LehrLernZentrum (LLZ)

In this course, we will put intercultural theory into practice: students from Germany and another country will work on a common project online. We will take a closer look how we perceive the same topic, e.g. identity, mindfulness or education with our respective mindsets and how or if they are influenced by cultural values.
A central component of the course is a joint COIL (collaborative online international learning) project. Students will have the opportunity to interview each other to develop a deeper understanding of each other's cultures and individual experiences of the educational systems. Our last session will be an online gallery walk where we showcase what we’ve learned of each other. German students are also required to do a portfolio throughout the class to reflect on working in international teams.

Classes will be online and in English when together with our partner university. If you would like to join the course but have questions, please contact nadine.scholz@hs-rm.de for registration. Please note: this is NOT a language class. We will use English as our common language with our international partners and help each other along the way, should questions arise. I will suggest an online class for those who would like to dive deeper into English proficiency and are welcome to do so.

Course content:

• Analyze how cultural values influence our views on different topics
• Cross-cultural comparison between the different systems
• COIL project: engage in an interview project with students from another university
• Practice and reflect intercultural online communication and collaboration 

On completion of the project, students will be able to….

• plan and organize communication online, possibly with different time zones
• apply knowledge of intercultural models to ensure successful communication
• have reflected on how cultural values influence the educational system in different countries
• know the basics of how to plan and conduct an interview
• develop strategies for dealing with ambiguity

What I need to know in advance:

• Active participation in all online phases (students may be excluded from the course if they participate passively) mandatory 
• Creation of a reflective portfolio during the course: active participation and reflection needed