There are so many things we take for granted in life; this morning it was electricity. And although I have contingencies for most aspects of life affected by a power outage (mainly around the ability to make my cup of tea), it seems I forgot that our garage door also runs on electricity. Lesson learned.

We also take for granted so many aspects of our teaching. We make assumptions about our role as educators, what behavior we expect from students, how we think they should engage. It is an unspoken social contract that works; until it doesn’t.

It’s been fascinating hearing about the differences between what our two exchange students from Belgium have learned during their time at NIC, and have observed in their teaching here, and how these differ from their experiences in Belgium. Part of their reflection has been on what they see they could implement in their future teaching back home and what would be challenging to bring across cultures. For example, in the experience of these two students, post-secondary education in Belgium continues to place the focus on the instructor leading, with students as more passive recipients of knowledge. Students tend not to respond to questions and instructors are the ‘sage on the stage.’

I’m drafting the plan for a one-day Intercultural workshop. The topics I plan to cover I’ve taught before, yet each time I approach them slightly differently and the sessions play out differently; because I change, and each group of participants is unique in its dynamic. I know this, and yet I continually have to work to disrupt my own assumptions about what will and ‘should’ happen. That’s the intercultural piece; making the unconscious visible.

We have and continue to learn so much through this pandemic. The power and importance of human connection to all that we do in education is unconscious until it’s missing. The need for human connection is universal, intrinsic to being human, but remembering that how we demonstrate that connection may differ across cultures, sometimes gets lost. And, finding ways of facilitating connection in a digital environment has been challenging for many of us. While I’m enjoying this Brave New World, I’m also looking forward to being back in the classroom with colleagues. That said, I am looking at how I can offer this workshop in multiple formats (some synchronous online sessions and some asynchronous opportunities).

Practice what we preach and model what we teach.

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