Intercultural Zoomery in a time of Covid-19

In this case study, Richard Fay, Susan Dawson, Zhoumin Huang & Karenne Sylvester (SEED) describe their solution for bringing their intercultural simulation exercise online.

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Evaluation / Student Feedback

Overall, student feedback was positive, and clearly showed they had grasped the intercultural learning points, as well as having had the opportunity to learn about academic acculturation through culture shock (affective, cognitive & behavioural). See the linked Padlet for examples of their hypothesis: https://padlet.com/frjfay/rgdlb40szyxj0zcf

Benefits

Students had the opportunity to gain clear impressions of how their courses would be run online throughout the year.
As a result of the simulation, the students who took part are more prone to keep cameras on during lectures, even months later & participate more frequently

Top Tips

Keeping a spreadsheet record system of who has been moved from break out room to break out room helps ensure that the maximum number of participants encounter the ‘other’ culture. For example:

Diagram of groups

References

Cushner, K. & Brislin, R.W. (1996). Intercultural interactions: A practical guide (2nd edn.) London: Sage.
Nipporica Associates (1993). Ecotonos: A multi-cultural problem-solving simulation. Yarmouth, ME.: Intercultural Press.
Shirts, R.G. (1973). BAFA BAFA. La Jolla, CA.: Simile II.
Thiagarajan, S. (1990). Barnga: A simulation game on cultural clashes. Yarmouth, ME.: Intercultural Press.
Wight, A. (1995). The Critical Incident as a training tool, in S.M. Fowler & M.G. Mumford (eds.), Intercultural sourcebook: Cross-cultural training methods (Vol.1, pp. 127-139). Yarmouth, ME.: Intercultural Press.