Global Awareness Lesson

      I discovered the website with the DFA Culture Quiz and was fascinated. Students get to select a country, then are presented with several scenarios of cross cultural misunderstandings that require them to think not only of what happened, but why it happened, and to brainstorm appropriate actions and/or reactions. I tend to deliver lessons in formats that I enjoy in an effort to make my class interesting for the students and to present material in novel ways to grasp and hold their attention. The DFA Culture Quiz has so many opportunities of applications, while helping to raise global awareness, students will improve their reading skills. History and social studies can be learned since historical facts were presented in some of the scenarios. Of course, simply accessing the website requires digital literacy.

      Then I thought about integrating Facebook with it. I teach adults who need their high school credential. The format of Facebook was chosen to teach global awareness because my students are already familiar with the platform. We developed a Facebook account for the class, rather than individual ones in order to minimize any temptation towards impropriety. Three friends were selected, an elderly female from Canada, a middle-aged male from Nigeria and a thirtysomething female from China. They had already reached out to communicate in an online word game and were happy to communicate with my inner city Philadelphia students.

      Combining the information from the cultural quiz with the conversations with the individuals living in the culture will help my students to recognize the similarities between themselves and those from another country.  Examining diverse cultural points of view is the first step to understanding them.