Andrea Storm Christensen from University of Luxembourg who participated in the workshop as part of her stay at CIP in January-February 2023.

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