This activity helps participants to relax and focus on the process of breathing and the present moment.

The audio file is available in the Links section of this tool, so participants can complete this activity individually on their own time.

The video in this tool (see the Links section) explains the difference between empathy and sympathy. Facilitators/instructors can assign this video as a "reading assignment" in an online learning environment. 

This activity helps participants to develop a better understanding of their stressors and how to deal with stress. It is designed for a study abroad program but can be adapted to other contexts. It can also be completed by participants on their own time and then sent to a facilitator/instructor. 

This assessment measures four modes of receiving verbal information: receptive listening, consensus-based listening, exploratory listening, and action listening.

The inventory can be completed by participants on their own time and then sent to the faciliator/instructor.

This massive open online course (MOOC) helps participants to develop their attitudes, skills and knowledge of cultural diversity to create more inclusive environments.

This activity asks participants to analyze bias and assumptions during an interview by taking the perspective of both interviewer and interviewee in a set of videos created by the Purdue Envision Center (see the Links section in this tool).

Both videos are available through YouTube, so participants can watch them on their own time. To adapt this activity to an online learning environment, facilitators/instructors may choose to ask students to write an essay based on the discussion questions on the handout in the Downloads section of this tool. Alternatively, participants can discuss the questions through an online discussion board. 

This media resource can help participants to understand the ways in which narratives and stories can create stereotypes about people and places. During the activity associated with the resources, participants will analyze “single stories” participants may have about specific people or cultures and demonstrate how “single stories” influence bias and stereotypes in order to complicate and grow out of these viewpoints.

The resource is available on both YouTube and the TED Talk website (see the Links section in the tool). In the Downloads section of the tool, there is a PDF with a list of discussion questions. To adapt this activity for an online learning environment, facilitators/instructors may ask participants to watch the video on their own time and then craft an essay based on those discussion questions, or create a discussion forum where participants can discuss the questions.

This quiz, which is available online through the Harvard Business Review, measures how participants compare to others in terms of three types of curiosity.

This assessment measures two dimensions of curiosity: appetite for novelty, and "absorbtion," e.g. the desire to want to "dig deeper" and learn more about a topic, person, activity, etc.

The inventory is available online (see the Links section in the tool). Participants can complete the inventory on their own time and then send it to facilitators/instructors. 

This workbook helps participants to identify and appreciate cultural differences and reflect on their thoughts and feelings during cross-cultural experiences.

The entire workbook is available online (see the Links section in the tool) and many of the activities can be completed individually. 

This assessment measures participants' strategies for learning about another culture. The assessment can be completed by participants on their own time and then sent to facilitators/instructors. Facilitators/instructors could also set up a virtual discussion surrounding the assessment. 

This activity asks participants to identify what are considered typical U.S. cultural values and compare their own perceptions of their cultural values to those considered typical of the U.S.

All of the materials for this activity can be downloaded through the AFS website (see the Links section in the tool). Participants can complete the individual portions of this activity on their own time and then upload their materials to a discussion board or an online learning management system such as Blackboard or Brightspace. 

This massive open online course (MOOC) enables participants to understand the concept of cultural intelligence as well as develop their own level of cultural intelligence.

This activity asks participants to write about aspects of their cultural identity, such as family structure, nationality, rituals, environment, friends, institutions, mobility, and education. In an online learning environment, participants can share their autobiographies through a discussion board. 

This activity asks students to share a personal object of cultural significance and explain why that object is meaningful to them and the culture(s) they identify with. To adapt this activity to an online environment, participants could upload a picture of their cultural artifact to a discussion board along with an explanation of its significance. They could also share through video chat. 

This lesson is meant to stimulate participants’ attitudes of intercultural curiosity. Participants will create crossword puzzles based on prompts that highlight certain aspects of culture, such as religious beliefs, food preferences, and nonverbal communication gestures. Then, they will choose a partner and try to solve each other’s puzzles.

