Working Effectively in an Intercultural Environment
Discovering The Ways That People Interact
Using the content below, you will explore working in intercultural environments, something we all do every day. In this content, we’re trying to capture the dynamic ways that people interact. In virtual journal club, you can explore the literature related to microaggressions and implicit bias. Finally, you will reflect on how to be inclusive of others in the formal and informal environments you experience.
Course Module Introduction
Reframing Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Thinking about yourself – Develop an awareness of your own social, cultural, and professional identities through reflection.
- Exploring the literature – Describe, based on the research literature, how the experiences of marginalized graduate students and postdocs are impacted in research settings.
- Thinking about how you interact with others – Reflect on how your culture and identities interact with those of others in the formal and informal environments you experience. Experts reflect and participants observe and recognize strategies to create and support an inclusive environment.
Activities
- Introducing the Ground Rules
open activity
Introducing the Ground Rules
Reflecting on Ground Rules
Respecting Confidentiality
Activity
- Thinking About Yourself
open activity
The Practice of Self-Reflection
Introducing the Social Identity Grid
Social Identity Grid Activity
Post-Activity Reflection
- What was your lightbulb moment during this activity?
- How did this activity land on you?
- Consider how this activity landed similarly or differently for you compared to others in the course based on different identities we carry.
Using the Identity Grid
- Exploring the Literature
open activity
For this section, please read these two articles regarding microaggressions and implicit bias in science. If you’re interested in learning more, we’ve provided a few additional readings. Below you will watch a virtual journal club discussing these two articles.
Synthesizing the Literature
Develop Evidence-Based Strategies
Self-Reflection Prompts
- How did the articles resonate with your own experience?
- Can you describe a time when you experienced, perpetuated, and/or observed a microaggression similar to those described in the articles?
- Can you describe a time when you have been part of an incident when the impact perceived may have been different from the intent?
- Thinking About How You Interact with Others
open activity
Reflecting on Social Interactions as Postdocs
Framing the Case Studies
Activity
Download the case studies and reflection prompts:
Unpacking Case Study #1
Unpacking Case Study #2
- Putting it All Together
open activity
Putting it All Together
Reflection Activity
Self-Reflection Prompts
- After seeing the responses from the activity, what other questions or reflections arise for you?
- Having reflected on the identity grid, microaggressions, and how you interact with others, what is one key takeaway for you from this content?
- What might you do differently based on that takeaway?
Wrap-Up
Course Module References
- Crandall, Jennifer and Gina A. Garcia. “‘Am I Overreacting?’ Understanding and Combating Microaggressions.” Higher Education Today. July 26, 2017.
- Di Stefano, Giada et al. “Making Experience Count: The Role of Reflection in Individual Learning.” Harvard Business School, working paper 14-093, 2014. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2414478.
- Handley, Ian M et al. “Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder.” Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, vol. 112, no. 43, 2015. doi:10.1073/pnas.1510649112.
- Jachimowicz, Jon et al. “Commuting as Role Transitions: How Trait Self-Control and Work-Related Prospection Offset Negative Effects of Lengthy Commutes.” Harvard Business School, working paper 16-077, 2016. Doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2714478.
- Kumagai, Arno and Monica Lypson. “Beyond Cultural Competence: Critical Competence: Critical Consciousness, Social Justice, and Multicultural Education.” Academic Medicine, vol. 84, no. 6, 2009.
- Markus, HR. “Pride, prejudice, and ambivalence: toward a unified theory of race and ethnicity.” Am Psychol, vol. 63, no. 8, 2008.
- Pintrich, Paul R. “The Role of Metacognitive Knowledge in Learning, Teaching, and Assessment”. Theory Into Practice, vol. 41, no. 4, 2002.
- Sue, David Wing. Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. John Wiley and Sons, 2010.
- “What is DEI?” D5 Coalition. 2014.
Additional Resources
National Research Mentoring Network Webinars
- Research Science and the Messiness of Engaging Cultural Diversity
- A Conversation on Culturally Aware Mentoring (in partnership with iBiology)
- Resources to Enhance Culturally Aware Mentoring (in partnership with iBiology)
- Choosing Diversity: A Bigger Us (in partnership with iBiology)
National Postdoctoral Association Diversity Webinars
MinorityPostdoc.org
- Large library of resources for diversity-minded opportunities, including funding, fellowships, and travel awards.
NIH Scientific Workforce Diversity Toolkit
- Provides resources and tips for promoting diversity at your institution, creating a diverse talent pool, and mentoring for diverse scientists