gms | German Medical Science

Learning objective: Globalisation and the demographic changes of the past decades have resulted in an increased need for higher intercultural sensitivity in all areas of the society. Turning away from the 20^th century behaviourist approach to intercultural communication which fails to address the ethical standards of diversity, we have created a new model of interdisciplinary intercultural training that is based on developmental and constructivist theories, in tune with the growing social diversity and cross-cultural awareness.

Our model has been successfully implemented in form of interdisciplinary block week seminars at the Hochschule Osnabrück since May 2021, and at various professional training courses for speech-language therapists in professional schools. Based on the TARL (Teaching and Assessing Reflective Learning) model [1], we have developed and tested a range of cross-disciplinary and discipline-specific activities. In this way, we have managed to achieve synergies of interdisciplinary cooperation among participants as well as increase motivation and involvement by means of identification with profession-specific content.

In the proposed workshop activities, insights and approaches will be presented, explored and discussed, for participants to apply them in their own teaching:

• The participants will receive information about the latest approaches to intercultural training and the dangers of certain types of discourse in a diverse, cross-cultural setting.
• Participants will also be familiarised with the basics of the TARL model [1] and how to apply it in their own discipline-specific context.
• By getting to know different stages of intercultural sensitivity development and generating ideas for training methods and activities, participants will learn how to transfer intercultural content knowledge while avoiding the pitfalls of stereotyping and thus contributing to the transformative learning practices of their own students.

Schedule, content and didactics:

Part 1 (90 minutes, comprising elements of presentation, discussion, small group, individual and partner work)

• Introduction with an overview of past intercultural communication theories and the paradigm shift brought on by the latest global economic and political developments and all forms of social diversity
• A matter of perspective: the critical incident analysis as a teaching-learning method

Part 2 (90 minutes, comprising elements of presentation, discussion, small group, individual and partner work)

• Developmental theories of intercultural sensitivity and the role of reflective learning: Bennett’s Theory [2] and TARL [1]
• Group activity: Applying TARL to a discipline-specific context.
• Discussion and summary

Target audience: All teaching staff who see intercultural sensitivity development as an important part of their students’ professional competence and wish to contribute to raising intercultural sensitivity in a dynamic, non-essentialist, evidence-based manner.

Preparation: Not needed; an open mind and willingness for discussion and re-consideration of the participants’ socialisation and teaching contexts are necessary, though.