There are several online crossword building resources for facilitators/instructors to choose from in the Links and Downloads sections of this tool. Participants can also exchange and complete crossword puzzles virtually. 

This rubric can be used to assess any kind of intercultural reflective writing assignment, such as an essay or a blog post. 

This activity will challenge participants to use the concept of "critical mass" to understand stereotype threats. They will analyze photos on a website to determine how that site may be including/excluding and reinforcing or challenging stereotypes.

This activity is well suited for online learning because it asks participants to engage with web content and to then complete an essay or blog post, which can be uploaded to a discussion board or an online learning management system such as Blackboard or Brightspace. 

This activity asks participants to consider their own personal values and their cultural contexts. The value cards used in this activity can be downloaded through University of Michigan's Inclusive Teaching website (in the Links section of this tool), and participants can sort the cards individually on their own time. Then, they can engage in the discussion portion through an online discussion board or video chat. 

This activity was already designed to be completed online by study abroad participants. However, it can be adapted for other contexts.

During this activity, participants will first identify the five qualities that they view as most important in their career field. They will ultimately be able to recognize the role cultural values play in informing and defining professional norms and practices as well as practice perspective-taking in considering worldviews other than their own regarding professional cultural values and acting in a supportive manner that recognizes the feelings of another cultural group.

This rubric can be used to assess blogs using five categories of data: culture shock, communication challenge, cultural appreciation, cross-cultural comparison, and adaptive behavior.

This activity allows participants to discuss an experience when perceptions of something were dependent on point of view. 

The physical activity itself can be completed individually and then participants can engage in the debriefing portion through an online discussion board or video chat. 

This activity uses the YouTube video, What I Learned from President Obama - Smarter Everyday 151, to enable participants to identify elements of civil discourse and reflect on the meaning and importance of civil discourse. They will also reflect critically on their own ability to conduct civil discourse and imagine future scenarios engaging in civil discourse.

To adapt to an online learning environment, participants can watch the YouTube video on their own and then engage in discussion through an online discussion board or through video chat. 

This reflection challenges participants to make meaning of their study abroad experience. They will choose a song that they feel is representative of their study abroad and analyze the song in relation to their experiences based on the four levels of cultural awareness.

This activity is already designed to be completed in an online environment. It can also be adapted for other types of intercultural learning experiences besides study abroad. 

This activity uses the Giraffe and the Elephant parable to help participants identify feelings of inclusion/exclusion as dependent on context, recognize that structural exclusion can exist, and analyze the inclusive and exclusive ways that people and organizations typically respond to diversity.

The parable is available online (see the Links section of this tool). The discussion portion could be completed through an online discussion board or through video chat. Participants could also complete the individual portions on their own time before engaging in discussion. 

This activity helps participants to relax and focus on the process of breathing and the present moment. It can be done individually using the audio file in the Links section of this tool. 

Body Ritual Among the Nacriema is a well-known satirical anthropology paper. The entire paper is available online and facilitators/instructors can adapt debriefing/discussion to virtual environments by asking students to post in discussion boards, craft essays, or chat through online platforms like Zoom or Google Hangouts. 

This blogging activity is designed for study abroad but can be adapted for other types of intercultural learning experiences.

An online version of this assessment is available on the FiveThirtyEight website. It measures how participants compare to others on five personality traits: openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and negative emotionality.

Beyond the Comfort Zone is an online course from True North Intercultural that allows participants to articulate what the "comfort zone" might look like for them during an intercultural experience, understand the benefits of this awareness and of intentionally pushing oneself outside their comfort zone, and think concretely about how to make the most of an intercultural experience.

This activity is inspired by an Instagram account called Barbie Savior. Barbie Savior calls attention to the issues with the well-intentioned—but often problematic—"voluntourism,” i.e. short-term volunteer trips. Barbie Savior parodies the voluntourism experience by placing Barbie in various scenes across Africa along with tone deaf captions that demonstrate Barbie’s lack of knowledge about her impact as a voluntourist.

