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The Intercultural Development Learning Community is a distinctive, cohort-based, pilot curriculum for 20 community engagement practitioners who want to understand and enhance their intercultural competency. Over five months of virtual meetings and independent work, participants will create and nurture their own community of professionals dedicated to the tenets of cultural humility.
The ability to bridge across differences starts with doing our own work. Campus Compact’s intercultural development curriculum begins by helping practitioners understand themselves and explore how increasing their self-knowledge can inform and benefit their community engagement work. Participants will expand their understanding of their own intercultural development, learn how to effectively build bridges across cultural differences, and leverage their intercultural understanding to create sustainable systems of support.
What to Expect
Over the course of five months, 20 participants will learn about themselves and how their own cultural competencies can be reflected out in their work, positively and negatively. This pilot curriculum and cohort-based Learning Community are full of opportunities for collaboration, shared learning, and professional growth among other community-engagement professionals and practitioners.
Participants will take the Intercultural Development Inventory, complete the curriculum, and provide feedback to inform the finished product. Throughout this Learning Community, participants will:
- Increase their understanding of their own intercultural development
- Develop awareness of themselves in relation to others in their work as community engagement practitioners
- Build their abilities to bridge across difference
- Uncover ways to identify systems of support
Part of Campus Compact’s mission is to, “support, engage, and challenge higher education to realize its public purpose to address complex social issues and further equity, justice, and prosperity for all.” We know that the ability to do that starts with doing our own work to better our own intercultural competence.
What is the Intercultural Development Inventory?
The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) is a widely used and effective cross-culturally valid assessment for building cultural competence. The IDI is used across a range of industries to engage individuals, groups, and organizations in understanding their approach to cultural differences. Using an evidence-based assessment tool gives this Learning Community a data-backed, scientifically proven approach to engaging with these topics.
Program Details
Eligibility
This event is available to Campus Compact members only. Community Engagement Practitioners, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend.
Program Timeline
- Registration closes: January 10, 2025
- Orientation: January 15, 2025 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM ET
- Virtual meetings hosted by Campus Compact every two weeks starting on Wednesday, January 29 until June 4, 2025, from 2:00 - 3:30pm ET
- Meeting dates: January 29, February 12 & 26, March 12 & 26, April 9 & 23, May 7 & 21, and June 4
Cost
The cost for this Learning Community is $50 to cover the IDI assessments.
Participant expectations
The curriculum is divided into 10 modules which cover the following content areas:
- Understanding self
- How intercultural awareness impacts our work
- Asset-based approaches
- Bridging across difference
- Creating sustainable systems of support
Participants will be divided into smaller groups based on a similar IDI developmental orientation.
Meeting breakdown:
- Large group check in
- Small group reflection on homework
- Large group report out
- Interactive presentation of current module content
- Review of assignment
- Adjournment
Meet the Facilitators
Nicole Springer
Senior Director of Professional Development and Scholarship & Chief Equity Officer
Nicole serves as the senior director of professional development and scholarship & chief equity officer at Campus Compact. Across these roles, Nicole works to advance the Compact’s holistic approach to professional development and scholarship.
Lissa Schwander
Associate Professor/Field Director, Social Work Program, Central Michigan University
Professor Schwander is a social work educator and practitioner with over 20 years of experience in a variety of fields of practice including social work practice with women and children, housing and homelessness and medical social work.