(F) Debriefing and Self-Assessment
WORKSHOP 15
Title/ THE INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES WEB
[Important Note: It’s strongly recommended for this Workshop to be used also in the beginning of the Training Course, thus tracking the improvement of the participants in terms of their intercultural competences]
Age Range or Target Group/ Trainers and Educators who are dealing with the intercultural competences of participants while accomplishing different styles of workshops and activities which grapple with the notions of Anti-discrimination, Inclusion and Integration of marginalized groups, as well as with the notion of multiculturality.
Duration/ 60 minutes (10 minutes for briefing, 30 minutes for self-reflection, 20 minutes for discussions/debriefing)
Key Words & Phrases / self-assessment, self-reflection, intercultural competences, Mutual respect, Empathy, Understanding of cultural/religious concepts, Self-knowledge/awareness, Tolerance or embracement
General Aim- Objectives/ The intercultural competences web contains five sections that, all together, represent the intercultural aspect of one’s life. The exercise measures the trainees’ level on intercultural elements, as well as their progress after attending the FATI training course.
It is not a picture of how it has been in the past or what trainees’ want it to be in the future. It is just a snapshot taken in the particular moment. Trainers may use this tool, also in the first training session in order to monitor where the trainees stand regarding intercultural aspects. Besides, the same mode of self-assessment could be used as a last training session, capable of measuring participants’ progress after all the fifteen workshops will have been materialized.
Instructions (Step-by-Step Process)/
The trainer should explain in brief the web and what it signifies to the trainees. The intercultural competences web contains five sections that, together, represent the intercultural aspect of one’s life. It is not a picture of how it has been in the past or what trainees’ want it to be in the future. It is just a snapshot taken in the particular moment. Trainees may want to change the categories to reflect or may wish to add a category.
The trainer should ask trainees to rate their level intercultural competences in each of the areas scoring from 1 to 5. The trainer should give adequate time for this, as well as a place with no distractions and reflect. The categories are: Mutual respect, Empathy, Understanding of culture/religious concepts, Self-knowledge/awareness, Tolerance or embracement
After trainees have rated each of the areas, the trainer should ask them to connect the lines to form an inner web.
Materials and Resources/
INTERCULTRAL COMPETENCES WEB:
Scoring:
If you have scores of 5 for any of the categories, congratulations! You are very high level of competence in this particular area. It’s important you maintain what you are doing to ensure you maintain the high level in this area, however don’t overlook that there may be areas for improvement. This is important to ensure you are not limiting your potential for even further growth and development in this area.
If you have scores of 3 – 4 for any of the categories, you are reasonably skilled in this particular area but there is definitely opportunity to explore ideas to move this up the scale.
If you have scores of 1 – 2 for any of the categories, you are not very skilled in this particular area and you will need to explore ways of improving your competences here. No need to get down about these scores though, as scores of 1 and 2 are full of opportunity! I find this as quite exciting when someone has a lower score as often is the case the individual has not fully explored opportunities that are available to them. It’s also the area where the individual can grow the most and get the most value!
Media and Techniques/ self-assessment, self-reflection
Desirable Outcomes and Competences/
- Connections between self-assessment and intercultural aspects & competences will have been clearly established;
- Visualization of intercultural competences that will have led to a more informative self-assessment.
Debriefing and Questions for Evaluation/
Helpful questions & tips:
- Take a moment to appreciate your Intercultural Web. What does it look like? Are there any surprises to you?
- Why did you score yourself in each category the way you did?
- What is my ideal score for each category to achieve in the next month, 3 months, 6 months, one year?
- Where are my biggest gaps in intercultural levels?
- Which behaviors I everyday life do I have to focus on to enhance my intercultural levels? How have you defined/understood each of the categories?
When the two intercultural webs are compared:
- Is there any difference? What has been improved/worsened?
Trainers might even give the intercultural competences web empty of labels in the evaluation session (2nd time) and ask the trainees to write/change/add themselves the intercultural aspects they find important and reflect on them.