In this activity, participants will analyze one of Barbie Savior’s posts in terms of the concept of empathy. Participants will then attempt to coach Barbie on intercultural empathy and how she might consider different perspectives.

Facilitators/instructors can adapt this activity to an online learning environment by asking participants to write an essay based on the discussion questions on the instruction sheet in the Downloads section of this tool. Participants could also engage in discussion through an online discussion board or through a video chat platform such as Zoom or Google Hangouts.

This activity challenges participants to reflect on their relationships and consider how they might improve their diversity. They will chart/map their personal and social networks and reflect on how they might fill in any gaps in those networks.

Students can complete the handout for this activity individually and then talk through the reflection portion with a partner through email or video chat. The facilitator may also consider asking participants to post reflections in an online discussion board. 

This assessment measures several aspects of intercultural competence: motivation; language proficiency; communication style; perceived efficacy (post-program); intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

The assessment is available in both the Source and Links sections of the tool. Participants can take the assessment online and then send the results to the facilitator/instructor. 

This entire certificate program is available online. This certificate enables participants to identify, reflect upon, and more effectively practice the following intercultural skills: Self-Awareness, Awareness About Others, Emotional Resilience (or Mindfulness), Bridging Across Difference.

Note that this certificate does have a cost associated with it.

This exercise can be completed through the University of the Pacific's What's Up With Culture? modules. This particular activity is module 1.4.1.

This activity helps participants to understand the difference in perspective between a universalist and a particularist. It also enables them to reflect on where their own cultural values fall on the continuum between universalist and particularist.

In this activity, participants pair up and develop deeper connections by sharing answers to questions that evoke life experiences and intellectual/emotional positions. If in an online learning environment, participants could exchange answers through email or video chat. 

In this activity, participants will identify their own core values and reflect on how those values are shaped by their cultural context. They will also consider why they hold some values over others. 

In this activity, participants reflect on the various dimensions of identity and potential sites of privilege or barriers that are associated with these dimensions.

This activity enables participants to reflect on privilege and social power, as well as understand how certain identities privileged over others affect our behaviors, how we view ourselves, and how we view others. 

This activity helps participants understand stereotypes and discrimination and how they affect different groups of people, especially in terms of systemic oppression.

During this activity, participants provide an example of white privilege, identify colorblindness as a form of white privilege, and express how talking about whiteness can help deconstruct white privilege.

This activity helps participants to understand the concepts systemic oppression, privilege, and power, and how they all relate to each other. It also allows them to reflect on the ways in which they and others are both advantaged and disadvantaged in society.

This article defines white privilege and lists ways that people with white privilege can move beyond guilt or defensiveness and even use it in ways that benefit all people.

This activity will enable participants to understand different perspectives, build empathy, and become aware of privilege and how it affects power dynamics. It will also help them to learn why privilege matters and how it impacts their lives, as well as develop skills in communication, self-management, self-awareness, and building relationships with others. 

In this activity, participants examine cultural identity and self-awareness, identify aspects of their cultural identity and become more aware of them, and recognize and discuss cultural differences.

This activity allows participants to see the complexity surrounding the concept of privilege and understand what privilege they enjoy based on the social groups to which they belong.

This activity enables participants to recognize the privileges that they have and don't have. In this activity, participants will "buy" the privileges that they deem the most valuable and then discuss their decisions. 

This activity uses Legos to help participants understand where they face advantages and disadvantages in their daily lives. It also explains privilege as unearned advantages.

Conversation Starters: 200 questions to get to know someone was submitted by Carol Jungman, consultant, at the 2019 HubICL Workshop on best practices for creating and adapting intercultural learning tools.

Where Do You Go When...? was submitted by Dr. Kristen Seward, clinical assistant professor and associate director of the Gifted Education Resource Institute (GERI) in the College of Education at Purdue University, at the 2019 HubICL Workshop on best practices for creating and adapting intercultural learning tools.

