The goal is to get people across national borders and cultures, to interact and engage in debate and resolution of issues, which concern us all living in a shared global world.
It is precisely in the tension between cultures that development and innovation takes place.
The big issue is globalization - what is it and what does it mean for people in different continents with very different cultural roots.
Hopefully an intercultural experience-based learning arena can create dialogue and interaction between people across national borders and cultures – set in motion with the aim, that learning should have a greater power than the current market economy which determines the world’s development, mentality and morality.
The contents of the learning arena is based on SOL - "Cooperation About Learning" originally developed by Elizabeth Cohen and Rachel Lotan, Stanford University USA as Complex instruction - CI.
Intercultural Center has been working for 20 years with Cooperative Learning in collaboration with Stanford University and adult participants from Denmark and worldwide.
Sol is a set of educational principles, which involve many different skills and encourages participants’ learning through increased activity and delegating responsibility.
The main aspect of SOL is cooperative learning - the idea that we learn the most about ourselves by teaching others, negotiating, talking and working together.
All can do something and many can do more than one.
Participants are mainly young people but will also refer to business, government officials, chiefs and politicians. When the possibility occurs to mix participants, heterogeneous learning environment will mean more interaction and thus greater learning.
Participants will experience the cultural diversity of the world as a reinforcement of collaboration.
The main question / topic in the forum is: "How to live in the Global World"?
The overall topic is worked on in 4 groups:
Environment
Governance
Economy
Culture
An introduction is made on a large screen in the plenary, approx. 10 min., with an orientation on the subject. Arrangement of groups has taken place in advance.
Afterwards improvement of collaborative skills through teamwork training will take place.
Brainstorm / mind map.
Strategies for team working, norms and roles to succeed in collaborating are reviewed on a large screen.
Each group will have its own computer with 4 different activities / tasks.
Each task consists of:
An introduction to the task, 3-4 issues, and the task itself/ the product that the group has to resolve or produce and present to the others in plenum. It should be obtainable on the computer. The three parts are interdependent and provide increased activity solving the task.
Only the task itself is to be presented to the others.
There is a set of resource cards on the computer that are related to the issues and the task concerning the activity / topic. This is accessible by a mouse-click.
The cards contain different short texts, images, music or movies. The resource cards are to ensure that all abilities are used and that they can be related to in the group.
The individual task enhances the individual’s responsibility, providing an evaluation to the Intercultural Center for the continual improvement of the tasks.
The learning arena should be established in its own physical universe - a portable "building" which architecturally reflects the content - an inflatable globe half, each half placed in their respective countries on opposite sides of the equator.
The Web provides links between the two half globes by the use of giant screens. This means that working on the theme can take place across cultures, student groups and national borders.
The globe, painted on the outside as the other half of the world one is not located in. Inside, the globe is painted with the norms and roles that apply from the moment one enters – and which are the starting point for joint work.
Through a series of common norms and roles, it is possible to share the responsibility for collaboration and completion of the groups' task.
You have an obligation to help anyone who asks for help
All must give information
Make a plan
Agree about how to solve the task
None of us are as talented as all of us together
Guide - responsible for everyone's participation and understanding of the task
Resource Person - responsible for careful use of resources
Trust Maker - ensures all are heard and conflicts resolved
Material Person – must obtain all necessary materials for the group
Reporter - responsible for the group presentation
Timekeeper – makes sure the task is solved within the time frame
The idea being that the roles can be rotated so that participants can use the arena for up to a week - but one day would also be a possibility.
We live in a technological age that creates opportunities for dialogue across the world.
This technology is used in the learning arena to encourage collaboration across cultures and continents.
As an example, one globe half could be placed in the City Hall Square in Copenhagen and the second half in Malawi. They both lie on the same longitude thus working together at the same time of day.
This enables the groups in each thematic group to consist of 3 participants from each country. The group prepares a joint presentation which the participants from each country show in each globe.
Collaboration happens over large digital screens, as working at a joint conference.
During the development phase of the project we shall start with a group of high school students in each globe - each group can consist of up to 36 participants.
Later, the project can evolve to include several other continents and other groups of participants from different disciplines.
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