Global Learning

Courses labelled as "Global Learning" incorporate at least one class in which WSU students can interact with students, faculty or experts in other countries. This may be accomplished in the short term with videoconferencing over the Internet or with other collaborative software applications, such as  threaded discussions, chats, instant messaging, audioconferences and email for longer-term interactions. A useful learning activity is a project that involves one team member drawn from each participating country to work on a project assignment. This requires teamwork, collaboration, communication and development of multiple perspectives. In addition to the course content, additional learning activities are needed to develop multiple perspectives. Rather than use a trial-and-error approach, which may not be timely, we help learners to use a set of communication strategies and to be aware of conditions and processes, called "relational criteria" to faciliate those strategies. These are described in our book, "Third Place Learning", published in 2008. The essence of our approach is to help the learner to move conceptually to a third place between the respective perspectives of each person communicating globally between different cultures. The communication strategy involves four parts. The first two are sharing and asking about the other's perspective from one's own perspective. Having learned about the other's perspective, the second two involve sharing and asking from the other's perspective about the other's perspective. One of the key relational criteria that is essential, is critical analysis of power relations and strategies to reduce any adverse effects of power differences on the intercultural learning process. This is difficult and challenging but without it, the chances of communicating and learning effectively are nought.