Name
Building Communities Across Cultures: Faculty and Staff Intercultural Development
Date
Sunday, June 23, 2024
Time
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PDT)
Description

Recent shifts in post-secondary policy in Canada have seen an increased focus on holistic and critical approaches to internationalization. To be successful in implementing new approaches, post-secondary employees must build deeper connections with international stakeholders and find ways to transform long-held ways of knowing and doing. In this session, we share our experiences designing and coordinating a two-year long professional learning community called Building Community Across Cultures (BCAC). The aim of the initiative is to build capacity in fostering internationalized and inclusive learning environments. BCAC is a community of 20 faculty and staff from different units who engage in intercultural learning experiences to develop skills, build relationships, and generate action for inclusion. Session attendees will explore several of the program’s innovative design features, including the use of experiential and relationship-focused activities, the selection of framing materials and resources using principles of culturally responsive teaching, and an intentional focus on reciprocity with hosts during the study tour. We will identify factors that promoted sustained engagement and community building amongst faculty and staff as well as barriers, lessons learned, and ongoing questions for consideration. The session will conclude with a discussion of the expected impacts, a critique of our model, and an opportunity for suggestions.

Learning Outcomes
  • Participants will be able to identify factors that promote sustained engagement and community building amongst faculty and staff.
  • Participants will learn strategies for incorporating experiential activities into pre-departure preparation, selecting resources with equity in mind.
  • Participants will consider the benefits of organizing a faculty-staff study tour based on the principles of reciprocity and holistic engagement.
Victoria Surtees Daryl Smith
Session Streams
2. Indigenization and Intercultural Perspectives, 5. Teaching, Instruction and Internationalizing the Curriculum