Project Organised Learning in a Cross-Cultural Perspective

1. L P earning O roject rgan ised Project Organised Learning in a Cross-Cultural Perspective 2 Collaboration in Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Groups

2. L P earning O roject rgan ised Gorm Simonsen M.Sc. in industrial engineering Ph.D student in: Working Environment and Technological Development Currently teaching in project work, engineering responsibilities, working environment and learning processes.

3. L P earning O roject rgan ised Agenda 020911 • Learning objectives • Experiences from previous POL-groups • Short break • Communication - model/group/supervision • Short break • Group life cycle • Group exercise • Summing up

4. L P earning O roject rgan ised Learning Objectives • Students should be able to • understand the communication process • identify factors critical for effective communication • understand the nature of groups • identify factors critical for effective collaboration • identify and implement procedures and tools for enhancing task efficiency

5. L P earning O roject rgan ised Student experiences with POL • Leo Sigurdsson • 10th semester EM-student • Personal views and experiences • pitfalls/dangers • tools and procedures • sharing knowledge within the group • using the supervisors

6. L P earning O roject rgan ised Culture - a definition - from ancient Greek: kultura - ”to act upon nature” - coping with problems of nature for survival Merriam-Webster: ( www.m-w.com ) 5 a: the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations b: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group c: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterises a company or corporation

7. L P earning O roject rgan ised Communication - a definition - from ancient Latin: communis - ”common” - sharing, making commonly known Merriam-Webster: ( www.m-w.com ) 2 a: to convey knowledge of or information about : make known <communicate a story> b: to reveal by clear signs <his fear communicated itself to his friends>intransitive senses2: to transmit information, thought, or feeling so that it is satisfactorily received or understood

8. L P earning O roject rgan ised Communication Talk - in order to be understood and listen - in order to understand

9. L P earning O roject rgan ised Communication-model SENDER (A) RECEIVER (B) Expectations / needs Interests / intentions Transmission of information Medium Medium Thoughts and ideas Verba- lising Thoughts and ideas Processing Intention / objectives Needs / interests Reaction Feedback

10. L P earning O roject rgan ised Disturbances at sender • Intentions not well considered • Conflict between needs and interests • Lack of knowledge of media • Verbalising-problems • Speed • Non-logical sequence • Too much information • Not adjusted to receiver • Bad choice of medium

11. L P earning O roject rgan ised Disturbances at receiver • Refusal of medium • Selection among sensations (needs and interests) • Perception of sensations (needs and interests) • Processing to a meaningful whole • Expectations • Already known • Pre-conceived opinion about sender • Pre-conceived opinion about subject

12. L P earning O roject rgan ised Active listening An actively listening person: Has eye contact Has open posture Is leaning slightly forward Nods Uses encouraging words: ”Yes”,”No”,”I see”,”Hmmm” Uses openers: ”Tell more”,”How would you” etc. Is conscious of receiver’s bodylanguage

13. L P earning O roject rgan ised Elements in bodylanguage • eyes • facial mimic • gesture • posture • position • dressing • (paralanguage)

14. L P earning O roject rgan ised Perception Interpretation of sensations - relative to expectations, needs and interests

15. L P earning O roject rgan ised Stereotyping - perceptions and communication patterns Outsiders Established M Worst M Best Elias, Norbert and John L. Scotson: The Established and the Outsiders. London. 1972.

16. L P earning O roject rgan ised Student development 1. Ethic dualism - orthodoxy; right or wrong 2. Multiplicity - total relativism; every person his/her truth 3. Contextual relativism - truth within a certain context 4. Commitment in relativism - conscious choices; commitment; responsibility; self-realisation Perry, W.: Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years. Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, New York, 1968.

17. L P earning O roject rgan ised Multi-cultural man (multi-cultural learner) “The multi-cultural identity is based on, not an affiliation demanding membership of a certain culture, but a certain conscious state which continuously negotiates new ways of experiencing and observing reality. To live on the edge of one’s culture or ego is truly not stagnation, but rather moving back and forth with the intention to create a third sphere beyond the settled territories. A sphere where you can stand for a while without feeling closely connected.” Hansen, F.T.: Kunsten at navigere i kaos. I: KVL-kandidaters arbejdsmetoder og uddannelse i vidensamfundet. Konferencerapport. KVL, København, 1997.

