DIVERSITY IN GROUPS
A CONNECTED EXPERIENCE
MODULE INSTRUCTORS
MODULE DESCRIPTION
Through the use of VoiceThread, an asynchronous digital tool, students enrolled in an Upper Intermediate English course at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan and students who are enrolled in a Group Communication Course at CSU Channel Islands in the United States, will explore issues about diversity in groups alongside and from one another. In this module, students will learn about how the US and Japanese populations have changed (or have not), the layers of diversity group members bring to groups, barriers to understanding others, and six cultural dimensions (including individualism/collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity, high context/low context and monochronic/polychronic). The module will feature lecturettes from both professors, giving the students exposure to another teaching perspective. Employing the use of high impact teaching practices, students will participate in the module in small groups by responding to both instructor and peer-initiated questions. The module will culminate in the submission of a reflection to understand the degree to which learning outcomes were met and students perceptions of the experience.
Reference: Engleberg, I. & Wynn, D. (2012). Working in Groups: Communication Principles and Strategies (6th). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin College
MODULE LEARNING OUTCOMES
As a result of participating in this online module, we hope students will be able to:
- Synthesize the cultural dimensions experienced by someone in another country
- Synthesize how stereotyping, prejudice or discrimination is experienced by someone in another country
- Describe the difference between high and low context culture
- Describe the difference between individualism and collectivism
- List 2-3 examples of how stereotyping, prejudice and/or discrimination occur in Japan/US
- Practice English with native speakers (APU Students)
MODULE INSTRUCTIONS
APU Students
Log into VoiceThread at http://voicethread.com using the login username and password that you created with Mario.
Click on this link to access the VoiceThread that matches your assigned group. You must use the password provided to you Mario to access the page.
By October 24: Listen to the instructor lecturettes and respond to 3 of the discussion questions labeled as optional and 1 labeled as required (use video comments only).
By October 29: Respond to at least 2 questions submitted by the CI Students.
By November 7: Complete the reflection form posted below.
You responses are anonymous and not graded; please respond to the questions as honestly as possible based on memory (do not look up answers on the VoiceThread or in the text). If you email a confirmation page to the instructor, you will receive extra credit.
CI Students
Read Chapter Four, Group Diversity, of our class text.
Log into our class in CILearn, click on VoiceThreads and locate the VoiceThread labeled Diversity Module Group X.
Click to access the module that corresponds to your tribe letter.
By October 24: Listen to the instructor lecturettes and respond to 3 of the discussion questions labeled as optional and 1 labeled as required (use video comments only).
By October 29: Respond to at least 2 questions submitted by the APU Students.
(45 points)
By November 7: For 10 points extra credit, complete the reflection form posted below or email a two paragraph summary of what you learned from this module experience to jaimie.hoffman@csuci.edu.
You responses are anonymous and not graded; please respond to the questions as honestly as possible based on memory (do not look up answers on the VoiceThread or in the text). If you email a confirmation page (or two paragraph summary) to the instructor, you will receive 10 points extra credit.
