T422: Designing Intercultural Learning Experiences

Classrooms comprised of students from different cultural backgrounds. Online learning spaces that connect students from around the world. In-person or online encounters with unfamiliar cultures or communities. In an age that feels increasingly interconnected yet divided, how can educators design learning experiences that invite learners to develop more nuanced understandings of the concept of culture and different cultures including their own? And how might learners be supported to develop the curiosity, care, and confidence to engage in meaningful intercultural dialogue? Drawing in particular from Project Zero’s decade-long The Open Canopy project (until recently known as Out of Eden Learn), this hands-on module introduces principles and tools for designing powerful in-person and online intercultural learning opportunities for learners of all ages. It also introduces some theoretical background for thinking critically and carefully about intercultural or globally minded education initiatives and the ways in which they align--or do not--with other educational objectives.