18. L P earning O roject rgan ised Cross-cultural spans (cms) Agrarian vs. Urban Physical vs. Intellectual Re-active vs. Pro-active Tradition vs. Modernisation Religion vs. Science vs. Experience Natural Science vs. Social Science Local vs. Regional vs. National vs. International Teaching vs. Learning vs. Acting vs. Changing

19. L P earning O roject rgan ised Cross-cultural dilemmas Time: punctuality vs. continuity past vs. future Space: distance vs. belonging Rules: predictability vs. responsibility perfection vs. learning (failure) Causation: reason vs. magic Doing things right vs. doing right things

20. L P earning O roject rgan ised Types of meetings • Information • Instruction • Consultation/negotiation • Decision-making • Problem-solving • Exchange of ideas Talk Listen

21. L P earning O roject rgan ised Moderation of meetings Ask Prepare Listen Summarize Conclude

22. L P earning O roject rgan ised Communication - between group and supervisor How will it be?

23. L P earning O roject rgan ised Types of supervision Translated from: Olsen, Poul Bitsch and Kaare Pedersen (1997) Problemorienteret Projektarbejde – en værktøjsbog. Roskilde Universitetsforlag. P. 164.

24. L P earning O roject rgan ised Roleplay between supervisor and group ……. What happens?

25. L P earning O roject rgan ised Expected types of supervision

26. L P earning O roject rgan ised Cross-cultural team dynamics * affected by personalities, levels of knowledge, experience, status, motivation, attitudes, - the organisation, and the task * the same generic needs to manage the team dynamics in national teams - but the process is more complex * issues are to prepare thoroughly and use effective procedures and tools to manage the the cultural factors of the team

27. L P earning O roject rgan ised Phase 1: Start-up Interactive synergy Phase 2: First meeting Phase 4: Closing stages Phase 3: Mid-point

28. L P earning O roject rgan ised Interactive synergy: ”… reweaving the unique threads of cultural difference into coherent directions and ultimately a cloth. Participants have to respect each others’ expertise and different cultural backgrounds and create a pattern of interaction that involves everyone.” (Davison p. 165) NOT: * A dominating subgroup * Polite stand-off * One or two people excluded

29. L P earning O roject rgan ised How do we achieve synergy ? What does it mean to be culturally competent? Prepare in the groups: 3 characteristics of the culturally competent team-member (eg. attitude, communication…) 3 characteristics of the culturally competent team (eg. organisation, goals, procedures…)

30. L P earning O roject rgan ised The seven cultural factors: 1. Different cultural norms 2. Different levels of commitment to norms 3. Language fluency 4. Different expectations 5. Different leadership styles 6. Different cultural status 7. Geographic spread 8. Professional cultures

31. L P earning O roject rgan ised Your current stages in the group: Phase 2: Starting up and getting to know each other Phase 3:Mid-phase - “Keep reviewing what you are doing and align it to the task” (or reviewing the process and the objectives) moments where the team is at a cross-road possibilities and dangers. Strategic moments

32. L P earning O roject rgan ised During the mid-phase Feed-back, checking up and communicating :Participation and involvement needs to be carefully defined. Be careful of strategic moments. Eg. by making detailed observation or using video feed-back, and/or process reviews. To prevent stagnation: communicate successes to each other and supervisor Sponsor’s (supervisor) role: feed-back on project, eg. at the exam

33. L P earning O roject rgan ised Examples The honeymoon phase: Dangers: lack of focus and transparency Procedures: Clarifying goals and objectives Tools: structured rounds, discussions, decisions and minutes The integrative phase: Dangers: Lack of co-ordination and transparency Procedures: Develop quality management Tools: Constructive criticism (active listening), supervision

34. L P earning O roject rgan ised Examples The Conflict phase: Dangers: Denial and passivity Procedures: Create overview Tools: Creativity, listening and “giving face” The maturity phase: Dangers: Group-think Procedure: Quality review Tools: evaluation and supervision

35. L P earning O roject rgan ised How will you identify: * strategic moments? * which phase you are in? * group goals? * which procedures and tools to use? * necessary plans? * time for evaluation? The goal is to build up a sensitivity towards knowing the group’s status and building up a collective toolbox. - through active experimentation and learning.

36. L P earning O roject rgan ised Today’s main points • Students should be able to • Understand the communication process • identify factors critical for effective communication • understand the nature of groups • identify factors critical for effective collaboration • identify and implement procedures and tools for enhancing task efficiency • plan accordingly and act effectively

37. L P earning O roject rgan ised Homework 1. Discuss implications for the group – conclude, plan and act * revise AC ? * identify relevant procedures and tools to be experimented with / try out. 2. Discuss with supervisor. 3. Prepare for next lecture.

38. L P earning O roject rgan ised - and remember always: The three Basic Rules for Project Work and Collaboration 1. Write write write and write again 2. Transparency in the process 3. Evaluate process and products