Design Thinking for Innovation - coursera

Assignment

Asim Sunar.

12/5/2017

Introducing the Reflection Activity

During a study abroad experience, students worked on a collaborative design project with international  peers. The purpose of this design project was to provide students with meaningful international  experiences. At three points in the project, students reflected on their experience working in a cross- cultural team. The purpose of these reflection activities was for students to look back on their  experiences, learn from them, and be prepared for future similar experiences. Three times throughout  the quarter, students were asked to reflect on their experience working on a project in a cross-cultural  team. In the first reflection, students reflected on their interests and goals within their field of study and  how those connected to the course. The purpose of this reflection was to set the stage for the course  and students’ experiences in cross-cultural teams. In the second reflection, students reflected on how  they saw the project and the intercultural collaboration, and how these related to their learning. The  purpose of this reflection was for students to pause a few weeks into their work and see what they had  learned and make any necessary adjustments for the rest of the course. In the final reflection at the end  of the quarter, students reflected on their overall experience. The purpose of the final reflection was to  support students in looking back at their experience and thinking about what they had accomplished  and how it connected to their future. After each reflection assignment was submitted, the teaching  team read the individual reflections of each of the teams they were mentoring and provided feedback to  that team. The reflection assignment was graded on whether the student did the assignment and on the  depth of the reflection using levels of reflection by Thomas John and Chike Smith: Descriptive Writing,  Descriptive Reflection, Dialogic Reflection, and Critical Reflection1 . Students were asked to write at the  last two levels (and were given indicators for each level, so they could judge for themselves).  Additionally, the Red educator read all of the Red students’ reflections because their reflections were a  component of their grade for the course. In terms of outcomes, there was potential for students to  better understand cross-cultural communication. After engaging in this reflection activity, students may  better understand working on a large-scale open-ended group project, and how the project benefitted  the client and society.

Recreating the Reflection Activity

Description

•  1 Introduce the reflection activities to the students at the start of the trip.

•  2 Read the reflections and provide each team with feedback.

•  3 Read the reflections of the students from your respective institution for grading.

In the words of the Educator:

Remind students to submit their reflections. Students often forget to submit their assignment for

various reasons. It helps to remind them of the due date.

Support students’ cross cultural communication. The first week of the course is spent as a cross-cultural  seminar. This week sets the stage for the first reflection activity and provides students with important  information as they begin their cross-cultural team projects.

Ask students to report on the team dynamics. I've frequently asked my students to give me feedback  on the team dynamics. But it’s only because I'm not there to observe that on a daily or even a weekly  basis. I get to see the end product as a presentation in class or a project implementation or a project

report, but it doesn’t tell me how the team dynamics work or how well the members work.

What was the inspiration for the reflection activity? I started implementing these reflection activities  because the Swedish part of the teaching team suggested these activities. They sounded like a great fit  for our goals for the students’ experiences