Intercultural People Bingo was submitted by Wendy Nugent, program manager of off-campus study at Colgate University, at the 2020 WISE pre-conference on best practices for creating and adapting intercultural learning tools.

Happy 10th Birthday! was submitted by Dr. Jennifer M. Miskec, professor of English at Longwood University, at the 2020 WISE pre-conference on best practices for creating and adapting intercultural learning tools.

Guided Writing Exercises was submitted by Dr. Bonnie Zare, associate professor in the department of soiology at Virginia Tech, at the 2020 WISE pre-conference on best practices for creating and adapting intercultural learning tools.

This activity enables participants to prepare for a cross-cultural experience, experience and relate to communication barriers, recognize and assess verbal and nonverbal communication, and formulate and discuss strategies for accepting barriers and dealing with frustration.

This activity allows participants to experience how one-way communication, while more efficient, is less accurate than two-way communication, as well as analyze the imprecision of language and the difficulty in describing one's experiences that leads to identical understanding.

This activity teaches participants to listen for their own and other's values as they converse.

This activity enables participants to understand how people can interpret verbal and nonverbal cues and expressions differently. Additionally, it allows them to experience misunderstanding and being misunderstood while learning to cooperate despite communication barriers.

This activity does two things: 1. Help participants understand the importance of using specific language. 2. Encourage listeners to ask questions in order to get all the necessary information during a communicative encounter.

This activity helps participants to understand how we, as listeners, can sometimes hear or interpret something differently than what a speaker actually communicates.

In this activity, participants are challenged to seek information and learn more about someone else without asking any questions.

This kinesthetic activity enables participants to discuss stereotypes and biases that exist in news sources, recognize and interrogate elements of systemic oppression, and develop team-building skills.

This kinesthetic activity enables participants to reflect on the importance of intervening in oppressive situations and develop team-building skills. It can be used in conjunction with Group Images.

This kinesthetic activity enables participants to develop team-building skills and reflect on how others interpret words and concepts through body language and movement. It can be used in conjunction with the Complete the Picture and Pair Sculpt and Group Sculpt activities.

This kinesthetic activity enables participants to reflect on how they and other's interpret words through body language, movement, and sound, as well as form connections with others. It can be used in conjunction with the Pair Sculpt and Group Sculpt activity. 

This kinesthetic activity will help participants develop team-building skills and reflect on how others interpret words through body language and movement. It can be used in conjunction with the Complete the Picture activity.

This kinesthetic activity will enable participants to develop team-building skills and reflect on how nonverbal communication cues can alter interpretation.

This kinesthetic activity encourages participants to analyze and reflect on power dynamics using movement. 

Theatre of the Oppressed is a form of theatre first created by Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. This tool provides a number of resources that include various theatrical activities inspired by the Theatre of the Oppressed and also provide guidance on how to incorporate the activities into a curriculum.

This web page includes an overview of Theatre of the Oppressed, including the various techniques.

This activity by Teaching Tolerance provides a way for educators to introduce Theatre of the Oppressed into the classroom.

Blame the Next is a theatrical activity created by the Theatre of Oppressed NYC.

This blog includes games played by Philadelphia's Theatre of the Oppressed. 

Forum theatre is one technique of the Theatre of the Oppressed where the audience can interrupt a scene and advise actors to go in a different direction. This resource provides forum theatre activities that can be incorporated into the classroom. 

This master's capstone project provides thorough guidance on how to incorporate the Theatre of the Oppressed into the classroom.

This handbook builds on the original Theatre of the Oppressed and includes a number of different exercises.

Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, which was originally translated and published in 1979, is available to purchase on Amazon. 

This reflection activity allows participants to consider assigned topics and share their thoughts with others. 

This reflection will help participants to recognize how consensus affects decision-making. It can be used in a variety of contexts.

This reflection allows participants to demonstrate their thinking about a topic or experience visually.

