It
can be a challenge for a teacher of international students to get them to
interact beyond their seating groups, as they tend to cluster by
nationality. It can also be a challenge for an instructor to effectively
teach, with such a diversity of nationalities and learning styles in a
common classroom.
Research shows that certain
themes and images in lesson materials can encourage interaction beyond
national/cultural groupings and create a positive resonance in the room.
Likewise, other themes and
images can foster dissonance in a class, such as sex, religion,
nationalism and humor. While it could be useful at times to rely on
discordant themes to encourage classroom interaction, instructors may find
it a hazardous environment to maintain.
The video clip below briefly
summarizes research
that illustrates how transculturally resonant themes such as babies,
animals, relationships, sports, life cycles, and water might be applied to
subject matter in international and multicultural settings for more effective teaching and
learning.
Transcultural Themes and Images
Steven
R. Van Hook
has
been an educator for colleges and
universities
in the
United States and abroad for more than a
decade,
teaching in traditional, online, and hybrid classrooms,
and developing more than a dozen different courses. teacher@wwmr.us http://howtoteach.us
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