For better or worse, group dynamics form quickly in team settings and are informed by many factors. Within every diverse team setting, groups have the potential to collaborate effectively and creatively, however, miscommunication and misunderstandings are inevitable. Solutions to issues must be identified and addressed for positive shifts to occur. This activity encourages participants to consider their own communication styles and the styles of others when working on diverse teams and to reflect upon and enact behaviors that contribute to healthier and more inclusive team dynamics.

A key aspect of intersectionality is the context in which an identity is expressed. With each of our identities, we both perceive ourselves and others receive us differently depending on the context and circumstances. We are always who we are, but we don't think about certain parts of ourselves in the same way until we change school, company, location, etc. In this activity, participants will explore how different identities become more salient under different circumstances.

This activity introduces a case study of international development and humanitarian aid to participants to consider the ways in which intensity factors impact cross-cultural interactions and collaboration. Participants are introduced to the background of the case study step-by-step, with each step introducing additional insight and nuance into the complexities of the situation.

The Stevens Initiative, a program that supports virtual exchange programs, has curated a collection of resources to assist educators and institutions in implementing virtual exchange initiatives. This collection, known as the "Stevens Initiative Curated Resources for Virtual Exchange," is a comprehensive compilation of tools, guides, and best practices aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and impact of virtual exchange programs.

The curated resources cover a wide range of topics relevant to virtual exchange, including program design, partnership development, curriculum integration, assessment and evaluation, intercultural communication, and technology selection. These resources are carefully selected to provide practical insights, evidence-based strategies, and real-world examples that can inform and guide educators in their virtual exchange endeavors.

The Collaboratory, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs U.S. Department of State developed this toolkit to support the spread of virtual exchange programming for public diplomacy.

This Toolkit provides key information, inspiration, tools and case examples of the approaches that Higher Education Institutions can take to integrate and accredit Virtual Exchange.

This Toolkit is part of the FRAMES project, a Strategic Partnership funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union spanning over 2 years (March 2021 - February 2023). The project is implemented by a consortium composed of UNIMED - Mediterranean Universities Union (coordinator), UNICollaboration, Sharing Perspectives Foundation, Universitat de Girona, University of Limerick, and Università di Siena.

This toolkit was developed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Collaboratory to support virtual exchange programming for members of the Global
Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program.

The goal of this publication is to guide Senior International Officers (SIOs) at postsecondary institutions in establishing virtual exchange as a critical part of inclusive internationalization. The guide outlines ten steps to starting a successful virtual exchange and includes four cases to highlight examples.

It's obvious, but learners bring varying mindsets (e.g., polarization vs. minimization), attitudes, and experiences. To support their intercultural growth requires more than knowledge dissemination (e.g., lectures) and instead more experiential, transformational, constructivist pedagogies/andragogies. This table offers a series of continua to help you reflect on your classroom practices. 

This activity (also in the HubICL, but quicker to access through this link) is great for helping students learn cultural values concepts such as monochronic vs. polychronic time orientation, individualism vs. collectivism, directness vs. indirectness, etc., and identify their own values, including the fact that they likely already adapt according to context. It's set up for use in study abroad but works just as well as a self-awareness activity for discussion with a partner or in small groups. 

When the HubICL was created, there was a debate as to whether it should be a library (collect as much as possible) or a museum (curate the best). It has morphed into both.

1. To locate activities and assessments: Go to Digital Toolbox in the drop-down menu under Discover at the top..
2. "Museum": Activities with lesson plans (clickable little book icon on the right of an activity). 
3. Searching for an activity (left side in Digital Toolbox): You don't have to click every parameter. I usually ignore all except the AAC&U Rubric Outcomes and cost.
4. Click "Clear filter" -- toward the bottom on the left side menu-- after every search.
5. For DEI, emotional resilience, and teamwork activities: Click "Advanced Search" (left side menu in Digital Toolbox), then "Theoretical Frameworks" (top middle) and scroll down. 
6. Contribute! Your reviews, activities, etc., are welcome. Feel free to ask me for a quick walk-through if you want to add anything.

This activity encourages participants to engage with and share characteristics and identities with which they resonate. 

*This activity does not provide participants with category prompts.

This lesson plan contains all 7 activities listed in this collection, with specific guidance for facilitating each.

Page 42 of the handbook link offers a lesson plan for Identity Molecule, an activity which asks participants to name five social categories with which they identify. This is the same activity as the first part of The Paseo (Circles of Identity). 

*This activity does not provide participants with category prompts.

This activity encourages participants to engage with who they are and how their identity influences their choices and actions. It includes two parts - the first, an individual guided reflection time, and the second, a time of sharing stories. 

*This activity does not provide participants with category prompts.

This activity engages participants' self-awareness by encouraging learners to reflect on the concept of identity and the identities with which they identify. Participants are also encouraged to explore diversity and the realities of identifying with more than one identity.

*This activity does not provide participants with category prompts.

"The Circles activity engages participants in a process of identifying what they consider to be the most important dimensions of their own identities. Stereotypes are examined as participants share stories about when they were proud to be part of a particular group and when it was especially hurtful to be associated with a particular group" (Gorski, n.d.). 

*This activity does not provide participants with category prompts.

"The Personal Identity Wheel is a worksheet activity that encourages students to reflect on how they identify outside of social identifiers. The worksheet prompts students to list adjectives they would use to describe themselves, skills they have, favorite books, hobbies, etc. Unlike the Social Identity Wheel, this worksheet does not emphasize perception or context. It is best used as an icebreaker activity or in conjunction with the Social Identity Wheel in order to encourage students to reflect on the relationships and dissonances between their personal and social identities. The wheels can be used as a prompt for small or large group discussion or reflective writing on identity by using the Spectrum Activity, Questions of Identity." (LSA Inclusive Teaching Initiative, University of Michigan, 2017).

*This activity provides participants with identity category prompts. 

In this activity, participants are encouraged to "consider their identities critically and how identities are more or less keenly felt in different social contexts, recognize "how privilege operates to normalize some identities over others," and appreciate "their shared identities...as well as the diversity of identities" (LSA Inclusive Teaching Initiative, University of Michigan, 2017).

*This activity provides participants with identity category prompts. 

One rubric follows the "what/so what/now what" model of critical reflection (google for info). The other is more general. Important is teaching critical reflection to help students make sense of their experiences.