Challenges and Benefits of Multi-Cultural Teaching

Abstract

In an average semester, five or more countries will be represented in the typical information technology classroom. This diversity requires fleetness to develop trust, awareness of our cultural differences and requirements, and students' free participation. It also requires understanding of components of self-esteem and how it relates to learning; bricolage and when to deviate from planned activities; and many forms of experiential learning. This chapter develops these concepts and demonstrates how to effectively weave them together in engaging students from many cultures. The benefits of the work this effort involves many students who learn today and apply tomorrow in internships, and who, years later, return with tales of successes that build on foundations of concepts and techniques learned in such courses.