This tool is very versatile and can be used for reflection in number of contexts. The facilitator can determine the objectives. 

This activity enables participants to demonstrate their understanding of a previous learning experience. 

During this activity, participants will be able to demonstrate creative storytelling abilities.

There are several types of Story Cubes that can be used for different contexts (see the Links section in the tool). 

This tool is very versatile and can be used for reflection in number of contexts. The facilitator can determine the objectives. 

This reflection allows participants to share their thoughts and opinions with others. There are several different types of thumballs that can be purchased from Answers in Motion ™ (see the Links section in the tool).

This reflection allows participants to consider assigned topics and share their thoughts with others. It can be used in a variety of contexts and is most appropriate for young children. 

This reflection enables participants to share their opinions on a particular topic and explain the rationale behind their opinions. It can be used in a variety of contexts.

From the Institute for Experiential Education:

"The second in the line of Chiji processing tools, the Chiji Pocket Processor uses the Chinese concept of the yin and the yang to teach that most issues do not have an either/or solution. For example, effective leaders sometimes assume responsibility and sometimes delegate responsibility. Each deck includes fifty different cards, each representing 'two sides of the same coin.'"

From the Institute for Experiential Education:

"Chiji Processing Cards are a standard in the experiential education field. Not simply pretty pictures on a deck of playing cards, they are a valuable educational tool for all experiential educators who recognize processing (or debriefing) as the most challenging part of quality facilitation. Spread out among a group of people, the cards are forty-eight images that assist participants in creating their own metaphors. Thousands of decks have been sold to counselors, ropes course facilitators, classroom teachers, therapeutic recreation specialists, adventure programmers, camp counselors, and corporate trainers."

This reflection allows participants to consider topics and share their thoughts based on metaphors or allegories. It can be used in a variety of contexts. 

This reflection can be used in a variety of contexts. The Metaphor/Feeling Card set can be purchased from Training Wheels Gear (see Links in the tool), but the set is not required to perform this activity. The directions are also available from the UW Cooperative Extension, Buffalo County (also in Links).

This reflection can be used in a variety of contexts. It is especially appropriate for children. The Traffic Debrief set can be purchased from Training Wheels Gear (see Links in the tool), but the set is not required to perform this activity. The directions are also available from the UW Cooperative Extension, Buffalo County (also in Links).

This reflection can be used in a variety of contexts. It is especially appropriate for children. The Body Parts Debrief set can be purchased from Training Wheels Gear (see Links in the tool), but the set is not required to perform this activity. The directions are also available from the UW Cooperative Extension, Buffalo County (also in Links).

Think, Pair, Share is a commonly used reflection/debriefing technique.

This activity asks participants to examine emojis through a cultural lens. They will first discuss the relationship between emojis and culture. Then, they will consider what emojis teach us about different cultures and why representation matters.

This activity asks participants to analyze bias and assumptions during an interview by taking the perspective of both interviewer and interviewee. They will consider how each person felt during the interaction and how it could have went differently. 

In this activity, using a YouTube video titled, What I Learned from President Obama, participants will be able to identify elements of civil discourse, reflect on the meaning and importance of civil discourse, reflect critically on their own ability to conduct civil discourse, and imagine future scenarios engaging in civil discourse.

Intercultural learning experts agree that developing empathy for those who are different from us is a key component of intercultural competence. However, are there ever cases where extending empathy would be inappropriate or detrimental? This activity asks participants to consider two sides of one coin: 1. Times when they have extended empathy and connected with people who were different from them; and 2. Moments when they have chosen to not extend empathy. 

Intercultural learning experts agree that developing empathy for those who are different from us is a key component of intercultural competence. However, are there ever cases where extending empathy would be inappropriate or detrimental? This activity asks participants to consider two sides of one coin: 1. Times when they have extended empathy and connected with people who were different from them; and 2. Moments when they have chosen to not extend empathy. 

Things to think about as you are creating your original or adapted tool